Pre workout

[Cdsnuts]

Creatine, from a reputable brand, is a significant positive in my opinion. It’ll help you lift a little more, so there’s no reason not to use it if you can afford it. And creatine is pretty cheap. I personally use German Creatine because it’s made in Germany, and I’m trusting them not to be spiking it with testosterone powders or anything else that shouldn’t be there.

As for preworkout supplements, here’s my take on them. I don’t feel energized when I walk into the gym, but after my warmup set, listening to some music, I’m in the zone and I’m ready to go. Maybe I would be able to lift more if I took pre-workout, but I’m extremely sensitive to stimulants - if I have 1 cup of coffee at 1 PM, I won’t be able to fall asleep until 3 AM. Other people could pound pre-workout, do a 90 minute workout, go home, and fall asleep - that’s so different than me that I can barely wrap my mind around it. So everyone is different, and maybe you’d be able to sleep normally after taking preworkout powder.

I’m not saying BCAAs, preworkouts, or protein powder are bad or they shouldn’t be taken. But personally I would always try the non-powder alternatives first. If you can eat more meals of high quality real food, you may be able to hit your macros without protein powders. And if you sleep enough and maybe have coffee and listen to music, maybe you don’t need the preworkout powder. But, if you try that and you do need the powder, cool, that’s what it’s there for.

I have a friend who eats Soylent powder every day, as his only meal, and I know people who get most of their calories from whey protein shakes, need preworkout to wake up in the morning, drink BCAAs all day long because they think their muscles are going to disappear overnight if they don’t, and they take more preworkout before they work out. I would just try to avoid becoming Powder Man. The powders on the protocol are things that have been safely used for hundreds or even over a thousand years, but this other stuff is made in a lab and I’d be worried about the downsides of taking all these manmade powders all the time.

If you do take the preworkout powder because coffee doesn’t work for you, you should cycle off of it when it starts becoming less effective. Take a few weeks off and then go back on if you still need it. You don’t want to be constantly upping the dose until you’re taking 4 times the normal dose, going through a $30 tub of preworkout every week. It’s not as big of a problem with coffee, because it’s just coffee. If you become that guy who needs 4 cups of coffee in the morning, it’s still very cheap and it’s not unhealthy.

Solid advice here.^^^^^

I'm the same way with stims. I really shouldn't have any caffeine after 2pm if I want some decent sleep that night. And we all know those guys who seem to take more pills and powders then actual food......not good. Those things are called supplements for a reason. They are meant to supplement your current diet, not replace it.