A little bit of background first. I used to lift 4-5 days a week for about 5-6 years straight. Used creatine, pre workouts, protein, multi and fish oil. The next couple of years I lifted on and off due to work and getting married. Never really got back into the normal routine like previous years. Now with work and everything else stable, I have been going to the gym 4-5 days a week for the last 3 months (no supps besides multi and whey). I want to get a decent stack put together but the industry has changed quite a bit and need some advice.
Age: 30
Weight: 195
Height: 6' 3"
Body Fat: 10-12%
Goals: Build Muscle
ON Gold Standard Whey
Men's Multi Vitamin
Want to add a creatine product, pre workout (read about mesomorph or hypermax xt), maybe try ArA I did use xfactor years ago but don't know if anything changed. I will research more and appreciate your suggestions.
Brands used in the past, Controlled Labs, Gaspari, ON, BSN, and Dymatize.
I'll address every one here.
Creatine:
SNS Creatine Monohydrate (tubs will last you for years)
PES Ergonine (everyday ergogenic staples including Creatine)
OL Tr1umph (same as Ergonine, but has Phosphatidic Acid instead of HICA which is considered a natural anabolic due to mTOR stimulation and glycogen retention)
Pre Workout:
OL Conqu3r Unleashed (well balanced, uses ingredients meant for pre-workout)
APS MesoMorph (never tried this but it's worth a mention, but DMAA apparently gives absurd energy if that's what you're going for)
PES High Volume (crazy pumps, no stims)
ArA is still good and hasn't changed. It's an old ingredient with studies to back it depending on your ability to tolerate possible increased joint pain/DOMS. Epicatechin supplements are good for overall health and increasing the density of your workouts (if this is remotely fits into your style of training). If you do high frequency training (hitting body parts 2+ times a week), consider supplementing HMB-CA (not FA), Scivation Xtend Perform (it has a new ingredient proving to help with recovery) and even transdermal Laxogenin. Forskolin supports favorable body composition (preserves LBM when dieting, prevents fat gain when bulking) and it is good to dose anywhere from 50-100mg for 8-12 weeks. Other than that, you won't need much else other than your basics and a good training program.
Other useful supplements that are cheap and good are Ashwagandha (you can get KSM-66 for cheap) and Rhodiola Extract. These two reduce overall stress and stress from training so you can train for longer without deloading. KSM-66 has a million benefits, including test boosting, cortisol CONTROL (meaning it does not reduce it unless it's excessive), favorable body comp, etc. You can read most of these on the internet from Examine and anecdote on these forums.
If you're cutting, those adaptogens above are great. Add Yohimbine HCL/Alpha-Y if you need an extra boost and want to cut off the stubborn fat. If your joints are getting hammered, consider Cissus, Curcumin, and Boswellia Serrata.
Hope you don't fall into the trap that many do (including something I did in the past) of stacking 3 or more natural anabolics. Huge waste of money.
