A Question About Workout supplements page

[Hugo]

I've gotten into the primal lifestyle (go wholefoods!), and have been working a routine:

Thurday- HIT bodyweight training
Sunday- Sprints

There's a lot of noise on the internet about whether or not i should be taking pre/post workout supplements. Can I get some directions on this?

Cheers,

[CoS]

Personally, I've tried some preworkout supplements that were loaded with caffeine and I hated them. I don't drink soda or coffee, so I am not used to caffeine. I felt jittery, my skin crawled, and my mind was racing to the point that I couldn't focus on my lifting. I felt a little stronger and was able to lift more, but it felt very chaotic. If you have a higher tolerance for caffeine, you may get different results. But I don't want to try any more caffeine ever again.

[Abu Reena]

1) do you need supplements? No. Absolutely not.
2) Do they help? Possibly. I work out fasted so I take some branch chain amino acids. Do I need them? Feh, who knows. Probably not. I doubt I'll buy another bottle.
3) If we're talking protein, plain whey protein powder is very useful if one doesn't have the time to make three high protein meals a day. Is it necessary? Again, no. But I'm a fan and use it several times a week.

Any other supplement is garbage. I use caffeine before I work out. As in, I have a cup of coffee, because otherwise I'm not awake to lift. Al Kavadlo has a great post on supplements. The only issue I disagree with is with regard to protein powder. Get plain whey protein and mix it with milk and you're set. That said, a cup of a good greek yogurt has 24 grams of protein, so you probably don't even need the whey.

[RezH]

Two cups of Greek Yogurt is like $5. Whey is much cheaper.

Drink coffee or take a caffeine pill(check online) preworkout. Drink 20-30g protein with 60g carbs postworkout. That is the normal recommendation for muscle building.

[Al_Kavadlo]

I say you don't need 'em! Check out this blog I wrote about why I don't use exercise supplements.