by Karen Lirio

Anabolic Injection, 1MR, Pink Magic, Monster Mass, Meltdown. What on earth are these things, what do they do, and should I be using them?

Sports supplements are big business and it’s not unusual to see people of all shapes, sizes, ages and backgrounds leaving supplement stores with literally hundreds of dollars worth of these things. But should we be spending our hard earned cash on this stuff, is it really necessary, or worse, is it all just a gimmick?

Any kind of supplementation, whether for health or performance, is only useful if we are in need of supplementation. It would be highly unlikely for example, that someone young, healthy and active, with a diet rich in low fat dairy products, would need to take calcium tablets. Just as it would be unlikely that Betty next door would need to take Glutamine Powder to support her evening walks with the dog.

Having said this though, anyone involved in intense training, such as a regular gym goer who pushes heavy weights five days per week, may genuinely require additional nutrients, energy and fluid beyond what is necessary for general health.

Intense training requires increased micronutrients like Amino Acids for building muscle tissue, Electrolytes for replenishing micronutrient loss, B Vitamins to combat metabolic stress, Glutamine to facilitate muscle repair and Antioxidants to reduce the risk of low immune function. Most of these additional requirements should be provided by the additional food and fluid intake that increased activity encourages however poor food quality, a restricted calorie intake for weight loss, or the desire to optimise results at any cost, may make you wish to consider some degree of sports supplementation.
Not sure where to start? Seek professional advice, keep it simple, and start out small.
Here are the Top Four:
1. CREATINE MONOHYDRATE

Creatine is the most important muscle building and performance enhancing nutrient available to athletes. It is a naturally occurring nutrient in our body, found mostly in muscle tissue. ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is also found in muscle tissue and is responsible for explosive energy. ATP is only good for about ten seconds of this explosive energy however, losing one of its phosphate molecules and becoming ADP (adenosine diphosphate) instead. This is where creatine kicks in, transferring one of its phosphate molecules to ADP to recreate ATP. The more creatine you have loaded into your muscle tissue the more ATP your body can recreate for greater strength and power, and reduced fatigue.

2. L- GLUTAMINE

Glutamine is an extremely important amino acid (protein) for athletes. It is the most abundant amino acid in the body, making up approximately 60% of all cellular amino acids. It has a major affect on liver function, acts as a fuel for muscle and other cellular tissues, and is responsible for protein synthesis (muscle building).
While glutamine is able to be manufactured by the body, the demands of intense exercise can reduce stores quicker than they can be replenished. Under these conditions, glutamine supplementation can be of great benefit. If the body is forced to use other amino acids for glutamine production then there are less available for protein synthesis (muscle building) or worse, muscle will be broken down to access these other amino acids. The greater the glutamine pool in your muscles, the greater the potential for muscle building rather than wastage.

3. WHEY PROTEIN POWDER

Intense training has now been scientifically shown to increase protein and amino acid needs. Athletes require 2.2 - 3.3 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, per day. It is recommended that at least 50% of this protein comes from whole foods such as lean beef, chicken, fish, pork, lamb, eggs and protein rich vegetables.

The benefit of supplementing with whey protein powder is its high BV (biological value) rating and low number of calories in comparison to whole foods. The BV of a protein is a measure of its ability to be utilised by the body. The higher the BV the better. The BV of pre-digested undenatured whey protein for example is 157, while the BV of egg white is only 87.

The most important protein intake for athletes is post-workout, and can contain up to 25% of the total daily intake. Whey protein powder is perfect for this meal, being readily absorbed and without a high number of additional calories. Consume with a serve of carbohydrates to replenish muscle energy stores and further increase muscle building.

4. CAFFEINE
The effects of caffeine on physical performance and body fat reduction are now too great and well documented to be ignored. Used wisely, some might consider caffeine’s benefits to far outweigh its possible risks.
The most frequent beneficial finding of caffeine use is that it increases the use of body fat as energy. When taken with food, caffeine increases the rate at which this food is converted into useable energy. When taken between meals it encourages the release of fat stores into the bloodstream for use as energy by most of the organs in the body. Caffeine also stimulates the temperature regulating centres of the body, the increased activity of which may use energy that would otherwise have been stored as fat.
The effect of caffeine on mental alertness is well documented and can contribute to making physical activity feel less challenging. In addition to this however, caffeine has also been found to increase oxygen uptake during endurance exercise, spare muscle glycogen stores by increasing the use of free fatty acids for fuel, reduce the build-up of performance draining lactic acid and increase calcium permeability for muscle contraction. All of which results in increased endurance and intensity of exercise with a reduced perception of effort. And who couldn’t do with some of that!