When to take your Supplements

[Cammo]

BEFORE AND AFTER
To maximize muscle gains, the best time to take supplements is before and right after your workout. Here’s how to get the biggest bang from your gym efforts

Scientists now have the ability to clone animals, make organs from stem cells and even operate vehicles on Mars. With all these technological advancements, you’d think that someone would have developed by now an exercise pill that could turn the average Joe into Ronnie Coleman with little more work than sitting on the couch watching Pumping Iron. If that’s what you’ve been waiting for to transform your physique, then it’s time to get real.

That being said, nutritional science has made monumental progress. No longer must the bodybuilding wannabe slurp raw eggs or eat desiccated liver tablets to get big. Supplement formulations are precise, and so is their dosage and timing. Maybe you’re working out hard and heavy but not seeing the results you want. Perhaps you get tired midworkout. We now know what you should take and when to get the best muscle-building bang for your efforts.

Research shows that taking the right supplements before and after your workouts is the best window of opportunity for making both immediate progress in the gym and long-term gains down the road. We’ve devised a cheat sheet of sorts that instructs you exactly what and how much to take during these critical moments for maximizing your results for weightlifting and cardio workouts.

WEIGHT TRAINING – BEFORE

30–60 MINUTES PREWORKOUT
Take 3–5 grams of arginine and 5 grams of glutamine. Arginine is a must before workouts. Research shows it can increase blood flow to muscle fibers because it increases nitric oxide. And that means your muscles get more of the stuff that blood carries — oxygen, glucose, amino acids, anabolic hormones like testosterone and growth hormone, and the other supplements like glutamine and creatine that you’ve taken. You’ll have more energy for the workout at hand, and when the workout’s over and your muscles are ready to enter the growing phase, all the critical elements for growth will be in abundance. Glutamine provides your muscles with energy and produces bicarbonate to help buffer the high acidity levels that rise in the body during intense exercise, helping to prevent fatigue. Take these on an empty stomach (or at least 1–2 hours after your last meal).

0-30 MINUTES PREWORKOUT
You’ve downed your arginine and glutamine, but don’t neglect all the critical amino acids for growth. The form you’ll want them in is whey protein, 20 grams worth. You’ll also need about 40 grams of slow-burning carbs and 3–5 grams of creatine. As we’ve already said, once the workout stops, your muscle fibers are ready to grow if the critical building blocks are there. If not, the muscles will break down.
Whey protein provides a fast source of aminos that will be absorbed quickly and taken up by your muscles by the time the workout is over. Eating slow carbs — such as three slices of whole-wheat bread, a large sweet potato, 2 cups of oatmeal or a large banana before you train — provides a steady supply of carbs to help keep insulin levels down during the workout, helping you burn more fat for fuel during rest periods between sets. Taking creatine before you train ensures that your muscles are chock-full of this fast energy source that’s used during weightlifting workouts. It can also help to better fill the muscle cells with water, which helps them become stronger. Mix your creatine into your protein shake and don’t worry about downing it all beforehand. Get down at least half and sip the rest during the workout.

WEIGHT TRAINING – AFTER

0 MINUTES POSTWORKOUT
As soon as the last rep of your last set is done, you want to get 5–10 grams of leucine and 5 grams of glutamine down your throat as soon as possible. The essential and branched-chain amino acid leucine is probably the most important amino you can take for stimulating muscle growth. Research shows it’s literally the key that turns the ignition on muscle growth. One way muscles grow larger is by a process known as protein synthesis — the building of muscle protein. Leucine turns on the steps that lead to more muscle protein synthesis and thus more muscle growth, and immediately after you finish your workout is the critical window. Leucine also boosts the release of the anabolic hormone insulin. You want insulin levels to spike after your workout because it allows nutrients like glucose and amino acids into muscle cells. In addition, creatine relies on insulin to move inside muscle cells, and insulin plays an important role in protein synthesis. It’s important to get more glutamine inside your muscles postworkout because your body has probably used up the glutamine you took beforehand for energy. Keeping muscle glutamine levels high after training is critical because they regulate protein synthesis. Even with all the leucine you can handle, muscles won’t grow without enough glutamine. Glutamine also helps muscle cells load up better with glycogen, which is critical for muscle size (glycogen pulls water into muscle cells) and energy during your next workout. So it pays to think ahead.

30-60 MINUTES POSTWORKOUT
After you’ve given the leucine and glutamine a chance to be absorbed without competition from other nutrients, it’s time to get your muscle protein building blocks in the form of 40 grams of whey protein. You’ll also need 40–80 grams of fast-digesting carbs and 3–5 grams of creatine. Getting more whey protein in your gut within an hour after your workout will provide more amino acids for the protein synthesis you kick-started with leucine and glutamine. The more building blocks you provide, the bigger the muscle you can build. Think of leucine and glutamine as the bricklayers (they do all the work) and the amino acids from the protein as your bricks.

The fast-digesting carbs (dextrose powder, Vitargo, table sugar or white bread) will go immediately to the exhausted muscle fibers and get absorbed and stored as muscle glycogen. They also help curb the release of cortisol, the catabolic hormone that normally impedes the anabolic processes of muscle growth, following workouts. Getting another dose of creatine postworkout is smart because this is when creatine uptake is maximal, thereby ensuring that levels in the muscle are maxed out. In addition, brand-new research suggests that creatine has antioxidant properties. This can help limit muscle damage caused by heavy training and enhance recovery.

CARDIO – BEFORE

30–60 MINUTES BEFORE CARDIO
About a half-hour to an hour before you start your cardio session, be sure to get 200–300 mg of caffeine and 1–2 grams of acetyl-L-carnitine. Caffeine has been shown to spare muscle glycogen as a fuel source. Instead, it mobilizes stored fat from fat cells, which is then used as fuel instead of glycogen. It has also been shown to reduce muscle pain during exercise, which means you can train harder for a longer period. Two or three cups of regular coffee is fine, but a supplemental form such as caffeine anhydrous is better. Acetyl-L-carnitine is an amino acid-like supplement that helps transport fat into the mitochondria of cells where it’s burned for fuel. Taking it with caffeine makes a perfect combo because the caffeine helps free up fat from fat cells and the carnitine helps get it to the right place for burning it for fuel.

0–30 MINUTES BEFORE CARDIO
The only thing you want to take right before a cardio session is 6–10 grams of mixed amino acids. That’s assuming you’re exercising for less than an hour and your main goal is fat loss. If performance is important, you’ll need some carbohydrate to help you keep going longer. But we’ll assume that since you’re reading muscle & fitness and not Runner’s World, your main goal is fat loss. Research from Japan shows that when subjects consumed a mixture of amino acids — supplying all nine essential amino acids and most other aminos found in the diet —before a bout of cycling, they burned significantly more bodyfat during the exercise than when drinking just water. In addition, the subjects reported that when they exercised after taking the amino acid mixture, the activity was noticeably easier to perform. Supplying your body with all the aminos needed for muscle growth will also help prevent muscle tissue from being broken down to use its amino acids as energy.

CARDIO – AFTER

0-60 MINUTES AFTER CARDIO
When your cardio is over, it’s time to replenish your tired muscle fibers. Getting in 20–40 grams of whey protein, 40–80 grams of fast-digesting carbs and 5 grams of creatine is essential to help the muscle fibers recover. Whey protein provides the building blocks to rebuild the fibers, simple carbs replenish depleted muscle glycogen levels and creatine helps replenish creatine levels in muscle cells. If you do cardio on separate days from lifting, this is another great time to get your creatine because the muscle cells are primed to take it up.

Taken from here.

[warri0r87]

great post!! wish i could've found all that info in a nice, neat package a while ago before reading the countless articles. nice work

[Traps]

Good post cammo. I dont really agree with the suggestion of arginine/glutamine, but that doesnt matter. This is good information for the pack of wild noobs that run rampent in here.



I forgot about leucine. I need to pick some up. I've never tried it except in the BCAA mix.

The present study was designed to determine postexercise muscle protein synthesis and whole body protein balance following the combined ingestion of carbohydrate with or without protein and/or free leucine. Eight male subjects were randomly assigned to three trials in which they consumed drinks containing either carbohydrate (CHO), carbohydrate and protein (CHO+PRO), or carbohydrate, protein, and free leucine (CHO+PRO+Leu) following 45 min of resistance exercise. A primed, continuous infusion of L-[ring-13C6]phenylalanine was applied, with blood samples and muscle biopsies collected to assess fractional synthetic rate (FSR) in the vastus lateralis muscle as well as whole body protein turnover during 6 h of postexercise recovery. Plasma insulin response was higher in the CHO+PRO+Leu compared with the CHO and CHO+PRO trials (+240 +/- 19% and +77 +/- 11%, respectively, P < 0.05). Whole body protein breakdown rates were lower, and whole body protein synthesis rates were higher, in the CHO+PRO and CHO+PRO+Leu trials compared with the CHO trial (P < 0.05). Addition of leucine in the CHO+PRO+Leu trial resulted in a lower protein oxidation rate compared with the CHO+PRO trial. Protein balance was negative during recovery in the CHO trial but positive in the CHO+PRO and CHO+PRO+Leu trials. In the CHO+PRO+Leu trial, whole body net protein balance was significantly greater compared with values observed in the CHO+PRO and CHO trials (P < 0.05). Mixed muscle FSR, measured over a 6-h period of postexercise recovery, was significantly greater in the CHO+PRO+Leu trial compared with the CHO trial (0.095 +/- 0.006 vs. 0.061 +/- 0.008%/h, respectively, P < 0.05), with intermediate values observed in the CHO+PRO trial (0.0820 +/- 0.0104%/h). We conclude that coingestion of protein and leucine stimulates muscle protein synthesis and optimizes whole body protein balance compared with the intake of carbohydrate only.

PMID: 15562251 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

[narcsarge]

Great read Cammo! As I absolutely detest chemistry, and the whole study of individul amino acids just pops the top off my head, I learned alot. I may have to put this on a simple Excel sheet to carry in my gym bag.

Traps, why do you disagree? Just wondering not chiding. "I'z gotz to know"

[JustAddWater]

Excellent article!!

Sticky!! Sticky!! I think some version of this information would be exceptionally useful for all those people out there (like me ) still trying to optimize supplement use. Might save those devoted souls who keep answering the same questions repeatedly (NiteHawk et al.), a little bit of time and sanity.

[Traps]

Originally Posted by Traps

Good post cammo. I dont really agree with the suggestion of arginine/glutamine, but that doesnt matter. This is good information

Originally Posted by narcsarge

Traps, why do you disagree? Just wondering not chiding. "I'z gotz to know"

Whats the point of arginine again? To increase blood flow, thereby allowing more nutrients into the muscles. Does it really require more blood flow? As these nutrients pass through our blood, are they utilized 100% to begin with? What purpose is there in exposing tissue to more nutrients when it doesnt even utilize it all to begin with......Just my theory.......IMO....

I thought the major consesus now a days was glutamine supplementation was useless.....

A central issue in the debate over whether glutamine supplements are beneficial is whether or not they actually increase levels of glutamine in the bloodstream. Most of the studies in states of critical illness utilize IV glutamine, and are therefore inapplicable. When glutamine is orally administered, a significant portion of it is taken up by the gut, where it is primarily oxidized, but also used to form glucose and for other purposes [22]. After ingestion of L-glutamine, about 50-75% of it is used by the gut depending on circumstances [9, 13, 14]. The amount that is extracted by the gut appears to be inversely correlated with dose – as more glutamine is administered, relatively less is taken up by the gut [14]. Despite the amount that doesn't make it to the bloodstream, many studies have found that orally administered L-glutamine still significantly raises plasma glutamine levels. For example, one study found that 5 g of orally administered glutamine doubled plasma glutamine within 30 minutes in healthy humans [16]. On the other hand, protein-bound glutamine (such as glutamine from casein or carob protein) has failed to significantly increase plasma glutamine in both human and animal studies where free L-glutamine was effective [11, 20]. When this information is put together, it would seem a high dose (at least 5-10 g) of free-form L-glutamine is the most effective way to increase levels of glutamine in the bloodstream.

Although L-glutamine supplements can significantly increase plasma glutamine, this does not necessarily equate to an increase in exercise performance or recovery ability. Multiple studies have been done, and none have yet shown that glutamine significantly improves exercise performance. In one study, 31 subjects were administered ~45 g of glutamine or placebo (maltodextrin) daily for six weeks along with resistance training. Compared to the placebo group, the glutamine group had slight improvements in their one rep maximum for squat and bench press and knee extension peak torque, as well as increased lean tissue mass and decreased markers of protein breakdown, but none of the differences were statistically significant [18]. Another study found that acute ingestion of glutamine did not improve weightlifting performance [21], but only six subjects were used, and given that the proposed mechanisms of action for glutamine are recovery-related, one would not expect a difference after acute ingestion in the first place. It seems that if glutamine does make a difference in exercise performance, it is a small one, especially at practical doses.

Beyond the studies that directly assess performance, there are also a number of studies on the effects glutamine has on other variables. Some researchers argue that the fall in glutamine levels after exhausting exercise may be related to suppression of the immune system. One investigation of 14 studies found that the self-reported incidence of illness in marathon runners was 32% lower in subjects who had consumed glutamine [9]. However, the mechanism for this is unknown, as most studies have found that glutamine fails to effect exercise-related changes in immune parameters [7, 9, 15]. Two studies have found that glutamine slightly blunts the postexercise increase in circulating neutrophils, but it is unknown whether this is clinically significant [9, 15]. One study also found that among certain marathon runners, glutamine speeded the restoration of circulating lymphocytes [9]. The differences in findings is probably related to differences in study design. It could be that glutamine does not significantly alter the magnitude of postexercise immune changes, but does speed the rate of recovery, especially in the case of extremely taxing exercise such as marathon running.

Another area in which glutamine has been explored is glycogen resynthesis. In one study, glutamine increased postexercise muscle glycogen concentration compared to alanine plus glycine providing an equal amount of calories. It has been argued that glutamine increases the activity of hepatic glycogen synthase, based on in vitro studies [5]. However, it could also be that glutamine is more readily converted to glucose than other amino acids. Either way, carbohydrates are still about three times as effective at promoting glycogen synthesis [19], and when glutamine was added to a glucose polymer drink it did not further promote muscle glycogen storage, although it appeared to increase liver glycogen storage [5]. Another study found glutamine alone did not effect glycogen resynthesis after glycogen depleting exercise [18], so the effect of glutamine in this area is once again controversial.

A final contention made by glutamine advocates is that it increases protein synthesis. This is based primarily on in vitro experiments, which have found that glutamine stimulates protein synthesis and inhibits protein breakdown [14]. However, in vivo, it appears that supplemental L-glutamine does not affect protein synthesis or increase glutamine levels in muscle tissue in healthy humans, even after IV administration [14, 17]. Increased glutamine availability does increase glutamine flux in muscle tissue (i.e., both uptake and outflow are increased but tissue levels are not changed), but this may limit transport mechanisms for other amino acids [17]. These studies do not rule out the potential for a small effect on protein synthesis of supplemental L-glutamine combined with an exercise program, but do indicate that it is not likely to make a significant difference.

Finally, there are a number of facts that can make glutamine supplementation less appealing. To maintain continually elevated levels of glutamine, one would have to supplement at least every two hours [16]. Glutamine administration also inhibits de novo synthesis of the amino acid in humans, which may make long-term supplementation less effective [20]. In healthy individuals, supplemental glutamine may decrease glutathione levels in some tissues by causing negative feedback [10]. Also, glutamine decreases vascular nitric oxide (NO) production [4]. There is also some concern that the metabolic by-products of glutamine may be toxic in large amounts [18]. However, there have been few reports of adverse events in clinical trials, even with large amounts of glutamine [1, 18].

In conclusion, few studies have demonstrated any sort of conclusive benefit from L-glutamine supplementation in athletes, although the existing evidence does support a small benefit. The most promising effect is a reduced incidence of infection after exhausting exercise, and in this case 5-10 g preworkout and/or postworkout may be effective. It may be especially useful during times of overtraining or high stress, such as on a diet, but this is only in theory. There is little evidence for a direct anabolic or performance enhancing effect of glutamine.

[narcsarge]

Thanks Traps. Nice to have both sides of an issue! As I am not independently wealthy, I like to choose my supps based on effectiveness. Those that offer the most "bang for the buck" go into my stash. Which, right now, is Whey, Creatine, and a multivitamin. Probably not the best product available for any of them but it is what I can afford and what has helped me to this point.

[Cammo]

The Benefits of Glutamine

Glutamine is a nonessential amino acid in the body but it is also the most abundant amino acid in the body. Around 50% of the free amino acid pool consists of glutamine.

Taking extra glutamine can have a have variety of beneficial effects on your body.


A dosage of 2 grams on an empty stomach has been shown to increase the level of circulating growth hormone in the body. This is good because growth hormone promotes muscle growth and fat loss.
Another effect is that the body does not have to break down other amino acids to make glutamine. Glutamine is a popular amino in the body and if glutamine levels are low, the body will break down muscle protein to synthesize it.
The extra glutamine you take in supplement form helps support muscle growth if taken in doses of 5 grams or more at a time (this large amount is necessary to get enough past the digestive system to be of value - the gut sucks up glutamine like a sponge).
Other effects of glutamine include immune system boosting, improved recovery, cell volumization and enhancement of glycogen replenishment.
The best times to take glutamine are first thing in the morning, right after a workout and right before sleep.

Dosages can vary from 2 grams (minimum) to about 10 to 15 grams (maximum). The larger doses should be used immediately after a workout to promote anabolism and minimize catabolism (muscle breakdown).

...

[narcsarge]

Ok Cammo, in your opinion, how do you take your glutamine? Powder? Pill? Just wondering if it is something a mediocre BB'er like me should spend the $$.

[Cammo]

I've just got some powder.

I know the ON 100% whey has around 4gms of glutamine per scoop.

Anyone using No-Xplode should watch their glutamine intake - 10gms a day or less is recommended (I'm not sure why but it's on the directions on the No-Xplode so there must be a reason - I think the glutamine may impede the effects of the No-Xplode).

[narcsarge]

I bow to your greatness! Thank you sir!

[Traps]

Originally Posted by Cammo

...

That reads like a label from a glutamine supplement... Your wasting money narcsarge...

In vitro means in a test tube...... not in a live organisim. In vivo means in a live organism

A final contention made by glutamine advocates is that it increases protein synthesis. This is based primarily on in vitro experiments, which have found that glutamine stimulates protein synthesis and inhibits protein breakdown [14]. However, in vivo, it appears that supplemental L-glutamine does not affect protein synthesis or increase glutamine levels in muscle tissue in healthy humans

It has been argued that glutamine increases the activity of hepatic glycogen synthase, based on in vitro studies [5]. However, it could also be that glutamine is more readily converted to glucose than other amino acids.

when glutamine was added to a glucose polymer drink it did not further promote muscle glycogen storage, although it appeared to increase liver glycogen storage [5]. Another study found glutamine alone did not effect glycogen resynthesis after glycogen depleting exercise [18], so the effect of glutamine in this area is once again controversial.

glutamine decreases vascular nitric oxide (NO) production

[Traps]

Originally Posted by Cammo

Anyone using No-Xplode should watch their glutamine intake - 10gms a day or less is recommended (I'm not sure why but it's on the directions on the No-Xplode so there must be a reason - I think the glutamine may impede the effects of the No-Xplode).

LOL, its in the study I just posted....Here is why you have to limit the glutamine....

Increased glutamine availability does increase glutamine flux in muscle tissue (i.e., both uptake and outflow are increased but tissue levels are not changed), but this may limit transport mechanisms for other amino acids [17].

[narcsarge]

Originally Posted by Traps

In vitro means in a test tube...... not in a live organisim. In vivo means in a live organism

Now that I do remember from biology! I know that you and Cammo have different views on this. As with a lot of the stuff we discuss here, to each his own. I have the basics of supps. and they have served me well. Just paying attention to what else is out there and how valuable it is. Thanks you two.