Supplements for Triaths to Build Muscle

hey, i take NO2, its a HemoDilator. It says it stimulates the production of nitric oxide which in turn dilates your blood vessels increasing the blood flow to your muscles. I'm not sure about all the science behind it, but i have taken it for about 3 months and it is great stuff. It also helps with recovery. I have friends who lift and take it who love it, and runner and cyclist friends as well. Its kinda pricey and you ahve to take alot of it each day, but i definatley have noticed results from using it. I also take a Multi vitamin and vitamin E and some omega 3's. you can get it at GNC

where can you buy the NO2??

funny signature!

I heard this EPO stuff works well...I guess it can technically be considered a supplement

Do you get that stuff from Dr. Nick? 

Spend some time here:

http://www.gssiweb.com/sportssciencecenter/topic.cfm?id=48

All you need is something like 10 - 20 grams of protein after a weight workout. 1.5 grams per day per kilogram of bodyweight. Just regular old protein (eggs, lean meats, fish, milk, soy) is all you need, like a tuna sandwich. Don't forget to eat carbs after a workout too.

Creatine is a supplement that has been proven to work.

NO2 can be found at your friendly neighborhood GNC. But be warned, it's almost cheaper to be a crack addict than to stay up on NO2 ($100+ a month if you take the recommended dose every day). You'll here mixed reviews on it.

Creatine is one of the only proven effective supplements that doesn't break the bank (or give you cancer in your pituitary). But there have been conversations on this board about how the water weight gain can actually be counter-productive to your tri-training.

It should be noted that you have pretty tough expectations (gain muscle, but not weight). It is possible to gain muscle while dropping fat, but it is not easy (depending on how much fat you have to lose).

bts

yea, i bought the creatine and hated it. it made me extremely thirsty which obviously leads to the water retention and weight gain. not good for triath training.

thanks for the insite

yea, i bought the creatine and hated it. it made me extremely thirsty which obviously leads to the water retention and weight gain. not good for triath training.

thanks for the insite

yea, i bought the creatine and hated it. it made me extremely thirsty which obviously leads to the water retention and weight gain. not good for triath training.

thanks for the insite

The tough part with bodybuilding supplements is that many of the ones that bodybuilders use to get even more "cut" and are legal for competition in that arena are banned in triathlon. Human Growth Hormone is one that comes to mind There are some interesting articles at bodybuilding.com, but keep in mind that they sell the stuff they pump up. Still, you can't beat their prices on things like Myoplex, amino acid and creatine supplements.

You can save yourself a bunch of money by switching from the GNC stuff to something like Centrum Performance (or a derivative generic). When you add up the numbers, the GNC stuff just seems way overpriced to me. Take a look at the serving sizes on your GNC and compare it to something else... Just my 2psi.

-Frank

I'm kind of thinking the same thing you are. NO2 helps increase oxygen delivery to the muscles. WADA prohibits anything that enhances oxygen transfer. How is NO2 different than EPO.

Forget the suppliments and just put in the time.

EPO stimulates the production of red blood cells which helps transfer oxygen in and lactic acid out. NO2 Has no effect on the production of red blood cells.

and also i dont take supplements to cut my training time down or take them instead of training i take them to help out training and performance. its not like i am just taking this stuff and sitting on my couch expecting to get better, i know in order to improve it takes countless hours in the pool on the road and on my bike. Its all good if you arent into taking supplements, but i am.


Edited by TheCecil 2005-02-24 5:38 PM

Ok, EPO helps transfer oxygen by increasing the number of red blood cells. NO2 increase oxygen delivery to the muscles by increasing nitric oxide levels. WADA prohibits anything that enhances oxygen transfer. Should NO2 be banned or is it already?

I dont know if its banned, but if i find out that it is, i will stop immediatley, and jsut take my multi and continue to train.

I highly encourage the use of glutamine, check out the studies, it is shown to be in lower than normal amount in those who perform strenious activity. (Triathletes) No to mention I think it helps with swelling and it got me over a lifting plateau when I was hard into that. I'm pretty skeptical about sup's but I believe in the glute.

Also do the math, to increase muscle and keep weight the same you either need to lose an arm or cut bodyfat.

Agreed- protein is essential and the most important nutritional building block to muscle.  I'm curious where you got the 1.5 grams per day.  I have spent over a decade focusing on strength training and everything I have seen says .75- 1 gram per lb per day.  Even when I was counting every little thing I ate and drinking 2 PWS's per day, I couldn't consume more than 1 gram per lb.  It is just too hard to eat that much.  The timing of different proteins is important- fast absorbing (whey) immediately following working out, slow absorbing (casein) prior to bed.

Regarding creatine- there has been so much written on it that you could never read it all.  Yes, it works.  But it primarily compliments strength building (fast twitch) as opposed to endurance (slow twitch).  In order to get results from it you must take consistently to build up the levels in your body.  Simply taking it here and there would be a waste of money.  I don't want to get into one of the endless debates on the merits of creatine (go to Men's Health and do a search- you'll see what I mean), but for tri training there are better ways to spend your money.

its to the kilogram of body weight not the pound. That is prob why you think it is difficult to take in the recommeded amount.

Ah!  Europeans and their crazy systems...

Check here for banned substances...

http://www.wada-ama.org/en/

-Frank

Thats what I was thinking the first time I saw the RDA for protein. I was like, now why in the hell would the USDA break it into kilograms when they know most people are really only comfortable with using pounds.

THis clearly seems like a guys thread, but I"ll give it a whirl. The original poster says, "I'm probably eating too many carbs." I'd say focus on a natural, unprocessed whole diet that includes complex carbs, whole grains for sustained energy, lean proteins (fish, soy, eggs, nuts, turkey) and healthy fats (olive, nuts, salmon), along with plenty of veggies and a few fruits. It sounds very basic, but until you've really sat down and given it a good shot by balancing your diet, i think that spending time & money on muscle supplements is silly. You really can get all the protein you need for a triathlete's body from your regular diet. Focus on the basics first, we can never stop trying to master them.

This may have been a guys thread, but it took a girl to set them straight...well said!!

The main thing you need to add is iron. Seriously, to build muscle you're going to have to lift weights and eat more calories than you consume. If you're currently training for a triathlon chances are you are burning quite a lot of calories (not to mention not having a lot of extra time for additional workouts.)

I consider myself a weightlifter. I'm doing the tri mostly for cross-training and because I wanted to lose some fat. I still lift weights at least twice a week (full body) just to help retain some muscle mass while I'm in a catabolic state, i.e., partition my weight loss more towards fat than lean. But it's hard. All this running and cycling and swimming is whittling me down and I'm definitely losing LBM, plus that makes 8 workouts a week and its a bit much to maintain. That's just to RETAIN some muscle. I don't see how you can train for a tri and bulk at the same time.

Cutting, bulking or maintaining: those are your choices. If you want to bulk then eat up and lift heavy.

Gwendal

|Cutting, bulking or maintaining: those are your choices. If you want to bulk then eat up and lift heavy.

Well said, but to be truly accurate you have to know where the person is in the lifting process. A new person or someone back from a long layoff can gain strength while following a triatheletes training. I noticed my own strength skyrocket in the last 8 weeks as it had been a good two year layoff since I last lifted. Gaining bulk should not be the goal which is why I have switched to a olympic style lifting program. I think this is better than a powerlifiting strategy of minimal reps because the olympic lifts i.e. the power clean, snatch etc. build functional multi joint strenght which I hope will benefit me much more than benching xxxlbs.

Another important point of muscle building that I am focusing on is curing the imbalances in my muscles quads/hams left side/right side.