Anyone else here exercise without supplements?

[funkyrobot]

Over the last few months i've been getting back into my cycling. A prolapsed disc has had me off the bike for a while (I can still use my racer, but not all the time, I think!) and now i'm getting back into it.

When i'm out (which has been about 3 times a week) i'm doing anything from 1hr to 1hr 30mins.

Now, I never have and still do not use any form of supplement or sports specific drink/food. I just take some watered down juice with me in my bottle and eat frusli bars if needed.

Does anybody else do exercise like this without specific foods and liquids? Am I missing out on anything here by not using these products?

Thought I would ask as there are loads of topics on here regarding protein shakes, supplements, creatine (?) stuff etc.

Cheers all!

[CHIEF]

Depends on my budget, normally just have some protein. The biggest supplement that benefits me is believe it or not....... Banana's

[Dale19]

Ive used protein powders and creatine in the past, but use nothing now.

Only thing i`d bother using is creatine, noticed a difference when using that over a few cycles, and think its worth using.

I`d only ever bother with protein powder if i was really tight for time, i can easily get enough protein and cals from food.

[CHIEF]

Dale i take protein after a hard workout as a liquid form its quick release in the body, Creatine just didnlt do it for me, having said that i took it when it first came out so maybe its improved a lot now.

[Mclovin]

most of it is overhyped crap but people live in hope that theres a magic pill that will get them where they want without hard work and willpower...people never seem to realise that its the hard work to reach the goal that is the reward...

[Driller]

Yep, I just make sure I eat enough protein during the day, canned tuna is very handy.

[_DeeJay_]

Driller said:

Yep, I just make sure I eat enough protein during the day, canned tuna is very handy.

Isn't that more expensive that buying protein powder? Tins of tuna seem to cost a fortune recently.

[CHIEF]

_DeeJay_ said:

Driller said:

Yep, I just make sure I eat enough protein during the day, canned tuna is very handy.

Isn't that more expensive that buying protein powder? Tins of tuna seem to cost a fortune recently.

Cheapest i've seen (for chunks) is 59p buying from bulk from Costco or Bookers can work out cheaper. some protein drinks taken with water work out a bit cheaper depending on where you get the stuff from.

[_DeeJay_]

CHIEF said:

_DeeJay_ said:

Driller said:

Yep, I just make sure I eat enough protein during the day, canned tuna is very handy.

Isn't that more expensive that buying protein powder? Tins of tuna seem to cost a fortune recently.

Cheapest i've seen (for chunks) is 59p buying from bulk from Costco or Bookers can work out cheaper. some protein drinks taken with water work out a bit cheaper depending on where you get the stuff from.

I'm not actually sure how much protein your average can contains - I'd imagine about 35g.

The other thread says that you get 36g of protein from a MyProtein Impact Whey shake which costs 10p, making tuna 6 times as expensive if you're eating it purely for the protein. I assume this is why most people stick to the shakes.

[CHIEF]

Thing is you can only take so much protein in one hit anyway. My Protein i've heard good things about and is cheap. The real good stuff imo is CNP though.

[_DeeJay_]

CHIEF said:

Thing is you can only take so much protein in one hit anyway. My Protein i've heard good things about and is cheap. The real good stuff imo is CNP though.

You can, but as Tuna has the same amount of protein as a MyProtein shake I can't really see how that fact makes a difference.

Obviously, each to their own, however I was attempting to justify why more people drink shakes rather than eat the equivalent food (such as tuna); They're easier to gump down and much cheaper.

[CHIEF]

_DeeJay_ said:

CHIEF said:

Thing is you can only take so much protein in one hit anyway. My Protein i've heard good things about and is cheap. The real good stuff imo is CNP though.

You can, but as Tuna has the same amount of protein as a MyProtein shake I can't really see how that fact makes a difference.

Obviously, each to their own, however I was attempting to justify why more people drink shakes rather than eat the equivalent food (such as tuna); They're easier to gump down and much cheaper.

Not disagreeing with you in anyway mate - a shake can be cheaper most of the time. A lot of people fall into the trap of throwing down loads of protein. i was guilty of this years ago.

[Wildfire]

I used to train (gym and mountain bike) without supplements, but I never saw too much of an improvement in muscles, cardio fitness got better, but it was hard going.

A friend reccomended that I try some protein shakes as he had some spare, while I was training with him. After a couple of months I had much better results.

But as I am allergic to seafood and fish, milk and egg, I figured I'm not getting enough protein for my training. Also I always thought shakes were milk nad egg based. Most are except maximuscle.

3 chicken breasts each training day (4 times in the gym and at least one day biking) could get expensive and time consuming to cook.

I think it all depends on how hard you train. Taking protein is all well and good, but if your body doesn't need it there's no point.

[M400 NBL]

I have a protein shake once in a while (cannot remember when I last had one though) because I don't want my body to become reliant on them.

I could be wrong, but after hearing about a mate who went from 10st to 16st+ because of all sorts of supplements, I wonder how big/strong he will be if he ever stops.

Plenty of chicken, fish, veg, fruit etc imo... although the berry blast shakes with water are delicious.

[funkyrobot]

Hi all, the main item that got me thinking about this was a 'recovery fuel' drink of some type. I think it was mainly carb and electrolyte based.

I'm not into the protein thing as i'm not trying to bulk up with my exercise, just trying to drop the belly and maybe get better on the bike so that I can do some time trials at some point.

I got a free 'GO' energy drink powder thingy on a cycling magazine and thought i'd give it a try soon. I also had a Science in Sport pack earlier in the year that had some gels and energy bars, but when I had them I wasn't cycling so gave them away.

Maybe I should give the SIS products a whirl and see how I go? I have a free one to try so not really losing out. Would be nice for recovery really as I went out on Sunday into the wind and am still sore today lol! Oh well, as someone has said above, you don't get magic products, it's all about the hard work and effort!

[ShadownINja]

I suppose it depends if you exercise with a goal or just exercise for fitness or train for sport or only do sport and not exercise.

[volvo20]

Have been excercisng 3-4 times a week for the past 6 months with no supplements, but infact I bought protein shakes today so will see how it goes.

[Dale19]

CHIEF said:

Dale i take protein after a hard workout as a liquid form its quick release in the body, Creatine just didnlt do it for me, having said that i took it when it first came out so maybe its improved a lot now.

See, i`m of the opinion that i`ll do all my eating before training, then my bodys got everything to hand when its needed, normally have about 3 meals before training, so it doesnt matter if i consume anything after i train.

On the creatine, i suppose it depends on how you used it, i think i loaded for a week, used it for 3 weeks, then took a week off and started again.

But some things just dont seem to work for some people.

[Mclovin]

if you wanna try supplements and your fussy about taste, i would start with bsn...dont bother with the tablets they do, the powders make drinks that are so delicious your swear you werent drinking a supplement...they have something called noexplode which will blow your socks off for workout intensity and energy...