A summary guide of some information I've compiled because 1) I keep forgetting it, and 2) I want a place to send people who ask me about this stuff.
Supplements that work
| Supplement |
What it does |
Dosage |
Frequency |
When to take it |
Notes |
| Whey protein |
Necessary for muscle protein synthesis. |
0.8-1g/lb |
Daily |
Doesn't matter |
Dietary protein can reduce the supplementation required. |
| Creatine |
Increases muscle mass, strength, performance, and recovery. |
~5g |
Daily |
Doesn't matter |
Women seem to benefit less from creatine supplementation than men. |
| Caffeine |
Increases power output, anaerobic capacity, and endurance. Improves reaction time and reduces perceived exertion rate. |
2-4mg/lb |
Skip during rest days. |
60min before exercise |
Tolerance builds quickly, so dosing needs to be "managed" if you're competing. |
| Beta-alanine |
Improves strength gains, muscular endurance, and performance in high-intensity exercise. Reduces neuromuscular fatigue. |
3-6g |
Daily |
Doesn't matter |
Causes (harmless) parasthesia in many people. |
| Citrulline malate |
Improves performance through increased nitric oxide production, improves aerobic and anaerobic capacity, reduces soreness. |
8g |
Skip during rest days. |
60min before exercise |
Very sour, tastes like lemon juice. |
| Sodium bicarbonate |
Improves performance during repeated high-intensity aerobic exercise by negating effects of acidosis. |
100-130mg/lb |
Skip during rest days. |
60-150min before exercise |
Beware gastrointestinal side effects. I haven't personally used. |
Supplements to skip / avoid
- BCAAs
- Basically everything not listed here*
*Supplements that work (e.g., fish oil) won't be discussed here if they support general health (rather than performance).
Endurance Training
- Warming up is important at all experience levels and can prevent injuries.
- Most training should be at a very easy effort level (below lactate threshold 1). Think 80% of workouts.
- Beginners can improve aerobic fitness with brisk walks 5-6 times a week; actually running isn't necessary, and the benefits come with less risk for injury.
- Time is more important than distance. 30-60min is a good baseline for easy training; shorter workouts aren't as effective.
- It can take 8 weeks for endurance improvements to be apparent.
- For trained individuals, high intensity interval training significantly improves VO2max, with results in as short as 2-3 weeks.
- About two 30min HIIT workouts a week is ideal, targeting a total of 30-40min per week at 90% HRmax.
- Because HIIT and workouts below LT1 are so effective, workouts in the "middle" (3 in the 5 zone model) should be minimized; polarized training offers the best return on effort, and minimizes injury and recovery times.
- It can take about 12 weeks to habituate the body to a given load.
| Common Name | Recovery | Easy | Endurance | Tempo | Threshold | VO2max | Sprint |
|---|
| |
Lactate Threshold 1 (LT1) |
Lactate Threshold 2 (LT2) |
|---|
| 3 Zone Model | Zone 1 | Zone 2 | Zone 3 |
|---|
| 5 Zone Model | Zone 1 | Zone 2 | Zone 3 | Zone 4 | Zone 5 |
|---|
| Rating of Perceived Exertion | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|
| Time to failure | All day | 5+ hrs | 2-3 hrs | 1 hr | 30-60min | 15min | 5-8min | 1-5min |
|---|
| Heartrate (approx) | 50% | 65% | 72% | 80% | 85% | 92% | 100% |
|---|
| Blood lactate (mmol/L) | 0.7 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 20 |
|---|
Strength Training
- Warmup sets are usually not necessary but don't hurt. Beginners probably benefit more.
- Unless you have a specific reason otherwise: 5-10 reps per set, 2-5 minutes rest.
- Initial strength gains for beginners mostly come from neuromuscular adaptations and motor unit synchonization, not from muscular hypertrophy.
- Most hypertrophy gains occur during the first sleep cycle immediately following a workout. Sufficient stimulus must be paired with adequate rest and nutrition - muscle protein synthesis is finicky and the process is easily interrupted. Aim for at least 7 hours of sleep.
- For beginner / moderately trained individuals, 2-3 sets per workout at the correct intensity is sufficient stimulus. More volume is better for trained individuals, but not at the expense of intensity.
- Progressive overload is key. Beginners should aim to add 2.5lb per arm or leg each week if possible (or session, if you're a complete beginner). Never skip a weight increment since it just means you'll lose a "stairstep" of increased stimulus and hit a plateau sooner.
- Compound barbell exercises are great since they hit all the large muscle groups together. Pulleys are great because they keep constant tension throughout the exercise range of motion.
Myths
Dispelling some popular myths that seem to be wrong or unsupported.
- The "interference effect" -- where doing cardio and strength training concurrently reduces gains -- is very likely overblown (or possibly nonexistent). Where this has been supposedly observed, overtraining or insufficient dietary intake are the likely causes.
- Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is sometimes correlated with - but not related to - gains. You can become sore without growing, and you can grow without soreness.
- Working out until you "feel the burn in your muscles" is a useless signal. What matters is correct intensity, volume, and form.
- There is no good evidence that stretching improves performance or reduces soreness. The impact on injuries is mixed.
- Timing and frequency of meals doesn't make any difference as long as you're 1) eating the correct macro composition + calories, and 2) you have enough energy to do your workouts.
Sources
I made everything up