My Favorite Supplements

My Favorite Supplements

Below is the list of supplements that have helped me maximize my results during my P90X / Insanity / P90X2 transformation.  There are others I’ve tried, but I didn’t feel they gave me as much “bang for my buck” as these.  This is not to say that you NEED these.  I am just saying that I wouldn’t want to put in the time, effort, and energy into an intense workout program like P90X or Insanity without having these supplements to maximize the benefits of all that hard work.  With that said, here’s my favorite supplements — the ones I feel are ABSOLUTELY worth the cost:

I have THREE supplements in my “Must Have” list — things I think are essential and will help your body be at it’s very best =

1)  Shakeology = This is by far my favorite Beachbody supplement (in fact, it’s the only one on my “Must Have” list).  I gave it a trial run just to see what the hype was about (they offer a 30 day guarantee so you have nothing to lose).  Well, after the first month on Shakeology, I signed up for home direct and have been using it EVERY day since.  There seem to be 2 types of people when it comes to Shakeology – those who haven’t tried it and are skeptical about the price, and those who have tried it and now rave about it.  It does cost twice the amount of regular whey protein, but it’s got hundreds of nutrients and supplements in it, so comparing it to plain protein powder isn’t a fair comparison.  You’ll have to decide if it’s in your budget or not, but to me it’s worth the money.  To learn more, click here.

2)  Whey Protein Powder = You will need to consume a lot of protein to fuel your muscles.  You don’t have to use a protein powder if you plan on eating enough lean meats to meet your protein quota, but on a fat shredder diet that will take A LOT of meat!!  It’s more practical to plan on using a protein powder to help you meet your daily requirements.  Beachbody sells Whey protein powder, but I primarily use GNC’s Wheybolic Extreme 60 and Dymatize Iso-100 because they are a little more affordable and have a higher protein content per serving.   They also have enough glutamine in them that I don’t have to supplement it separately.  That’s handy for the budget.  Your body should get about 10g of glutamine per day in total, so if you don’t get that in your protein powder, you may need to buy some separately, but most good protein powders will give you that much, especially if you take 2-3 servings of protein powder each day (which I typically do).  To learn more about protein powders, click here.

3)  Results / Recovery Formula = When you push your body hard, it is critical to get out of the “catabolic” state and back into the “anabolic” state as quickly as possible.  Intense exercise depletes your body’s stores of glycogen, electrolytes, and naturally occurring creatine and glutamine.  It also causes your body to release cortisol (which will break down muscle for energy).  We want to exercise hard, but we want to reverse this catabolic process as fast as possible, and that’s why a recovery drink immediately after a workout is so important.  It needs a small amount of protein, a lot of fast absorbing carbs, electrolytes, creatine, and glutamine.  The Results / Recovery Formula has all of that, which is why I use it after every intense workout.  To learn more about it, click here.

This concludes my list of “MUST HAVE” supplements.  A person with just these 3 can expect PHENOMENAL results with their fitness.  But there are a couple extras that are in the “FUN TO HAVE” category, especially if building muscle mass is a priority of yours ….

4)  Creatine = This supplement helps volumize the muscles with fluid so that they can draw more nutrients in to aid with recovery and muscle building.  Creatine is also used by the body to generate energy during intense exercise (through ATP) which can improve performance and allow you to get those extra reps, thus pushing your muscles harder.  I get my creatine monohydrate from GNC (plain monohydrate …. NOT a mix with sugar and calories in it).  There is a lot of research out there about creatine (how to use it and what versions of it are “best”).  To learn more about creatine, click here.

5)  Pre-workout Energy Booster (like E&E / 1 MR / Jack3d) = I like the intensity and energy of a pre-workout supplement.  I have used Jack3d , N.O. Loaded, 1 MR, NanoVapor, and E&E.  Pre-workouts aren’t designed to taste good LOL, but they work great!  Most have creatine in them (the exception to that is the E&E, which does not have creatine in it).  They will also have stimulants like caffeine, and vasodilators like beta alanine.  Pre-workouts can affect different people differently, so it’s typical for people to have different “favorites”.  To see more on the E&E Pre-workout, click here.

6)  Intra-workout (like Xtend or Purple Wraath) = Since I work out on an empty stomach in the mornings, I like to get a little fuel (in the form of branched chain amino acids, or BCAA’s) during my workout.  It gives my muscles a little fuel, helps prevent a catabolic situation (like I talked about in the recovery formula section), and the intra-workout supplements also have some electrolytes and vasodilators which help with blood flow and getting a “pump”.  This isn’t a necessity, but when working out on an empty stomach I find it definitely helps me push harder and transition to recovery better.  I currently use Scivation Xtend, but have also used (and liked) Purple Wraath and Intrabolic.

I’ve addressed these supplements in my updated nutrition / supplement video, which you can watch below =