MUSCLE AID USEFUL FOR: MASS GAIN • FAT LOSS • STRENGTH • BEGINNERS • ENDURANCE WARNING: MAY CAUSE YOU TO ACHIEVE YOUR FITNESS GOALS FASTER THAN YOU EVER THOUGHT POSSIBLE YOUR SUPPLEMENT START-UP KIT DO YOU WANT TO GET BIGGER? GROW STRONGER? DROP FAT? REACH YOUR GOALS FASTER WITH THESE FIVE SUPPLEMENT STACKS BY CHRIS ACETO 1) MASS-GAIN KIT • Protein Powder • Carbohydrate Powder • Creatine • ZMA • Arginine CONTENTS: The trick with mass gain is to record a calorie surplus at the end of the day while providing a non-stop influx of protein to build and repair muscle. Five to six meals a day is a must, with powders a convenient substitute for 2–3 of those. You’ll also need hormonal support via ZMA (zinc-magnesium complex) and arginine, as well as creatine for maximal growth. EFFECTIVENESS: If you experience a steady increase in bodyweight, you’re succeeding. To build mass and to measure your progress, you ought to gain at least a pound of fat-free bodyweight every 2–3 weeks. HOW THE KIT WORKS: Creatine increases strength and muscle tissue. ZMA helps boost testosterone levels. And combining whey powders with fast-digesting carbohydrate powders before and after training can protect your muscles from damage, reversing muscle breakdown associated with hardcore lifting. Arginine boosts growth hormone production and increases blood flow to muscles, thus enhancing the “pump”. USAGE: Try 30–40 grams of protein mixed with 50–80 grams of carbohydrate powder both before and after training. Throw in 3–5 grams of creatine with the post-training drink. Pre-training, take 3–5 grams of arginine, and take another 3–5 grams before bed. Take ZMA as label directs about one hour before bedtime on an empty stomach. 2) FAT-LOSS KIT Whey Protein Powder • Branched-Chain Amino Acids • Guggulsterones • Capsicum • Calcium CONTENTS: Eliminating excess calories and increasing expenditure via cardio and hard training is the critical first step. The real secret to success: preserving metabolic-boosting muscle tissue, which can quickly be lost when dieting. Protein supplements and fat-loss and metabolism-boosting aids form the basis of this kit. When you retain mass while expending additional calories or eating less, you’ll find that ripping up is a piece of cake. EFFECTIVENESS: Start by eliminating refined carbs and excess dietary fat. Skip the carbs before bed, cut your carb portions in half at all other meals and throw in 4–6 weekly cardio sessions of 35–45 minutes each. Get on the scale and shoot for a 1–2-pound weekly drop in weight. If you hit the 2-pound mark yet experience fatigue or a big drop in strength, you’re overdieting and need to let up by increasing your carbs a bit or doing a little less cardio. If you feel good, you’re on the right path. If you’re not losing, don’t kid yourself — you’re overeating. HOW THE KIT WORKS: Protein is muscle-preserving, and when calories drop, protein consumption needs to increase. Interestingly, a recent study found that consuming a high-protein diet that consisted mainly of whey protein decreased weight significantly more than a high-protein diet consisting of red meat. Sports-supplement researcher Jeff Feliciano also recommends branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs): “They offer a major benefit in maintaining muscle during a diet. The more severe the diet and training, the more important they become.” The BCAAs — leucine, isoleucine and valine — are burned as fuel when calories and carbohydrates plummet, thereby sparing the body’s own muscle tissue. Feliciano is also keen on capsicum. “It decreases hunger and boosts metabolism, which means you burn more calories.” Dieters need thyroid support as well. Says Feliciano: “Guggulsterones help maintain normal thyroid response as insulin drops, the result of eating fewer carbohydrates. Often, thyroid levels and metabolism slow down with dieting, and guggulsterones might prevent that.” Research conducted by Michael Zemel, professor of nutrition and medicine at the University of Tennessee, reveals that a diet dense in dairy calcium contributes to fat loss. An alternative is calcium supplements. Like dairy, they help the body become “metabolically inefficient”, meaning it’s less successful at storing calories as fat. USAGE: Bump up your daily protein consumption to 1.5 grams per pound of bodyweight to prevent the loss of muscle. (That’s 270 grams for a 180-pound bodybuilder.) Powders are the easiest way to go, plus they’re typically devoid of fat and carbs. Stack 5 grams of BCAAs before cardio with a capsicum supplement (50 mg taken 2–3 times daily). Add 1,000 milligrams of calcium daily, divided into three doses taken at mealtimes. Use recommended dose of standardised guggulsterones three times daily. 3) BEGINNERS KIT Meal Replacements • Creatine • Glutamine • Flaxseed Oil CONTENTS: If you’re just getting started, you’ll find that increasing your calorific intake (from carbs, protein and fat) will allow you to put on mass more easily. Easily digested meal-replacement powders are highly nutritious, typically contain all three macronutrients and can be conveniently prepared and consumed between meals. EFFECTIVENESS: Beginners can add 10, 12 or even 15 pounds of quality size in just 12–16 weeks, though you’re likely to add several pounds of bodyfat. Still, that means you’ve added a good 10 pounds of real muscle, and the added size will allow you to push heavier weights, which will further support your quest for a bigger, stronger body. HOW THE KIT WORKS: Three-time Arnold Classic champ Jay Cutler morphed his teen physique into a mini Hercules in his initial six months of training. How? Consuming 6–7 meals a day, rotating a solid meal followed by a meal replacement. Meal replacements are high in protein, vitamins and minerals, though a bit shy in carbs, so the best bet is to prep them with semi-skimmed milk, juice and fruit to boost overall calories. Creatine can easily help you pack 5 pounds of mass onto the beginner’s physique, and glutamine helps in the formation of glycogen, an important storage form of carbohydrates that helps boost recovery. Since total calories are extremely important, the beginner can use 2–3 tablespoons daily of flaxseed oil, the calorie-dense source of omega-3 fatty acids that not only supports glutamine preservation but fights muscle inflammation. USAGE: If you can’t eat six medium-sized solid meals a day, try substituting three meal replacements. Get 3–5 grams of creatine in your post-training meal and 5 grams of glutamine before and after training. For calorie support and to keep muscle soreness at a minimum, add 1 tablespoon of flaxseed oil to your shakes 1–3 times daily. 4) STRENGTH KIT • Creatine • ZMA • Protein Powder • Phosphatidylserine • Vitamin C • Vitamin E CONTENTS: Strength, roughly defined as the maximum amount of weight you can lift just one time, shouldn’t be confused with building size, which utilises a somewhat different training style. Yet they both utilise some of the same supplements and rely on good nutrition to help you reach your goals. EFFECTIVENESS: Don’t expect to add 50 pounds to your bench overnight. Do expect 10% increases in all your lifts across the board in just a few weeks. The 250-pound bench press ought to go to 275 for reps, the 300 squat to 330. Remember, training for strength is done with 3–6-rep sets, which provides the major stimulus for change. HOW THE KIT WORKS: No other nutrient impacts strength quite like protein; if you’re off on this, your programme is toast. Creatine increases power. One potential area of strength nutrition — cortisol control — focuses on minimising this catabolic hormone. In one study, high doses of vitamin C taken after training were effective. Other research indicates very high doses of vitamin E, taken once daily for two weeks, yielded a drop in creatine kinase activity, a marker for muscle-fibre injury. In theory, suppressing injury supports strength. Phosphatidylserine (PS) and glutamine round out the anti-cortisol bunch. PS can blunt cortisol release. Keeping cortisol under control supports testosterone levels that, in turn, significantly affect strength. USAGE: You’ll need at least 1.5 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight daily, so powders will help here; if you weigh 200 pounds, you’ll need 300-plus grams a day. Take ZMA as directed on the label an hour before bedtime on an empty stomach. Take 400 milligrams of PS before training, followed by 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C, 800 units of vitamin E and 3–5 grams of creatine with a post-training meal or shake. 5) ENDURANCE KIT Carb Drink • Glycerol • N-Acetyl Cysteine • Branched-Chain Amino Acids • American Ginseng CONTENTS: Endurance is about energy — having plenty of glycogen stores to prevent fatigue and the immune system from crashing. In a nutshell, that’s what these supplements will do. They work to build up glycogen stores, hydrate the body, keep hormone levels that support recovery intact and prevent ups and downs in energy levels, a potentially undesirable side effect of a carb-rich diet. EFFECTIVENESS: Training your muscles to perform at a high level over a long period requires a far different approach than training for short bursts of energy and power. Fatigue begins to take over and performance can suffer. This kit helps stave off exhaustion so you experience improved times and recovery, and you’ll feel better, too. HOW THE KIT WORKS: Carbs used to be king for the endurance athlete, but today you have other considerations. Take, for example, the post-training drink. Recent research prefers a combination of carbs with protein to ratchet up insulin levels, reversing muscle damage associated with exercise. The quasi-fat glycerol helps hydration, a limiting factor in performance, especially when it’s hot. Testosterone, which helps recovery, can fall with heavy aerobic work, but BCAAs taken before exercise can help prevent this decline. N-acetyl cysteine boosts levels of glutathione, a stress-fighting antioxidant that can assist in recovery. And while a high-carb diet is still a must, it can deliver unwanted results: most notably, crashing blood-sugar levels. American ginseng can help keep sugar levels stable, which equals better energy and less accumulation of bodyfat. USAGE: Drink 60 ml of glycerol mixed with 1 litre 1–2 hours before exercise. Immediately before exercise, take 5 grams of BCAAs, and afterward combine 80–100 grams of a carb drink or maltodextrin with 20–25 grams of protein from whey powder. Consume 600–1,000 milligrams of N-acetyl cysteine after training and 500 milligrams of standardised ginseng twice daily before any two meals. M&F To order Chris Aceto’s books Championship Bodybuilding or Everything You Need to Know About Fat Loss, visit www.nutramedia.com This article is for information purposes only. Weider Publishing Ltd does not accept liability for the effect of reported supplements or products, legal or illegal. It is the responsibility of the individual to abide by the dosage allowances specific to their country of residence. Always consult a doctor before commencing supplementation or changing dosage.