Supplements for Every Body | Signs of Deficiency | Get Micronutrients from Food Scraps | How Micros Impact Performance | Greens Supplements | Immune-Boosting Supplements

Every day, millions of people toss valuable vitamins and minerals in the trash. It happens every time they slice off those extra bits of certain vegetables and throw them away. You may think the best way to avoid a vitamin deficiency is to eat your veggies—and you’re right. But you might want to rethink where you think the ”vegetable” begins and ends.

It turns out, those parts of the plants that you never touch have some serious nutritional benefits. Many (but not all) edible tops, stems, and seeds are loaded with valuable micronutrients. What are micronutrients? They are vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants your active body needs to perform and look its best.

Here’s a look at some of the best sources of vitamins and nutrition in your home, plus ways to take those kitchen castaways and pull them back into your diet.

1. Broccoli Stalks

The florets aren’t the only part of a head of broccoli you should be eating. When the tough exterior is peeled away, broccoli stalks have a tender texture similar to asparagus, and a sweeter flavor than their flowering top. Best of all, they’re jampacked with vitamin C, which is involved in countless bodily processes. Not just a one-hit wonder, broccoli stalks are also a source of folate, potassium, and manganese.

How to prepare broccoli stalks: After you cut off the florets, use a vegetable peeler or sharp knife to remove the tough outer layer of the broccoli stalk. Sliced thinly and add to stir-fries, scrambled eggs, pasta dishes, or anything else you cook in a pan. You can also shred the peeled stalk and use it raw in salads and slaws—that’s what those popular ”broccoli slaw” bagged salads are! When cut into strips, a broccoli stalk makes a nutritious way to scoop up your favorite healthy dips.

Support health and athletic performance and fill micronutrient gaps with a daily multivitamin to keep your performance at peak levels.*  

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2. Beet Greens

Beets are the perfect two-for-one vegetable: The nitrate-rich bulbs and leafy tops are both edible and nutritious.

Chuck out or compost those slightly bitter greens, and you’ll be tossing away large amounts of vitamin C, and fat-soluble vitamins A and K. A mere cup of beet tops provides nearly twice the recommended daily amount of vitamin K, a nutrient necessary for both blood clotting and bone metabolism. And don’t overlook the edible greens attached to radishes; they too can up the health ante of your diet.

How to prepare beet greens: Use beet greens in dishes such as salads, pastas, and frittatas like you would other fiber-rich leafy greens like spinach and Swiss chard. For a nutritious—and delicious—side dish, try gently sautéing a bunch of beet greens with some olive oil and garlic.

3. Carrot Tops

Instead of asking yourself, ”What vitamins should I take?” consider asking, ”What are the most vitamin-rich foods in my refrigerator right now?” Carrots, with their bounty of vitamin A and other micros, should be at the top of your list. And speaking of tops—why are you tossing those carrot tops out? Feathery carrot tops are perfectly edible and have a pleasant taste reminiscent of parsley.

Although no official government nutritional analysis is available, these greens probably contain vital nutrients like the vitamin K found in other greens. There’s also research to suggest carrot tops have robust antioxidant content.

Just be sure to separate the tops from the carrots once you’re home from the market. Carrot tops draw moisture from the roots, potentially leaving you with carrots so limp not even Bugs Bunny would want to nibble on them.  

How to prepare carrot tops: Chop a handful of carrot tops and toss into everyday salads, or use them as you would an herb such as parsley in soups, grain salads, and bean salads. Also try using them as the main green in sauces such as pesto, chimichurri, or salsa verde that you use on meats and roasted vegetables.

Struggling to get enough veggies in your diet? Add one of these produce-packed powders!

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4. Watermelon Seeds

Sure, it’s fun to spit out watermelon seeds, but here’s why you should consider keeping them around: they’re packed with nutrients, particularly magnesium.

Magnesium does plenty on its own, but it’s also necessary to have around for the proper activation of vitamin D in our bodies. Given how much vitamin D is in the headlines these days, that’s worth considering more than ever.

How to prepare watermelon seeds: When it comes to watermelon seeds, don’t just spit them onto your plate. Instead, roast them in the oven like you would pumpkin seeds! The pleasantly nutty roasted seeds can then be used to add a nutritional punch to salads, trail mix, yogurt, homemade energy bars, and even oatmeal.

5. Swiss Chard Stems

Mostly overlooked in favor of this plant’s leafy tops, Swiss chard stems should be treated as a must-eat vegetable in their own right. They have a celery-like texture and bittersweet taste when eaten raw, but a softer texture and milder flavor when cooked, making them a savory addition to all sorts of dishes, like this Grilled Salmon with Chili Butter and Roasted Mushrooms recipe.

Like carrot tops, there’s no official nutritional data for chard stems. But we can use their color as a guide! The stems from vibrant rainbow chard are thought to be rich in health-boosting antioxidants such as carotenoids, as well as the amino acid glutamine.

How to prepare chard stems: Just chop up the stems or, for extra flavor, sauté them with garlic and oil and add them to stir-fries, omelets, soups, and stews. If you’re cooking the greens as well, cook the stems first, sauté them until they caramelize, and then toss in the greens for the last minute or two. Thinly sliced, they also make a pleasant and unexpected addition to salads. Some people even pickle chard stems, which can then be used to gussy up all sorts of things like sandwiches and scrambled eggs.

Looking to get more good stuff in your diet? Bodybuilding.com’s Recipe Database can show you how, for every meal and snack of the day!

The post Stop Throwing Away These Vitamin-Rich Foods! appeared first on Fitness Informers.

Supplements for Brain Power | Brain-Boosting Foods | Brain-Boosting Nootropics | Theanine for Brain Gains

New categories of supplements and vitamins pop up all the time, but not all of them prove beneficial or effective enough to last. Nootropic supplements, though, appear to be here to stay. They are sometimes called ”smart pills,” but that’s a misnomer since nootropics don’t increase your intelligence per se. They just help your nervous system work better. ”Smart pills” also doesn’t take into account the physical benefits nootropics can have.

When you take a nootropic supplement, you might not feel it working right away. It doesn’t give you a tingle like beta-alanine. But once you dig into your workday, or your workout, you might notice yourself feeling more focused, dialed in, and ready to face whatever challenge is ahead of you.

Sound appealing? It should. Here are five supplements that can help you discover this headspace.

1. Nitrosigine

What it does: Nitrosigine is a form of the amino acid arginine. Research has found that this nootropic can enhance the ability of gamers to complete mentally difficult tasks. But what works in esports can work in real-life sports, too. If you’re playing a sport and you’re able to execute your strategy cleaner and faster, you’re improving your game.

In addition to improving mental performance, nitrosigine has physical benefits, too. It’s a potent nitric-oxide booster that can help decrease fatigue and increase the pump during workouts.*

How much to take: Supplements often contain 500 milligrams-1.5 grams of nitrosigine. Tend toward the upper end of that range.

These formulas will help you to improve mental focus so you can be ready for anything life throws at you, whether it’s on the field, in the gym, or at the office.

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2. Cognizin

What it does: Cognizin is a form of citicoline, which is turned into acetylcholine. This nootropic supplement can help your nerves function efficiently. If you can enhance how fast your nerve impulses fire, you can enhance reaction time, mental focus, and even your memory.*

How much to take: The recommended dose is 200-1000 milligrams.

3. Caffeine Plus L-Theanine

What they do: You know caffeine, the world’s most popular stimulant. But what you might not know is that L-theanine can help boost caffeine’s upside and mitigate the downside.

Caffeine is a stimulant, whereas L-theanine has a relaxation effect. L-theanine is used with caffeine to enhance cognition while lessening the potential jittery side effects of taking caffeine on its own. This combination allows your body and brain to be more relaxed while simultaneously promoting a quicker reaction time, enhanced pain threshold, and the ability to do more work. It can help you feel more focused and waste less energy while achieving your goals.*

How much to take: Depending on your tolerance, 100-200 milligrams of caffeine or slightly more is a normal dose. Add 50-250 milligrams of L-theanine to feel its benefits.

4. Theacrine

What it does: Theacrine is an alkaloid that can act as a stimulant, but without having over-stimulatory side effects. This nootropic can improve your reaction time and ability to multitask. It can be combined with caffeine, nitrosigine, or cognizin. These supplements don’t interfere with its function, and studies show it even has a synergistic relationship with caffeine.

How much to take: The recommended dose is 125-200 milligrams, on its own or with other nootropic ingredients.

5. Vitamin B12 and Iron

What they do: Vitamin B12 and iron are two important micronutrients that we largely get from eating meat and other animal products. They’re not technically nootropics, but if you’re deficient in either, your cognitive abilities can suffer. Getting adequate levels of these nutrients in your body can help brain function similarly to nootropics.

Being vegetarian or vegan increases risk of deficiency in these micronutrients, and lifting or playing sports on top of that can make a deficiency worse. That’s why you’ll find both on registered dietician Paul Salter’s list of essential supplements for plant-based dieters.

How much to take: The recommended vitamin B12 dose is 2.4 micrograms. Iron dosages can vary based on need, but common recommendations are 8 milligrams for men, and 18 milligrams for women.

Are you covering all your bases when it comes to vitamins and micronutrients?

Just remember, nootropics are only one piece of the puzzle. Want to learn more about how building a sound approach to nutrition can improve your overall performance and physique? Follow Bodybuilding.com’s Foundations of Fitness Nutrition course.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

The post 5 Brain-Boosting Nootropic Supplements appeared first on Fitness Informers.

Supplements for Brain Power | Brain Boosting Foods | Brain Boosting Nootropics | Theanine for Brain Gains

Ever shown up at the gym and struggled to remember if today is supposed to be international chest day or if it was yesterday? Or maybe you’re struggling with your plate math and can’t remember how to add up 80 percent of your 1RM.

If so, maybe it’s time to fortify your diet with an arsenal of foods with proven brain-boosting powers. Add these items to your clean-eating program for a mental focus that’s as sharp as the cuts on your body.

Brain Booster 1: Sunflower Seeds

Sunflower seeds are a great protein-rich snack, but they’re also rich in vitamin E. A paper published in the Neurobiology of Aging discovered that people with higher levels of vitamin E were up to 15 percent less likely to suffer cognitive impairment.*

Here’s how: As a potent antioxidant, vitamin E can protect brain membranes from the oxidative damage inflicted by free radicals. Unfortunately, scientists at Tufts University determined that a mere 8 percent of men and 2.4 percent of women are meeting their vitamin E requirements, making it one of the most deficient nutrients in the American diet.

Extra Credit: Sunflower seeds are also a stellar source of thiamine, a B vitamin that helps your body’s cells convert carbohydrates into the energy your brain and muscles use to power themselves.

Brain Booster 2: Canned Sardines

Over the years, vitamin D has become a darling nutrient among nutrition researchers, and for good reason. The so-called “sunshine vitamin” has been shown to support many different definitions of the word “health,” and cognitive health is one of them.*

A recent study reported that subjects with poor vitamin D status experienced increased mental decline over the 4.4-year study period, compared to their counterparts with sufficient levels of vitamin D.

The current daily adult requirement for vitamin D is 600 IU, and a two-ounce serving of budget-friendly canned sardines delivers about 150 IU. The take-home message: get it in your diet and also consider taking a vitamin D supplement daily—especially during the winter months when vitamin D production from the sun diminishes greatly.

Extra Credit: Sardines also supply brain-healthy omega-3 fats and are considered a low-mercury fish. You’d be hard-pressed to find a healthier fish to build a quick lunch around.

Brain Booster 3: Eggs

Eggs—more specifically the yolks—are your go-to source for choline. Though choline doesn’t get much ink, this essential nutrient is a known precursor for acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter involved in cognition and memory.

Additionally, a Swiss study found that eating a breakfast that includes protein-rich foods such as eggs can enhance mental performance during the morning, possibly by improving blood-sugar levels.

Extra Credit: You can now seek out omega-3-enriched eggs for an extra dose of this brain-benefiting fat.

Brain Booster 4: Yerba Mate

When midafternoon brain fog strikes, brew up a steamy mug of yerba mate tea for a mental boost. Research has shown that yerba mate—an herbal tea gleaned from a South American plant—can provide a short-term boost to brain power.

Here’s how it works: Some of the naturally occurring stimulants in yerba mate, such as theophylline, work to crowd out the brain neurotransmitter adenosine. Adenosine acts as a central nervous depressant and thereby promotes fatigue.

Another benefit: Many find that yerba mate gives a smoother energy boost than coffee or energy drinks. You can find loose-leaf or bagged yerba mate at many health-food shops or tea-focused stores.

Extra Credit: Headed to the gym? A 2014 study found that healthy volunteers who were provided yerba mate before exercise burned more fat than those who didn’t.

Brain-boosting supplements keep you ready for anything life—and the gym—throws at you.

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Brain Booster 5: Salmon

Feeling down? Studies suggest that higher intakes of the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) that are rich in salmon—as well as other fatty swimmers like sardines, sablefish, mackerel, and rainbow trout—can help support your mood.*

Not a fan of salmon? It could just be how you prepare it. Bodybuilding.com’s Recipe Database can help there. Once you try Kevin “FitMenCook” Alexander’s mustard-baked salmon with grilled asparagus, your opinion will change!

Extra Credit: Salmon is also a source of vitamin D, and one of the best high-protein foods to build a diet around.

Brain Booster 6: Beets

When it comes to brain health, red means go. Scientists at Wake Forest University determined that naturally occurring nitrates in beets and beet juice can increase blood flow to the noggin, which may help to improve mental performance and help combat cognitive decline.*

The tastiest way to eat these flushed gems is roasted in the oven, but beet juice, which is particularly high in nitrates, can be easily added to protein shakes. You’ll also find these brain-boosting nitrates in spinach.

Extra Credit: A number of studies have shown that nitrate’s ability to bolster blood flow can also improve muscular performance during exercise and other activities that benefit from increased blood flow. That’s why you’ll find beets or nitrates in many of the best pre-workouts on the market.

Brain Booster 7: Walnuts

When crunch time comes, don’t forget to munch on a handful of walnuts. Scientists at Tufts University discovered that a diet rich in walnuts may improve brain power. Walnuts are rich in omega-3s, which is part of the reason why, but researchers suspect that a synergy between the superfood nut’s polyphenol antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids might amplify the benefits.

Extra Credit: A recent study showed that adults who consumed 1.5 ounces of walnuts every day for eight weeks significantly reduced cholesterol levels.

Brain Booster 8: Beef

A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that women with healthy iron levels performed better on mental tasks and completed them faster than those with poor iron status.

Shocking? It shouldn’t be. Iron helps transport oxygen throughout the body, including to the brain, which needs oxygen to function properly. Female athletes are thought to be particularly susceptible to iron deficiency because of monthly menstrual blood loss. Beef remains a stellar source of a highly absorbable form of iron, but consider splurging on more nutrient-dense grass-fed cuts.

Extra Credit: Red meat is a protein powerhouse, but it’s also a premiere natural source of creatine, the compound you might be taking to add strength and muscle. This is one reason why the International Society of Sports Nutrition recommends creatine for vegetarians and vegans.

To get the recommended 5-gram daily dose of creatine would require eating 2 pounds of beef. Instead, cover your bases with a single scoop.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

The post The Best Brain-Boosting Fitness Foods appeared first on Fitness Informers.

Janae Marie Kroczaleski is a master of change. But nothing she does is by accident. She has spent decades building immense strength and power in the weight room, then relentlessly applied that strength to build the life she wants.  Under the name Matt, she was an elite powerlifter and bodybuilder for a career lasting over 20 years. After conquering the all-time powerlifting total in the 220-pound class in 2009, there was almost nobody as strong on the planet. How strong? In a video for Bodybuilding.com in 2013, she performed sets of single-arm ”Kroc rows” using 310-pound dumbbells.

Then, in 2015, Matt publicly transitioned to Janae Marie Kroc, a transgender/gender-fluid she/her. She has spoken at numerous seminars, been the subject of the award-winning documentary ”Transformer,” and has been a tireless advocate and example for the LGBTQ community.

Through it all, one thing has never changed: her passion for training and preparing herself for the next challenge. Fresh from the opening of her namesake gym, Kroc’s Gym, in the Detroit suburbs, Janae Marie shared how the lifting life prepared her for every challenge she has faced.

Nobody’s Gonna Stop Me

When I was deep into powerlifting, there were no excuses—ever. I benched on my wedding day.

When I was prepping for my first big nationals, I would go to class all day and come home between classes to see my wife and young sons. Then I’d work at the pharmacy as an intern in the evening and get home at 11 p.m. About midnight, I would literally break into the gym, which was in the basement of the oldest building on campus. Sometimes, I was climbing through windows and prying open doors—whatever I had to do.  

But in my mind, there was no other option. If the only time I can squat is at 3 a.m., I’m gonna f**king squat at 3, and nobody’s gonna stop me.

I Just Didn’t See Limits

People used to ask me when I was younger, ”How big do you want to be?” And I always said, “There’s no limit. I want to be so big that when I walk in a room, no matter who they’ve seen, people say I’m the biggest motherf**ker they’ve ever seen.” I just didn’t see limits.

Some people would be intimidated by certain numbers, like maybe a 500-pound bench press or 1,000-pound squat. I thought, ”If can squat 1,000, why not 1,010? Why not 1,020?” It was infinite.

Born to Lift

Some people just have deep passions that they’ve always been drawn to. Just every moment in their free time, that’s what they’re studying and thinking about—that’s what lifting was for me.  

I remember being a young child, maybe four or five, and seeing someone big and strong, and just being in awe and thinking, ”That’s how I want to be.”  

The hard part was that at the same time, from around the same age, I had this overwhelming feeling that I was supposed to be female. It felt like there were these two opposing forces based on what society had taught me. I always struggled with it at a young age, like, ”If I’m really a girl, why am I so interested in lifting when I was always taught to believe that is a very masculine thing?” But it was just something that I had an innate desire to do.

Everybody Knew Who I Was

Looking back, my success in powerlifting absolutely prepared me for the scrutiny I faced coming out as trans. After I won the Arnold [Powerlifting Championship] in 2006, I went from being someone only local people in Michigan knew to all of a sudden everybody knew who I was. I was the topic on all these forums all over the place. There were fans, but also plenty of people who would just rip me apart.

I got used to people talking about me—people who didn’t know me, saying nasty things that weren’t true. Pretty quickly I was able to build a thick skin and laugh at it. I recognized that it had less to do with me than it did with them.

Once I started going out as a trans woman, sure, I had a few incidents where people harassed me. I had a close call where five guys followed me into a parking garage late at night. They were about to jump me, and I think the only thing that stopped them was when they got close and realized how muscular I was. I can only guess that made them second-guess their decision.

A Lifestyle Change

There was a short period where I tried to give up lifting, when I initially started transitioning. I thought, ”I need to be this skinny little thing if I’m going to be a woman. I need to be 135 pounds.” Then I actually dropped 72 pounds in four and a half months. I went from 272 down to 200, and I got to a point where I was eating probably 1,200-1,500 calories a day.

Of course, that wasn’t sustainable. I killed my metabolism and stopped losing weight. My body was like, ”What the hell’s going on?” And I realized a couple of things I had done wrong: Number one was I treated it like a contest diet, but this needed to be a lifestyle change.

Number two was thinking I had to give up the things I loved doing to be who I felt I truly was. Sure, there are some changes I want to make, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be part of my life.

Just a Woman Who Is Passionate about Strength Training

One of my big concerns when I first came out was that I thought a lot of women were going to be upset and see me as some kind of intruder or fake. But it was exactly the opposite. The female strength community really embraced me.

They understood my struggle with wanting to be more feminine, but also liking being bigger and stronger. They knew all this pushback from friends, family, and society about, ”That’s not what a woman is supposed to do.” And so many of them struggled with the exact same body issues, like ”Oh, my waist is thick from all these heavy weights. I don’t have a figure. My breasts are small.”

That helped me really understand that my identity is what it is. I’m just a woman who is passionate about strength training. And that brought me a lot of peace.

Starting Over at the Bottom

Today, my priorities have shifted. I want to be as strong as I can be, but I’m more concerned with overall athleticism. I got into mountain biking and then jiujitsu. I’m still trying to slim down now, both for jiujitsu and because it just feels better. I move better. I’m more flexible.

It’s actually been really, really fun starting over at the bottom of something—something brand new that I suck at. At first, I was going there and getting choked out by everybody. Now I’ve been doing it for almost a year, and I’ve learned a ton. But I’m still barely scratching the surface.

That’s what is really fun for me: that process of learning and constantly improving.

There Are No Rules to Being You

I get a lot of messages from trans people who can relate to my story. Maybe they’re into lifting weights or other pursuits that aren’t typically associated with someone who’s trans. This idea that you can’t participate in these things, or worse yet, that you have to give them up, is complete baloney. Anything that’s considered ”masculine,” you can find women doing it. Whether that’s drag racing, being into old muscle cars, lifting weights, or martial arts.

For a long time I was in denial, but it was just because I’d never heard of a trans person like me—anyone who was such an alpha male, so into strength and power. That’s why I always tell people today, ”Look, there are no rules to being you. There is no ’you can’t do this, or you can’t do that.’ If it brings you authentic joy, then that’s fine. That’s part of you. Your identity is what it is. And it’s yours.”

The post Janae Marie Kroc is Always in Training appeared first on Fitness Informers.

Supplements for Every Body | Signs of Deficiency | Get Micronutrients from Food Scraps | How Micros Impact Performance | Greens Supplements | Immune-Boosting Supplements

If you are in the health and fitness industry, or just look like you’re relatively healthy and fit, you’ve probably been asked “What supplement should I take to [fill in the goal]?” at some point. There are just too many confused people, wanting to believe the answer lies just one pill or powder away. And there are just as many bad shepherds feeding that misbelief, too. Let’s fix that!

In one way or another, I’ve walked countless thousands of people through what you’re about to read. This is my “keep it simple and smart” approach to effective supplementation. I’ll give you six steps to help you get the most out of whatever supplements you do choose to take, and then my six recommendations for a supplement starter set.

Supplement Basics

The Benefits of Multivitamins: Why and How Much

Why: No supplement can compensate fully for a poor diet or lifestyle, but these supporting actors (or “cofactors”) can help make the processes in your body work optimally. These nutrients are also in increased demand whenever your body’s physiological processes are stressed, such as in response to intense training, dieting, periods of growth, or immune system attacks, just to name a few.

What: An intelligently designed multi should provide active ingredients shown to significantly elevate circulating levels of the biologically active forms of the following vitamins and minerals:

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Start reading about multis, and you’ll sometimes hear that you shouldn’t consume this or that vitamin or mineral in combination with others. Calcium decreases the absorption of iron, for example, and zinc can decrease absorption of chromium and magnesium. However, such statements are just marketing-driven spin to justify why ingredients that take up a lot of space in a capsule or tablet haven’t been included in a particular supplement.

Why? Because nearly every one of the nutrients can decrease the absorption of one nutrient…and increase the absorption of something else. Calcium increases vitamin B12, to return to our earlier example, and zinc increases the absorption of selenium. Also, having low circulating zinc levels can decrease the absorption and utilization of vitamin A and folate, and decrease the amount of vitamin E in the body.

The point is that the human body has a very large number of examples where competition for absorption occurs. It doesn’t mean that absorption doesn’t occur at all, though; just that it can be less efficient. The human body has synergistic feed-forward mechanisms whereby circulating levels of one vitamin or mineral will affect the bioavailability of others. Therefore, take a multi for what it is: a good back-up for your diet. Nothing more.

How: Take half a dose with breakfast and another half-dose with another meal later in the day. Even better, split a full day’s dose across three or four servings. If you take a high-potency multi on an empty stomach, be forewarned that not only will the absorption of many of the nutrients be reduced, there’s also a very good chance you’ll begin to feel nauseated within about 30 minutes of taking the supplement.

The Benefits of Vitamin D: Why and How Much

Why: Most multis just don’t include enough of this critical nutrient, which is now commonly referred to by experts as a versatile steroid hormone instead of a vitamin. And as explained in Bodybuilding.com’s article “Your Expert Guide to Vitamin D,” the recommended daily allowance of this vitamin is pretty low—especially considering that much of the population of the United States is estimated to be deficient in this nutrient, which plays a big role in health and vitality across the body.

Using between 4,000 IUs to about 8,500 IUs per day has been shown to provide a significant and beneficial effect on measures of exercise performance. Most multis contain 600-1000 IUs, if that.

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What: Cholecalciferol is the D3 form of this vitamin. The ergocalciferol, or D2 form, albeit much cheaper, has regularly been shown to be significantly less effective than the D3 form at raising circulating levels of the active form of vitamin D (25-hydroxyvitamin D) in the blood.

How: Take 2,000-4,000 IUs with breakfast and again with another meal later in the day. It’s a fat-soluble vitamin, so taking it on its own isn’t likely to be as effective. And even if you take a vitamin D supplement, still get out in the sunshine.

The Benefits of Protein Powder: Why and How Much

Why: Protein is the only major nutrient that stimulates muscle protein synthesis, the process by which your body repairs and grows muscle. But it also improves insulin sensitivity and blood glucose control, supports healthy blood pressure and inflammatory response, reduces age- or inactivity-induced losses in muscle and strength, and is critical for a robust immune system. Plus, protein increases calorie burning (thermogenesis) and reduces hunger more than either carbohydrates or fat.

And no, it’s not just for when you’re looking to gain weight. When combined with a calorie-restricted diet, supplementing with protein also increases the loss of body fat and weight, and reduces the loss of lean body mass.

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In today’s market there are plenty of options for where you can get your protein: dairy, egg, chicken or other animal sources, vegetable (soy, rice, pumpkin, hemp, etc.), fish, algae like spirulina—the list goes on and on. However, I’m of the opinion that the conversation begins with whey.

Why? Because for the human body, whey is literally the protein of life. Whey makes up almost 92 percent of the total protein present within human breast milk at early lactation, and is still about 55-60 percent of the total protein in breast milk when children have been fed for more than two years.

All other proteins are fine as a matter of variety and a source of amino acids, but whey is the most popular for a good reason.

What: If your goal is to get bigger and stronger, any whey protein concentrate (WPC) will do just fine. If you’re following a carb- or fat-restricted diet, or if you have a genuine lactose allergy, then reach for a whey protein isolate (WPI).

A hydrolyzed (“pre-digested”) WPC or WPI, though more expensive, can also be used if you typically get an upset stomach by consuming dairy proteins, or if you want more insulin response. Plus, some evidence suggests that extensively hydrolyzed forms of whey may promote greater fat burning than other forms of whey. Data is equivocal if moderately hydrolyzed whey can provide the same benefit, and no quality data supports any advantage of using minimally hydrolyzed whey.

How: The majority of the studies support consuming at least 20 grams of whey per serving, at least once, but possibly multiple times per day. To help reduce appetite and lower blood glucose response to a meal, drink a whey shake at least 30 minutes prior to eating a meal. Around exercise, there’s really no wrong or conclusively right time to consume whey: pre-, intra-, or post-workout. Each has its potential benefit, depending upon other factors. The main point is, consuming whey around the time of your workouts can amplify the positive effects of your training.

The Benefits of Fish Oil: Why and How Much

Why: In addition to being a source of caloric energy, fatty acids (FAs) are something every cell in your body uses as the foundation of its fluid membrane. Since cells are constantly being rebuilt and destroyed, you can hopefully understand why having a diet high in essential FAs (EFAs) is necessary to support optimal health and fitness.

FAs are also critical as metabolic precursors for hormones and they help your immune system operate properly. Notably, when consumed in adequate amounts and ratios to other FAs, certain FAs provide a potent anti-inflammatory response which is necessary to recover rapidly from intense workouts or the stress that occurs because of inadequate sleep, a poor diet, or other environmental and lifestyle stressors.

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In one well-designed study, when 4 grams per day of a certain FA was consumed in the absence of any other nutrients, there was no direct effect on stimulating muscle protein synthesis or pathways that lead to increased muscle growth in healthy, but physically inactive men and women. However, when blood levels of insulin and amino acids were increased, the EFA supplement increased the anabolic effects by approximately 50 percent over what occurred in response to just the insulin plus amino acids.

The upshot for you: EFAs don’t just offer great benefits on their own, they also make other nutrients work even better.

What: Omega-3s are particularly important forms of EFAs, should be supplemented regularly, and occur in higher concentration in fish than plants. Fish-derived omega-3s also yield a higher concentration of two powerhouse EFAs, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA).

When buying an omega-3 supplement, reach for those that provide the FAs in natural triglyceride, or free fatty acid form. The other most popular options include ethyl ester, concentrates, or “pharmaceutical grade” forms, all of which are required in higher doses to provide comparable rises in blood levels of what occurs in response to lower doses of the naturally occurring form. Even then, the ethyl esters don’t appear as consistently or nearly as effective as when omega-3s are provided as free fatty acids.

How: To support a healthy inflammatory response to exercise and other forms of physiological stress, as well as to support mood and mental health, and promote a healthy heart and healthy-looking skin, consume at least 2.8 grams per day of combined EPA and DHA, in about a 1.75:1.00 ratio of EPA to DHA.

Also, the more processed grains, refined vegetable oils, eggs and other poultry, red meat, pork products, cheese and other forms of dairy that you consume, the more your fat intake will tilt toward omega-6s. This increases the need for omega-3s to achieve a healthy ratio of omega-6 to omega-3. An even 1:1 to not more than a 4:1 ratio is optimal; a typical Western diet is in excess of 18:1 omega-6s to omega-3.

The Benefits of Greens Supplements: Why and How Much

Why: Less than a decade ago, the vast majority of college-level nutrition textbooks considered plant-based foods as little more than sources of calories, major nutrients (e.g., carbs, fat, protein), fiber, and the essential vitamins and minerals. But partly due to the continued growth of integrative and alternative medicine and osteopathic medicine programs, a wide range of new (and ancient) plants have burst into the mainstream.

Hopefully the textbooks ten years from now will have caught up to what nutrition experts in the trenches are realizing more every day: namely, that phytochemicals (secondary metabolites from plant-based sources) have the potential to unlock a world of optimal health and fitness benefits.

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What: Given how different phytochemical supplements can be, it’s hard to make sweeping conclusions. As a very general rule, most powdered forms of botanicals and their constituent major categories of phytochemicals (e.g., phenolic compounds) are of limited efficacy in doses of less than about three grams per day, and most sub-categories of those major phytochemicals (e.g., total flavonoids) require you take at least 500 milligrams per serving to reap their true benefits. Sure, there are exceptions, like when the alkaloid caffeine is isolated and extensively concentrated from its original source.

In lieu of giving any specific recommendations, I’d advise to take a product, but not stick with it for more than 6-12 weeks. Some of the major and sub-categories of phytochemicals to look for include:

Terpenoids (carotenoids, triterpenoids, and phytosterols)

Phenolic compounds, including:

• Aromatic acids         
• Polyphenols (flavonoids, flavan-3-ols, anthocyanidins, and anthocyanins)
• Isoflavonoids
• Stilbenoids
• Tannins

Alkaloids

Glucosinolates

Nitrogen-containing compounds

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Organosulfur compounds

How: There’s no one-size-fits-all dosage strategy that works across every category and sub-category of phytochemical. But many phytochemicals have been found to be more effective when consumed with food. For a few examples, omega-3s, vitamin C, and the beneficial active ingredients endemic to spicy foods have been shown to increase the bioavailability of some of the most beneficial, but least absorptive, phytonutrients.

The Benefits of Probiotics: Why and How Much

Why: Unlike bad bacteria strains like Salmonella, Listeria, and E. coli that can make you sick or worse if they enter your digestive system in high enough numbers, there’s a growing list of good bugs that should take up residency within your body if you’re to maintain optimal health.

Consuming a wide variety of fresh or lightly cooked organic fruits and vegetables can do wonders for supporting a healthy and diverse population of beneficial bacteria, and that’s where your strategy should start. But unfortunately, the environment you live in, how you respond to stress, your lifestyle and diet, eating processed foods, and a wide host of chemicals (including high-intensity sweeteners—both “natural” and artificial) can beat the life out of these gut good-guys.

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What: The lactobacilli and bifidobacteria strains of probiotics are the most common that you’ll find in almost all supplements. Current recommendations are that you cycle between products that contain a variety of different probiotic strains, because once you get enough good bugs in your system and consume a sound diet with ample variety, the good guys will multiply on their own.

Therefore, like a healthy society, you want to increase the diversity and the total number of good guy bugs as opposed to just supporting a single homogenous sub-population. Also, only choose probiotics from companies that will provide a guarantee of the total number of active “colony-forming units” (CFUs) for each of the probiotic strains listed on the product, all the way up to the product’s expiration date. Otherwise, it’s very likely that what was originally in the supplement has decreased dramatically since manufacturing.

How: Consume probiotics with meals or snacks high in plant (vegetable and fruit) polyphenols, other phytochemicals, omega-3s, and other “good” fats.

How to Get the Most Out of Supplements

Step 1: Take legitimate inventory of your current diet, training, lifestyle, and health

Sorry, supplements shouldn’t be your first point of action if:

• You’ve been sedentary
• You don’t train or haven’t mastered the basics of programming like progressive overload and undulating intensity
• You have a piss-poor diet
• You have a pre-existing medical condition

Instead, it’s time to get the basics in order first. What are you doing, and how do you feel? Have you been avoiding the doctor for years or neglecting a major part of your self-care? Have you not trained in years, but are considering taking a pre-workout? You’d better believe these things can affect the effectiveness of a supplement.

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Step 2: Set realistic, but proactive major and weekly goals

Any supplement worth taking—including the basics like protein and a multivitamin—should only be an addition to realistic, progressive training and a well-planned nutrition program.

What do you want to do, and how do you want to feel? This doesn’t have to mean “I want to lose this many pounds”—although I know for many it inevitably will. It can be getting stronger, improving at a sport, doing a certain number of workouts a week, or even just finishing a solid workout program. These goals should inform what you eat, how you train, and what supplements get your hard-earned dollars.

If you think any supplement will allow you to reduce effort in the gym or adhering to a solid eating plan, then you’re setting yourself up to be sorely disappointed in your supplements.

Step 3: Eat and train intelligently for your goals

You don’t have to hire a world-class trainer. Just don’t be a complete embarrassment! For example, if you’re trying to add an inch to your biceps and chase a triple-bodyweight deadlift while eating in an 800-calorie caloric deficit and are getting black-out blitzed three days a week… no supplement will help you. Watch the Bodybuilding.com Foundations of Fitness Nutrition course. Eat lots of protein and veggies. Don’t let bad habits dominate. Train consistently and progressively.

Step 4: Recharge well and keep life’s stress under control

No supplement out there will do as much for your performance—and health—as getting adequate rest, keeping mental stress in context, and limiting your exposure to people who are toxic to you and sabotage your ability to reach your goals. If your friend’s idea of a healthy night out is downing a 12-pack and ending the evening pointing blearily at food items on a Denny’s menu at 3 a.m., hey, good for them. But if you match them night after night and then try to compensate by slamming a pre and some creatine before hitting the gym the next day, you’re only fooling yourself.

Step 5: Rid your environment of harmful pollutants that you can control

If you think chemical pesticides and weed killers are the perfumes of healthy living; if you believe all things should be stain-resistant and a home or office space isn’t hitting on all senses unless intoxicating inhabitants with plug-ins and aerosol deodorants; if you lather on sun block every day like you’re putting on baby oil to wrestle Blue in Old School… sorry. Your life may smell like a scented candle, but your body is left battling off so many physiological attacks from these common and easily avoidable chemicals. Over time, this can significantly and negatively affect hormones, neurohormones, your health, and yes, the effectiveness of your supplements.

Step 6: Get your mind right

Stay committed, positive, and know that getting in your best shape isn’t a cakewalk. Everything worth earning is earned incrementally. Immediate results can leave you as quickly as they find you!

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I know it’s a lot to take in. But there’s an overriding theme here, and it’s this: Supplements aren’t magic. They won’t make an unhealthy lifestyle healthy, but they can make a healthy lifestyle healthier!

Now, once you’ve taken the aforesaid steps and are on your path to a solid base level of fitness, it’s time to start optimizing that base with a few key supps. These six supplements are ones everyone should start with to help stay on the road to optimal health and fitness.

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What is Olympic Lifting | Learn the Olympic Lifts | Olympic Lift Variations | Olympic Lifting and Bodybuilding | How to Master the Olympic Lifts

The beauty of Olympic weightlifting is its simplicity. There are only two lifts, so if you’re getting better at them, you’re getting better period. But the downside of weightlifting, as anyone who has gotten deep into the sport can tell you, is that those two lifts are endlessly challenging, and building your expertise at them is a project of years—not weeks or months.

Have you fallen in love with the snatch and clean and jerk and are ready to see how far you can take them? Here’s the technique, scheduling, and mindset that separates casual lifter from master, from three elite lifters who have competed on the national and world stage.

Here Are Your Teachers

CJ Cummings

• 2021 USA Olympic Team 
• 2xYouth World Champion 
• 4xJunior World Champion 
• American and World Record Holder

Kristi Brewer

• Masters World Record Holder
• 2021 Masters World Champion   

Sarah Wright

• 2019 49kg National Champion

1. Master Your Overhead Position

The barbell snatch is a demanding lift for many reasons, but one of the biggest is the special combination of stability and mobility that it requires. And no, it’s not just shoulders. Your hips, ankles… everything’s getting tested. Need a standard to aim for? Here’s one: If you’re going to reach your snatch potential, you should probably be able to do a Sots press.

To do this drill, you need excellent mobility in your thoracic spine, your shoulders, hips, knees, and even your ankles. And they won’t happen by accident. As Kristi Brewer puts it, ”People don’t take the time to improve their mobility. If you want to be better at lifting, that’s going to have to be a priority.”

These two drills make great warm-ups or accessory work to get you closer:

• Seated Sots press: Sit on a very low box or bench with your heels firmly planted on the ground, ribs down, and core tight. Don’t allow your back to arch as you press the bar up.
• Kettlebell press in squat: Some people just can’t seem to get the barbell behind their head. If that’s you, use two light kettlebells and press from the front-rack position.

Pro tip: A pair of high-heeled lifting shoes make this lift more manageable, particularly if your hips or ankles are holding you back.

However, even the best shoes aren’t an excuse not to do the work. Three of Brewer’s favorite drills to focus on include: 

2. Master Your First Pull

Getting the barbell from the ground to the front-rack or overhead position demands more than just yanking it as hard as possible off the floor. There needs to be a huge transfer of power from your body to the bar. Doing that demands powerhouse hamstrings and glutes, and stability in your core.

Performing snatch and clean deadlifts are great ways to improve your pulls and get a better mastery of technique, but remember: This isn’t powerlifting and the goal isn’t to lift as much as possible.

“Over the years,” says Sarah Wright, ”I focus less on weight on these lifts, and more on the real value of the technique for fixing small imbalances.”

If you’re coming from a non-Olympic lifting background, the clean deadlift can feel like a mystery. Here are major differences to keep in mind as you do it.

• Use a hook grip, with your thumb on the bar and your first two fingers over it.
• Keep your biceps facing each other as much as possible, rather than facing forward.
• Your hips, knees, and shoulders should rise at the same time.
• Keep your back flat and your lats engaged by pulling the bar into you.
• Press through the ground and keep your chest over the bar for as long as you can.
• Stand up by squeezing your glutes hard.

3. Master Your Front Rack

The front-rack position is another mobility mystery that can keep OK lifters from becoming great ones. But solving it is essential! When you’ve got a load of heavy weight on your shoulders, you need to be confident and ”comfortable” enough to summon the force to put it over your head.

The best way to build that strength, mobility, and comfort? Maintain that position for time in an isometric hold. Sorry, not sorry.

To get the full benefits, you’re going to have to build up to loading the bar with more than 100 percent of your clean weight, holding it for at least 15 seconds. Somewhere between 103-118 percent or more. Opening your thoracic spine against a wall and stretching your triceps around this drill can help as well.

4. Master Your Ego

Want to go heavy? You have to start light. Sorry, this is even true for people who can snatch 330 pounds and clean and jerk 420 at a body weight of under 165 like world record holder CJ Cummings. (Seriously though, ponder how heavy that is!)

The first-time Team USA Olympic team member says that chasing their max is the biggest mistake people can make when weightlifting. ”People think they need to be ’at a certain level’ or hit a certain weight. They’re more worried about what everyone else is lifting than what they’re lifting.”

One way to ensure you stick to weights you can control? Using a 1RM calculator and hanging out in the sweet spot of 70-80 percent is one way. Here’s another: Don’t end your rep after a clean and jerk. Overhead squat it! This is a common technique you’ll see on CJ’s training-focused Instagram feed.

Going heavy overhead is never easy, but it’s more comfortable with quality wrist wraps.

5. Master Your Schedule

Yes, the Olympic lifts can be part of a general strength or bodybuilding-focused approach to training. But if you want to master the lifts, doing them once a week on leg day won’t get you there. Here are how these elite lifters schedule their lifts:  

Wright takes this skill-focused approach to the next level. She trains seven days a week for between 1.5 and 3 hours, mixing light and heavy Olympic lifts with targeted assistance work like power cleans and high-bar back squats. But don’t let “assistance” make you think it’s light!

6. Master Your Nerves and Do a Competition

If you want to see where you stack up mentally and physically, there is no better way than to do a weightlifting competition. It’ll give you purpose and direction, and force you to confront your weaknesses head on. It also puts you in a community of people with the same passion as you.

“I love the energy that comes from competition,” says Brewer. ”And then all the people. I’ve met people from all over the world because of weightlifting—I think that’s really cool.”

If you’re really trying to master the lifts, competing is essential. On the platform, it’s just you against the barbell. Find a local or regional meet, embrace the challenge, and see what you’re made of.

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