A Couple Supplement Questions...

[WILLGETNICE]

Hey All,
Had a few questions about a few different supplements...

Is taking ZMA, Glutamine, and Optimum BCAA 1000 caps too much? My understanding is that all of these will help with recovery, thus helping with strength, and the BCAA's will help with test, but do they all pretty much do the same thing?

If I were on all 3, I would take the BCAA before and after my workout, the glutamine after my workout, and the zma before bed...which leads me to another question...

I usually have cottage cheese a little while before going to bed, but the zma says to take it on an empty stomach and to avoid taking it dairy or other calcium containing foods (I heard this may be because they compete for absorption but I could be wrong) any thoughts on this?

The only other supplements I take is cytogainer, ON whey, multi-v, and salmon oils. Thanks for any feedback. :strong:

[jdeity]

Hey All,
Had a few questions about a few different supplements...

Is taking ZMA, Glutamine, and Optimum BCAA 1000 caps too much? My understanding is that all of these will help with recovery, thus helping with strength, and the BCAA's will help with test, but do they all pretty much do the same thing?

If I were on all 3, I would take the BCAA before and after my workout, the glutamine after my workout, and the zma before bed...which leads me to another question...

I usually have cottage cheese a little while before going to bed, but the zma says to take it on an empty stomach and to avoid taking it dairy or other calcium containing foods (I heard this may be because they compete for absorption but I could be wrong) any thoughts on this?

The only other supplements I take is cytogainer, ON whey, multi-v, and salmon oils. Thanks for any feedback. :strong:

First things first, you seem like you need to read up a bit on nutrition, so I'd suggest reading some of the articles / threads around here to learn more.

Okay, about your questions.

The BCAA pills and the glutamine are, sorry to say, essentially pointless. Once you understand how nutrition works in bodybuilding, you'll see that to put on size (you only said strength, but I'm assuming you're also interested in size, as you typically need more muscle for more strength) you absolutely will need a certain amount of calories daily, and a certain amount of protein. Just by consuming that required amount of protein, you will have already consumed a ton of BCAA's and glutamine (both are amino acids - proteins are just strings of amino acids). And this is the kind of thing where you need to hit your daily requirements - more won't really make much difference, and if you're eating properly there is seldom a need for glutamine/BCAA supplementation.

ZMA is good for sleeping, I remember I'd get the most vivid dreams when using zma (although mine had valerian root in it too, and hops). But, your cottage cheese dilemma - you need to take the zma first. Cottage cheese is awesome because it's a very slow releasing protein, good for a nighttime meal/snack, but it will hurt the absorbtion of the zma, so I'd take the zma and then have my cottage cheese shortly thereafter (I would wait ~20 minutes, but that figure is just what I *personally* would do, I have no idea what the actual safe time period would be.)

[WILLGETNICE]

Hey thanks for the reply, I'm pretty up to speed on nutrition my question was just regarding the supplements. Originally I was really picky about the foods I ate or the supplements I took because I wanted to maintain my low bf% but for the past few weeks I've just been eating everything I can get my hands on and have gained about 12 pounds in 5 weeks.

Would anyone recommend ETS over the ZMA pills? Thanks

[Bako Lifter]

ETS > ZMA

[jdeity]

Hey thanks for the reply, I'm pretty up to speed on nutrition my question was just regarding the supplements. Originally I was really picky about the foods I ate or the supplements I took because I wanted to maintain my low bf% but for the past few weeks I've just been eating everything I can get my hands on and have gained about 12 pounds in 5 weeks.

Would anyone recommend ETS over the ZMA pills? Thanks

I wouldn't say you're up to speed on nutrition if you're supplementing the way you are, no offense or anything.

And you may wanna cut that bulk back a bit, 12lbs in 5 weeks? Jesus!

ETS over ZMA is like apples/oranges. I've used both, they're just different. ETS gave me a more noticable reduction in recovery times/decreased soreness, while ZMA's effects were far more pronounced through my heavier sleeping while using. Also take price into account - I know I liked ETS, but not for what they cost.

[chris mason]

Yes, ETS is MUCH better than straight ZMA.

BCAAs are not worthless, but their only real value is immediately PWO. If you have to choose between BCAAs and a protein powder supplement I would recommend the protien supplement. If you want the best protein supplement for PWO use give Opticen a try. http://www.atlargenutrition.com/post_workout_nutrition.php

[jdeity]

I can't imagine that in all cases a person is benefitted more by ETS than by ZMA. If you recover fine naturally, and have sleep issues, why wouldn't zma be a better choice?

Also, I guess I just don't get the logic behind BCAA's for postworkout. I will give you that they're better than nothing postworkout, but that doesn't give them a whole lot of merit in my book. Even you just stated that a protein supplement would be better. So why on earth would someone want to pay way more per dose to do BCAA's when they're inferior to protein in the first place? Don't get it :\