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Uses of nutritional supplements?

TangyTomTangyTom Posts: 1
in General Chat
Wanted views on sports supplements and their benefits. Currently I dabble a little bit in some SIS gels and some Maxiraw whey protein and their carb powder but is that enough? The big area for me really is recovery , seem to be struggling a lot more as I get on a bit!

My diet is pretty solid but is there anything essential that I should ad post-training?

Thanks,
Tom.

Comments

  • BlinkybazBlinkybaz Posts: 1,144
    I am a big fan of moo abd banana shakes. Semi skimmed milk and 2 banana's do it for me after a intese session. Just mix it up and neck it. the golden rules for recovery need to be followed though. You MUST get something to eat withion 20 m ins of exercise and then eat properly within 2 hours. There are people who say white bread Banana sandwich with honey is also a great recovery post exercise snack.

    I use SIS gels but only isotonic ones and no caffine. Its SIS because i like the flavour and they stay do rather than the syrup ones which repeat on me.

    I am also a fan of fish oil and Vit tablets. That might just be me as they say they dont work but if its a placebo then long may it last.
  • LancsRiderLancsRider Posts: 205
    Tom give us a clue on things like how much training do you do, what is you age and what are your goals, as this would help.

    What do you see a being supplemental. If I go out on a long bike ride 5hrs plus nutrition on the bike after a bit has to get beyond supplemental and falls into essential otherwise I will not get home. As such energy drinks, energy bars are my common forms of essential nutrition supplemented by the odd gel in an emergency scenario, my brand of choice is SIS.

    I am fortunate in that I can train in effect full time and so post exercise I am able to make food an imediate priority and get something in me as soon after the session as is possible. I start the day with a good carbohydrate based breakfast and wait for this to be digested prior to training, longer for a run than bike. If this is a short run sub hour and it is not deserving of a full meal a can of regular Coke and some fruit normally a banana is what I will do post exercise. If I am doing a mid afternoon session such as a 2/3 hr bike I will put a reasonable amount of carbs into a lunch together with protein normally chicken or an oily fish. In the evening I will have a solid meal and try and keep this early between five and six and make this protein based and try and keep out a lot of starchy carbs which I tend to crave. If I have had a hard day and I know I need to boost my calories I do use whey protein mid evening and if I am doing a late night swim I will have a large fruit smoothie to pick me up.

    I will use energy products for longer runs and swim sessions over the hour mark, less than this I am happy with a bottle of water at the end of the pool lane and a snack after the session on the way home if durring the day, treat time a bit of fruit cake or malt loaf.

    As you can see my preference is for food, not synthesised alternatives where possible. I can understand that time and ease of use may be a factor in this, but knowing what you are putting into your system is what is important and this requires a bit of research.

    I also take a number of supplements in the morning, Omega3, multivitamin, flaxseed oil, Q-10, and green tea extract ideas taken from a good book 'racing weight', not sure how much good they do but as I am still going I keep this up. If I am doing a period of strength training I also add creatine into the whey protein drink at night. Hope this help a little but it is difficult without more information, and I know if you are a bit more specific I am sure you will draw a better response as there are some qualified nutritionalists who regularly post on here who are better placed to pass comment, hope this gets things going in the meantime.
  • jonEjonE Posts: 1,113
    Lancsrider and Baz appear to have covered most,but you say you struggle in the recovery as you are getting on.
    After what exercise or session does this fail to recover quickly happen,is it after all exercise,only exercise at a certain intensity,or duration,or both.
    If you can narrow it down,to specifics,then you might be able to pinpoint which is the supplement to take rather than playing darts in the dark and spending lots of cash on supplements that are in a good diet.
    What sort of poor recovery,is it a reduced immune system,then more Green Tea and possibly Glutamine/Glutamic acid may help.
    Joint pain then Vit E,cod liver oil,Glucosamine and chondrotine,devils claw,ginger root may help.
    Just general soreness and taking an extra day to get back to normal,then possibly its old age,so reduce the intensity,and slowly increase the duration.
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