Where have I been?

Shit man. I have been so fucking busy lately, I haven't been as productive as I should be, but I have been busy and still gotten what I need done.

Decided to play on the rugby team at school, that means waking up before 6:00 A.M. three times a week. I also play rep basketball which is 2 practices and possibly a tournament every week, I also lift. In a way I am overcommitting, but I am having a lot of fun, and I know I can be productive when I need to. My body is sore has been sore as fuck lately, my workouts have been decent considering the amount of cardio and other physical activity I do before hand. I also have a fucking triathlon for gym to do in a couple of weeks, I am not training specifically for it hopefully I can wing it and do decently just based on my athleticism currently.

I had a chem quiz the other day, I feel like I did well actually. I have a math test this Tuesday, but I have been peppering my angus for at least a month now, so I don't need to really study for it. I need to start learning physics since the test for that is inevitable and will come sooner or later, I don't really care what my mark is, honestly, I just need a 88+ so that I can get into the AP Grade 12 class next year. I have been doing quite a bit of research and reading on training nutrition, and have come upon the notorious field of supplements.

Supplements, supplements, supplements.

Notorious Preworkout

The marketing and advertising for supplements can really get to the average teenager or gym-goer. Seeing all the flashy ads with the jacked up, aesthetic males that go along with it is attractive, however will taking "xxx" supplement really do what is advertised? Fucking advertisements saying "5 lbs of muscle in 2 weeks! Guarenteed!" Its all bullshit. So how do the guys in the commercials get so jacked up?

Well three things: Genetics, Nutrition, Adaption to a Stress, Sleep. The importance proceeds in this order as well, from my previous post, we know genetics is key to anything and everything, however the majority of us have the genetics to get decently strong and decently lean, and when you are strong and lean, typically you will be aesthetic as well, which is what the commericals and ads like to advertise. Who doesn't want to be aesthetic?

Aesthetic as fuck.

So, what is the truth on supplements?

Well there is no truth really, supplements are supplements. Real food tops supplements any day, but it is much more convenient to get micro and macronutrients in supplement form. Its much faster and much more convenient to put a scoop of whey in a shaker and drink that then taking half an hour to cook up some chicken or beef post workout. Right? And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. One thing that you need to understand though, is that companies only produce these supplements to make money, they are here to help you, for the exchange of some money. From my research and experience the only 4 really important supplements are:

Whey Protein, Creatine, Multivitamin, Fish oil.

These are the big four in my opinion.

Purpose of whey is real straight forward, it helps you get your protein macronutrients in, the quality of protein is also high, quality of protein refers to how well you digest it and actually use the protein; quality of protein is measure by the amount of protein absorbed vs. the amount of protein consumed, the quality is given as a percentage. For whey, it is something like 97% although many whey companies will advertise 100%, but realistically nothing is 100% in nature. In comparison, soy protein is much lower, and about 80%. The protein quality does in fact make a difference however, say you take 3 scoops of whey a day, versus eating "xxx" amount of tofu, in that 3 scoops there is about 75 g of protein, and there are also 75 g of protein in the tofu. However due to quality issues, you will truly absorb, 74.8 g from the whey, but only 60 g from the tofu. In the long run this can make the difference. Another fact about whey is that it is fast digesting, this is another facet about protein that you need to consider. It does not necessarily enter the blood stream faster, but rather, it will be digested faster. Typically any protein, whether it is casein (slow digesting) or whey (fast digesting) will take about an hour to enter the blood stream. However, per hour, whey is digested much faster versus casein. Although I do not have the numbers off the top of my head you can search it up.

Second supplement being creatine. Creatine's functions increase performance and aid recovery. Creatine can be found in red meat, however the quantity of creatine in red meat is so small compared to just taking the supplement straight up. There have been many rumours about creatine causing your kidneys to explode, or causing cramps during workouts, however these are false for the typical person. Creating is hydrophilic though, which means it absorbs water, so if you aren't drinking enough, you will cramp. Essentially creatine will increase formation of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) which is the primary energy source for the anaerboic energy system. This system is used during heavy weight training and sprinting. When you do these high intensity activities you deplete your ATP and muscle glycogen, which you need to refill in order to maximize performance for the next set or workout. The supplement creatine will aid this process essentially. So although it is not completely neccessary, it helps a lot.

Third supplement, multivitamin, this one is pretty straight forward, makes sure you get all your micronutrients, keeps your immune system strong, etc, etc.

Last but not least is fish oil, fish oil consists of polyusaturated fatty acids, which are divided into omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids which you have all heard of. In a nutshell, fish oil will help with inflammation, boost testosterone levels, help combat cortisol levels (stress), and is an anti-catabolic agent. It does everything basically.

So yeah, that's basically it, everything else is extra, typically I will take some caffeine pre workout, especially if I am feeling sluggish, and I will eat a carb/protein meal also. There isn't need for the fancy pre workout supplement, especially if you are a beginner which most of us are in high school. I have been meaning to pick some creatine up lately, will do so next week, currently I am just taking whey.

Anyways, in terms of training I've worked out twice since last Tuesday, I'll refer to workouts as sessions, I workout on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, I will state otherwise if its another day.

So,

Session 4:
Front s - 242x3,242x3,243x4, 209x9
Bench - 191.4x3x2x2x2, 165x5, 154x8 FUUUUUUU
Pull ups - bwx10, +35x8, +60x5x5x5x4, bwx15
Dips - bwx10x15x15x13

Session 5:
Back s - 265x3x3x3, 225x10
press - 115x3x3x4, 95x10
Row - 165x5x5x5, 135x15
static holds and tricep work

Here is a video:


Gonna go do some work, peace.