Supplement Reviews

If you guys are taking creatine monohydrate by itself you are wasting your money. I recently found out why creatine never worked for me. I'm dosing is differently now and this video explains how to take it.

Please watch this fellas;

So I have finished my tub of Arnold Iron Mass and I have to do a follow up review because now that I have gone through the whole tub I have a different outcome for my review. I still feel the ingredients are good, the flavor is awesome, and all the positive things I stated in my first review still stand true. However, there is one key thing that will prevent me from ever purchasing this again and from every recommending it. I hate to give too much information here fellas but I have to post this because it is truly relevant to the review of the product. Arnold Iron Mass gave me the worst explosive diarrhea I have ever had in my life. It took a few days for it to kick in but I pretty much had it every day while I was taking the tub. I have since switched to Pro Jym protein blend by Jim Stoppani (review coming soon) and the diarrhea has immediately gone away.

So I just wanted to share this because it's not fun having uncontrollable explosive diarrhea every day and I don't think anyone should have to go through that while taking a supplement. I'm not sure exactly what was causing the diarrhea but I believe there are some proprietary blends in Arnold Iron Mass so I am thinking that there is some type of filler in one of those prop blends that did not agree with me. From this point forward I am staying away from any products with prop blends as I need to know exactly what is being put in my body and at what doses. This is exactly why I have all JYM supplements in my pantry now. I know there are some other brands out there that don't hide any ingredients and I know I probably sound like a Jim Stoppani fan boy right now but his products are so clean and so effective. I will give reviews later.

so yeah, stay away from the Arnold Iron Mass.

The fat content is high at 21g (190 calories from fat) and Dietary Fiber is at 1g. There is also a Prop Blend called "Pro Digest Blend" containing unknown amounts of Protease, Lactase, Amylase, Lipase, Inulin, and Fructooligosaccharides.

I'm thinking it might have been the fat. My diet is very low in fat.

It sounds like you've got the creatine dosing down perfectly. I just never realized that you need to take it with something to push it into the muscles (dextrose, etc..). I am now taking 16 to 32g of Dextrose post workout with my Post Jym drink to shove all those nutrients into my muscles post workout.

I don't think BCAAs are necessary if you are getting sufficient protein. I'd be surprised if there was a significant additional benefit of BCAAs in people who also supplement with protein.

I agree and disagree with this, and I believe amino acids are absolutely important and a waste of money at the same time. Allow me to explain gentleman .

First off, it depends on what your definition of sufficient is in regards to protein. Research has shown you need 40 grams of protein from chicken breast(s) in a meal to get a sufficient amount of amino acids in your diet. I'm not sure how it translates to other sources of protein however. So if on your off days you are getting the equivalent of that at every meal then I'd say you do not need to supplement with aminos.

In regards to amino acids taken pre, intra, and post workout I believe it all depends on what your expecting the aminos to do for you. If you take them only pre and/or intra and are expecting the aminos to help you build muscle then you will be disappointed. Aminos taken pre and intra workout will be used for energy by your body. I believe that aminos work very well for that purpose BUT research has shown that they will only work as an effective source of energy if taken in a 2:1:1 ratio. If taken in an 8:1:1 or a 10:1:1 ratio they will not be a good source of energy because the excessive amounts of Leucine in those higher ratio formulas will overpower the Valine. Valine is the amino acid that blunts fatigue and blocks Tryptophan. As many people know, Tryptophan is the amino acid which will makes you lethargic. So if you are taking an 8:1:1 or 10:1:1 ratio pre and/or intra then the amino acids will not be effective.

Aminos taken after your workout are when the aminos will be used to build muscle. You can take a higher ratio post workout and it will be effective to build muscle because thats when the Leucine (the first number in the ratio, the 8 or 10) will be used by the body to build muscle and work its magic. However, it is still recommended to use a 2:1:1 or a 3:1:1 ratio post workout because research has shown that these ratios actually work better at repairing and building muscle than the ratios with the high Leucine content.

Thanks for all the good info guys.

FYI I sometimes browse the forum in between my lifts working out.
Not sure if that will raise or lower my testosterone.

If you're working out fasted, i.e. intermittent fasting, then there will be no protein to get BCAAs from preworkout or intraworkout. BCAAs are pretty useless to take separately if you are already taking a pre-workout protein shake, but during a fast, they can be very necessary.

Here's an entertaining video I thought I'd post. Jim Stoppani is getting a little ticked off at the big name supplement companies out there. Just trying to spread the word and educate some people here guys.

lol...it's tough.  Oh and you didn't mention, being that I'm Jim Stoppani, I also have a PhD and I'm a fitness model.  I wear many different jeans.