Super Savvy Supplements

Walking into your local vitamin shop can be an intimidating hassle: the selection of repeated merchandise, the amazing claims of each brand, the TV adverts playing over in your head and, of course, the fevered recommendations of your all-knowing gym buddy. Sometimes I enter for one simple item and leave with a scheduled window-of-time for the delivery man.

One thing that will always set supplements apart in my book is whether they pose a risk to my health - in addition to their supposed benefit. Quite often, any info you read about a product is supplied by the company themselves and, therefore, will not  contain any literature that creates cause for concern. Lesson: do your research...or take my advice. Not one to dwell on the negative, below I list only the positives, the beacons of light and hope that will help you to obtain your own body of death, without actually risking it.

1. Multivitamin - surprisingly often overlooked by amateur bodybuilders, the importance of a multivitamin cannot be stressed enough. I recommend the HealthPak 100 from USANA. It's brilliance is too detailed to divulge here, so I'll offer a link...and if you are so inclined, I can order you some:

http://products.usana.com/en/products/us/essentials/health_pak.shtml

2. Creatine - no eureka, as research consistently shows that creatine increases muscle mass AND muscle strength. I recommend TRAC from MHP, immediately following your workouts: BOO-YAY, BITCHES.

3. L-Glutamine - the most abundant amino acid in your muscle tissue, that can see 40% depletion after a proper training session. I recommend Glutamine Peptide by Sports Science Research, taken ideally post-workout and pre-bed.

4. Natural Hormone Modifiers - the good stuff, the fun stuff, the stuff that we think and hope will make a huge difference...and does: Legally!! To boost testosterone, try Acetabolan II by Muscle Tech before bedtime and to boost growth hormone, try Alpha GPC by Chemi Nutraceutical about an hour before training and just before bedtime.

5. Protein - need I really explain? Thought not...just be aware that 2 grams of protein is the daily recommendation per kilo of body weight...(divide your lbs by 2.2 to get your weight in kilos)...so, at 95 kilos, I strive to eat 190 grams of protein a day, split over 6 meals. Personally, I recommend Myoplex, 100% Whey Protein or Muscle Milk, depending on personal preference for taste, consistency, etc etc. However, one suggestion I implore is to blend every shake with fruit, such that the sugar can help deliver the healing protein to your starving, well-deserving muscles.

Add these 5 supplements to your already kick-ass, Markie de Sade training routine and you're gun' kill it...with a skillet.