Tuesday, May 21, 2013

The Best and Cheapest Body Building Supplements

You'd be surprised to find that the best body building supplements  are also the cheapest. To understand what the best body building supplements are you must first understand the body building supplement industry. Instead of taking the time to type it out here is a short video from the documentary "Bigger, Stronger, Faster*"


Basically the Body Building Supplements that you buy at your local nutrition store are more times than not completely dishonest. First off most of the ingredients in these supplements have little to no scientific evidence  of real results. The ingredients that do work and have strong scientific proof are often way under dosed. For example most pre-workout/energy supplements contain N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine. This substance has been proven to improve focus during a lack of sleep. However the dose used to accomplish this effect in scientific studies was 150mg per kg of body weight (daily), or 49,500 mg for the average male adult. Most supplements contain well under  1,000 mg of N-Acetyl-L-Tyrosine.

All this being said, if you are looking for the best and cheapest body building supplement  your best option is to create your own to tailor towards your own personal needs. You can do this in a couple easy steps.
  1. Pick a couple of your favorite/best/most popular body building supplements.
  2. Google the ingredients along with the word "study" 
  3. Make a list of the ones that have significant scientific proof along with their recommended dosage.
  4. Order the raw ingredients in bulk, you can find most of them at Amazon.com
  5. Measure out your ingredients and mix them together
Its that simple. You will save tons of money and enjoy supplements with much better results. You can tailor your personal body building supplements to meet your own personal needs and goals.

Remember to consult with your doctor before starting any sort of dietary supplementation.

Jack3d Micro Ingredients Review: A Scientific Look At Effectiveness

This is an ingredient review on Jack3d Micro. This review is based solely on the ingredients in Jack3d Micro, and their effectiveness based on their scientific evidence. Jack3d Micro is the reinvented updated version of the original USP Labs pre-workout Jack3d, which included a controversial ingredient called 1,3-dimethylamylamine.

Jack3d Micro's ingredients are divided up into two categories, the ENOS Super Performance System™ and the CNS Contractile Stimulant System™.

The ENOS Super Performance System™ is what USP labs claims to be the ingredients that give you your "pump."
  • The first ingredient is L-citrulline or also known as Citrulline. The supplement brand claims that this ingredient "aids in opening and relaxing the blood vessels (1)" and that it gives you those "nitric oxide pumps (1)." However there are no studies to back this up, in fact there isn't even one listed on the product page. The only real study that I could find on Citrulline and its effects on physical exercise reported a DECREASE in performance (2). Read more at WebMD.
  • Arginine Nitrate is claimed to boost "the body's nitric oxide levels (1)." In reality Arginine Nitrate, and other NO boosting supplements only seem to be effective in low to moderately trained subjects. Highly trained athletes showed no benefit from NO boosting supplements (3).
  • Agmatine Sulfate is said to improve NO levels (read source 3) and "increase the production of certain hypothalamic and pituitary hormones that boosts testosterone levels (1)." USP Labs also claims that "there are so many research studies on the benefits of agmatine, it's ubelievable (1)." How ever they listed none of these "studies" and a google search turned up nothing. Most supplements containing Agmatine Sulfate recommend 1.5-3.5 g of Agmatine Sulfate for a so called "test boost" (again, this is not backed up by any scientific studies that I am aware of). Jack3d Micro only contains 2.2 grams of this proprietary blend, total, that's including all other ingredients in the ENOS Super Performance System™, so therefore even if Agmatine Sulfate is an effective supplement, it is likely under dosed.
  • Grape Seed Extract though grape seed extract does seem to improve cognitive health (4) its rolls in a pre-workout supplement's effectiveness are most likely minuscule, especially in such a small dose.
 CNS Contractile Stimulant System™ is the proprietary blend that USP Labs claims gives you energy.
  • Caffeine is likely the stimulant in Jack3d Micro that effects your workout most. You can read more at WebMD.
  • Norcoclauring HCL/Higenamine is what USP Labs used to replace DMAA from the original Jack3d. Though they did list numerous studies (animal) to back up all of their claims around norcoclaurine HCL however actual studies on humans are very very limited according to WebMD
  • Caffeic Acid. Though it has not been tested in humans much it does show promise. A test with animals showed that Caffeic Acid or 3,4-Dihydroxycinnamic Acid increased exercise tolerance. However a healthy dose for humans has not been etablished according to WebMD.
There is one final ingredient to Jack3d Micro, Vitamin C. However Jack3d Micro is an expensive source of it.

Learn how to make your own pre-workout here

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