ZMA question

ZMA - For those who use it, what is a good dose?

And does it really work for you?

I just got Pro Performance ZMA from GNC (60 tablets roughly cost $20) - the bottle recommends 2 tablets at night.

Are all ZMA’s created equally? I noticed after I got this one, there’s a cheaper one on sale at bodybuilding.com.

The recommended dose is 3 per day (the zma I’m using right now). Which has 450 mg. magnesium and 30 mg zinc and 10.5 mg B-6.

If you aren’t doing workouts regularly, you may consider taking half this dosage.
It certainly worked for me: I feel much less fatigue compared to the past since I started to use zma. My body recovers faster after the workouts- it’s really good stuff.

To compare different brands, you should consider the amount of nutrients inside them. The dosages I mentioned above are for someone who works really well for at least 3-4 days a week, I think. (both PE and BB wise).
Good luck.

I felt like 30 mg zinc is sufficient. It seemed to help my work outs for a while and is a good sleep aid. Not all ZMA is the same. Some contain Zinc monomethionine aspartate, as they should, while others will have zinc arginate or tother forms of zinc. They will list it to look like ZMA, for example Zinc and magnesium aspartate. The reason they do that is because the original zinc monomethionine aspartate is patented and can only be used by companies who have licensed the rights. So look for that specific ingredient.

Thanks for the replies. I probably should have clarified my question - does it do anything for your wood/testosterone/etc.? A good night’s sleep is terrific but..

Anyone have any favorite brands of ZMA - the one I got has 30mg of zinc per tablet, 6mg of B-6 and 60mg of Magnesium Asparate - did I waste money on the wrong kind - seems way short of 450mg of magnesium.

Your zma seems to be more for the “wood”. Magnesium is for the fatigue in muscles after workouts. zinc is to increase testesterone. I think one pill per day would be enaugh, considering the brand you’ re using. And yes, it’s good for the wood also.

ZMA will only help you sleep better because of the magnesium. The zinc will ONLY increase testosterone if you are DEFICIENT - and most people are not. Take a good multivitamin and save your money. ZMA is nothing more than zinc, magnesium, and B6 and a good multivitamin has more than enough of all of those things.

There is data that ZMa works to increase strength and testosterone levels, but I don’t know if there is any data to show how it works compared to other forms of zinc/magnesium supplementation.
From bodybuilding.com

I could find a study that says eating rabbit will make you horny but that doesn’t make it so. I too spend lots of time at bodybuilding.com and the vast majority of knowledgeable people like pu12 will tell you that zma does nothing for test levels. Most suggest it helps with sleep and having gone through many bottles of it myself can attest to that. If you want to boost test levels you would be FAR better off spending your money on 6-oxo, nolvadex, ATD, or other estrogen inhibitors (6-oxo made me feel like I had the flu). If you are taking ZMA to boost test levels you are wasting your money but you can believe what you want.

BTW: You should be very skeptical of any study found in a link for a store trying to sell you that product.

I basically agree with you northof60. I don’t usually get my information about nutrition from places trying to sell supplements, but the reference is sited and seems to be a pretty legitimate study. I have not done the research on the data myself, but I provided the link, and those who want to scrutinize it can dig deeper.

I take the cheap stuff and have noticed nothing. I will look for the patented blend next time.

Great Avatar Mravg.

Thanks man, I just added it yesterday and was waiting for feedback!