Ive trained top MMA talent, Ive trained adult rec athletes. Ive also trained some pro football and hockey players. The thing that is the same in all cases is that everyone wants to maximize their effort. Nothing replaces a good diet. The supplement industry is a billion dollar industry, even the biggest giants in this will not suggest they replace a solid diet. Quality supplements are there to enhance and improve every session you have. My goal this week is to open up the discussion on supplements. The training schedule I have is intense, and its being done in a gym with all kinds of athletes. I sat down with Cellucor brand ambassador, registered massage therapist, published Bikini Model and amazing clean eating cook Crissy Zachanowich. Figure athletes, body builders, and bikini models take lean muscle mass preservation, and the scientific use of supplements to the next level. We discussed three key supplements. Easy to use, and definite must haves when the training gets intense. Simply called a “pre-workout”, athletes and people hitting the gym have turned these supplements into the largest portion of most companies profits. Youll see most of them are stimulant based. Often caffeine and synephrine are used to energize an athlete before the workout. In addition, youll see creatine in the hopes of capturing its potential power and strength boosting. Beta-Alanine will often be present to buffer against lactic acid (Huge for me when my Coach Jeff Fisher puts me on the Jacobs Ladder) and finally, Arginine for blood circulation. Everything in the pre-workout is naturally available, its just concentrated. For the arginine, youd have to eat about a pound of almonds before your workout. During the workout, branch chain amino acids are key. When your body starts to hit the wall, and you have pushed your limits, protein is broken down to be a fuel. Thats right, precious muscle tissue is broken down to fuel your fight. Its broken down into branch chain amino acids. Those are converted to sugar, and you get more energy to work harder. Drinking BCAAs tricks the body into sparing muscle, and athletes everywhere rejoice. Post workout protein, or simply a protein shake to ensure the body is in a positive nitrogen balance. Meaning, your body has enough protein that it is creating muscle, boosting immunity, and creating all the cells and hormones you need to be in that “beast mode”. You can get all the protein you need from meals and real food. However, its a lot easier to drink a shake. Ive been drinking some amazing treats lately thanks to Crissy. Protein powder has come a long way. Red Velvet Cake? Cookies and Cream? Cinnamon Swirl? These all exist and taste as good as they sound. It makes the hour in the gym worth the reward of the post workout shake. Two things to remember after reading this. First, if you are not working out to your max, you dont need to supplement. Go online, or pop over to my youtube channel and watch some pro athletes train. There is sweat on the floor, and exercises to failure. Again, its the reason Im at Elite Performance in Winnipeg. That atmosphere, and the push to be your absolute best. If you arent doing that, then supplements are not critical. Second, your diet needs to be perfected and cared for. If its not, what are you “supplementing”? Try some new workouts and put all your effort into them. Then try some of the amazing science thats out there. Trust me when I tell you, they make that difference in recovery that gets you through the week and ready for your rest days. Get in the gym, get training, and get an appreciation for what it takes to perform at a pro level. Do it to appreciate every sport a little more, especially the most demanding sport out there, MMA. NMD Canada Sale . - No matter the lineup or location, the San Antonio Spurs are rolling through the NBA again this spring, just the way they have for most of the last two decades. Ultra Boost 4.0 Canada . A strong fastball. A big, bending curveball that can buckle hitters at the knees. Against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday, Elias put the entire package together against one of the leagues strongest lineups. http://www.yeezyshoescanada.com/ultra-boost-canada/ultra-boost-4-0.html .com) - The San Antonio Spurs will try to even their series with the Dallas Mavericks Monday night when the two teams collide at American Airlines Arena for Game 4. Yeezy 700 Wave Runner Restock .C. - NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick headlines this years electees into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. Yeezy Boost 750 Canada . And on Sunday against the Houston Astros they were pleased to see his work finally pay off with his first win since May 24.The most under-rated team in the FBS resides in the great state of Michigan. To the surprise of many, it isnt the Wolverines but their in-state rivals the Michigan State Spartans. Head Coach Mark Dantonio leads a capable offence, and one of the best defences the Big 10 has ever seen. Outside of a loss to Notre Dame back in September, the Spartans have been perfect, working their way up the BCS rankings where they currently sit 16th. With Nebraska, Northwestern, Minnesota and potentially Ohio State in the Big 10 Championship game still on the schedule, Michigan State has a chance to crack the Top 10 and wind up in the Rose Bowl. For a team you have heard very little about, the upside for the Spartans is incredibly high. And its well deserved. In their nine games, eight wins and one loss, the Spartans have given up more than 17 points just once. In their last three games theyve combined to give up just nine points total. They have allowed 11.6 points per game which is third-best in the FBS. Now paired with their daunting defence is an offence that has provided capable of keeping pace. Sophomore Connor Cook has taken over as the starting quarterback and has tossed 13 touchdowns and only three interceptions. Jeremy Langford has done a respectable job replacing Leveon Bell with 11 total touchdowns out of the backfield. The fact of the matter is the Spartans have been dismissed because of all the talk that the Big 10 is "down" and the conference is well behind the likes of the SEC, Pac-12, ACC and Big 12. The truth is while the depth in the conference is down; the top end could compete with all of those other conferences. The three-headed monster of Ohio State, Michigan State and Wisconsin is capable of hanging with the other powers. Currently Michigan State sits behind Northern Illinois, Fresno State, and two-loss teams in UCLA and South Carolina in the BCS standings. On a neutral field the Spartans would win gamess against all four of those teams - a few of them handily.dddddddddddd Depending on how they perform the rest of the season, it may take until the bowl season for Michigan State to prove that their ranking has been a sham all along, and the Spartans should have been considered elite long ago. Teams dont need to score 60 points to be exciting or successful, and the Spartans are the number one team at proving that point. They have work left to be done, starting with the Cornhuskers this weekend, but keep an eye out for Michigan State as they take a run at the Big 10 Title and a berth in a BCS bowl game. Other notes from around the NCAA: -Michigan lost their first game at home under Brady Hoke, falling to Nebraska. Theyve combined for minus-69 rushing yards the last two games. -Tyler Gaffney ran the ball 45 times in Stanfords upset win over Oregon, good for the new Cardinal school record. -Auburn scored 55 points against Tennessee despite attempting only seven passes. Theyve won two straight games without attempting 10 passes in either contest. -92 points and 1,092 yards in the Texas A&M win over Mississippi State. In likely his last game at Kyle Field Johnny Manziel tossed five touchdowns and three interceptions. -Tyler Cameron completed five passes and threw three interceptions against FSU. Amazingly, he wasnt even the teams worst QB on the day – that title goes to Tanner Price who had three picks and only one completion. The six INTs by Florida State were a school record. -Pitt upset Notre Dame 28-21. In the fourth quarter Ray Vinopal had interceptions on back-to-back passes by Fighting Irish QB Tommy Rees. -The 38 points Alabama scored against LSU were the most since they put up 41 back in 1947. -UCF RB Storm Johnson had his third 100-yard rushing game of the year and the Knights are tops in the American Conference. The stat may not be that impressive, but the name Storm Johnson sure is. ' ' '