Discount Supplement Findings

I’ve been a hobbyist bodybuilder-ish sort for several years and I’ve been poor as shit for all of these. So it’s also been a bit of a hobby of mine to shop around on multiple sites (amazon, ebay, bodybuilding.com, supplementdirect.com, trueprotein.com, etc.) to find the best mix-and-match way to get what I’m trying to get. It occurred to me today that I should probably share my findings. That way you can benefit from my research and I can benefit from your feedback.

Pre-Workout:
I’m a big fan of the whole "NO Pump" feeling, especially since I like to use my workouts as a way to channel all of my anger and aggressive energy into something that is productive on some level (and this produces an excellent "hulk smash" sort of feel - physically and mentally). But they’re expensive as shit and usually filled with crap. Here’s something I put together yesterday at trueprotein.com via their custom mix generator. And FYI, I cross-referenced all the prices on the individual components and this averages out to be the best deal, especially if you consider Pain In the Ass Factor (PIAF = time spent preparing & social cost of looking like an asshole in the eyes of your roommates).

The Mix:
(grams are per actual intended serving - which is half of their suggested serving)
Taurine - 10% (1.5 g)
L-Arginine - 30% (4.5 g)
Glutamine Peptides - 15% (2.75 g)
BCAA’s - 45% (6.75 g)
Plain, Unflavored, & Unsweetened.
(I plan to flavor it with generic "Kool Aid" and a very small pinch of salt substitute: which provides a good amount of sodium and potassium as well as however much sugar I/you want)

Total price (not counting kool aid & salt sub.): $14.13
Their serving size is 30 grams but 15 grams will be more than adequate.
Price per 15g serving: $0.47

I’m thinking of ditching the Taurine but I keep going back and forth on this. Supposedly Glutamine Peptides are twice as effective as plain Glutamine but if you can point to evidence that disproves that I’ll bump the 10% over from Taurine to plain Glutamine - which they also offer.

You can add creatine monohydrate powder to it as needed (best price for 500 g size is a dead-even tie for supplementdirect.com and trueprotein). I feel it’s best to do it this way since you’re supposed to cycle creatine anyways.

I haven’t tried this specific mixture yet but I’ve tried putting all the parts together on my own with excellent results. I’ve never used the brand name shit so I have no basis of comparison but my experience has been good. The addition of caffeine might be a fun idea, too, but with the creatine/caffeine controversy still undecided I think I’ll opt out of the latter.

This mix can also be added to your post-workout shake, which is convenient.

Post-Workout:

I like the concept of having a huge flood of fast-acting carbs with about an equal amount of whey protein, since it’s also very fast-acting. I also feel it’s appropriate to take your multi-vitamins at this time, as well as a good insulin support system of 10 mg of Vanadyl Sulphate and 400 mcg of Chromium Picolinate. I realize that I just posted something that makes the Vanadyl thing unsettled but, for the sake of price-sharing, let’s assume that the conclusion is that, yes, we do need both (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, don’t worry).

The Parts:
-Dextrose - 5 lbs for $8.05 (Berry Farm Foods @ Ebay).
-Elite Whey Protein (which is delicious) - 10 lbs for $59.95 (allstarhealth.com)
-The above Amino Acid blend (minus kool aid & salt)
- Adam Multi - $11.70 for 120 tabs @ 2 per serving (The Ink-Link @ Amazon) - I’m not sure that this is the best multi yet and it certainly isn’t the cheapest but this is the best deal I’ve found on this specific multi. (nutrition info. here )
- Chromium Picolinate (Adam has 200 mcg) - $2.79 for 200 caps @ 200 mcg per (Swansonvitamins.com)
- Vanadyl Sulphate - $7.65 for 200 10 mg tabs (allstarhealth.com)

All of these sellers are also on Amazon for the same price if you want to simplify your life.

PE:
I’ve stopped taking these, mainly because I don’t want to create a psychological dependance on them, but while I’m at it this is what I used to use to very good result:

Leavesandroots.com Ultra Male Mix - $4.60 per ounce (about 30 caps if I remember correctly)
contains: Tribulus, damiana, horny goatweed, sarsaparilla, ginseng, maca, saw palmetto, ginkgo.

I honestly don’t know about the quality of their ingredients but the price is good and the result worked for me. To be fair, if I were still in the market for these I would probably contact the owner of the store (who is very nice, btw) for more details knowing what I know now about this kind of stuff. If anyone does, please let us know what you find out.

So that’s what I’ve found so far. I’ll update as I find more or remove parts.

Just an update: I received and tried the amino blend yesterday. Absolutely amazing. I was pushing myself harder than ever and (this is new) maintaining really great focus. Used 3/4 of the dosage I originally planned and that seemed to be enough.

Another update: now using the full planned dose of that Amino Acid cocktail (4 scoops) and it’s been consistently great since I started in January.

I think I forgot to mention that I’m also adding caffeine powder to that mix (available at SupplementDirect.com for super cheap and it’ll last forever - I’m still using the stuff I bought 3 years ago for about $10). It tastes horrible but it works wonders. You could easily just pop a caffeine pill instead.