Post-Holiday Fitness Series: Supplements & Vitamins

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The final Post-Holiday Fitness Series article deals with supplements and vitamins. While having a sound meal plan and workout routine are most important to achieving your fitness goals, supplements and vitamins can provide additional assistance, depending on what your goals are. However, fitness supplements should not be used as a replacement for putting in hard work or making healthy eating choices. The common misnomer is because you take a thermogenic or other supplement then that means that you can ease up on your meal plan. Supplements should only be used as a supplement to your fitness program.

Using supplements and vitamins as part of your fitness program provides many benefits including:

• Help to provide energy during your workouts
• Helping muscles to heal post-workout and while sleeping
• Speed up fat-burning
• Boost your immune system
• Assist with joint support especially if you have problems with bad joints, arthritis or other similar conditions

Current Supplement Stack & Timing of Supplements

My current supplement stack focuses on providing energy pre- and during workouts, quick recovery post-workout and promote fat-loss. For each of the below supplements, I have provided a link that will provide you with more information, mostly thanks to great database on Bodybuilding.com.

• Nitric Oxide (N.O.) Booster
• Creatine
• Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs)
• Thermogenic
• Whey Protein
• Zinc Magnesium Aspartate (ZMA)

In addition to these workout supplements, I also use a variety of vitamins that help maintain a healthy immune system, promote joint support and a variety of other benefits.

• Multi-Vitamin
• Vitamin C
• Glucosamine & Chondroitin with MSM
• Flax Seed Oil
• Omega-3 Fish Body Oils

Unless you have previous experience taking supplements, I do not recommend simply copying my current supplement stack. Each of these supplements and the levels that are consumed have been carefully put together after years of taking supplements. Also, different brands will contain different serving sizes, dosages and timing. If you have never taken supplements or vitamins, do your research and consult with your  doctor ahead of time.

There are thousands of different supplements and vitamins that you can take. These are the ones that work for me. Approximately once every 4-6 months I will completely cycle off of my supplements for a week to allow my body to cleanse itself of any toxins and not to plateau using from supplement use. I also regularly change up the brands that I use to provide a shock to my system.

Wake up/Pre-Workout

• 2 scoops NO-Xplode
• 2 scoops Amino Energy
• 3 pills Nitrix

Post-Workout

• 1 scoop CellMass
• 2 scoops Amino Energy
• 2 pills Lipo-6X

30 minutes Post-Workout

• 2 scoops Syntha-6 protein
• 1 Opti-Men multi-vitamin
• 1 Glucosamine & Chondroitin with MSM
• 1 Flax Seed Oil
• 1 Omega-3
• 1 Vitamin C-1000

30-45 minutes Pre-Lunch

• 1 scoop NO-Xplode
• 3 pills Nitrix
• 1 pill Lipo-6X

Post-Lunch

• 1 Opti-Men multi-vitamin
• 1 Flax Seed Oil

30-45 minutes Pre-Dinner

• 1 scoop CellMass

Post-Dinner

• 1 Opti-Men multi-vitamin
• 1 Glucosamine & Chrondrontin with MSM
• 1 Flax Seed Oil
• 1 Omega-3

1 hour Pre-Bed

• 3 ZMA

Immediately Pre-Bed

• 1 scoop Syntha-6

There you have it. We have covered the three points of the fitness triangle. While we have briefly covered each topic, there are an endless number of websites, magazines, books and other resources that you can continue learning about fitness, healthy eating, supplements, vitamins and everything else related to leading a healthier lifestyle.

Was this fitness series helpful to YOU? What other topics would you like to see covered? Let me know in the comments.

Photo Credit: mikelietz