Who is who in nutritional supplements by Dr.Lyuber

Sports nutrition: who is who (or what is what)

Dr Lyuber is not completely unknown to the Western public: his workout routines have been mentioned by Pavel in Beyond Bodybuilding. I have read his book Bodybuilding Our Way and have a lot of respect for him. His main goal of training is getting big by lifting bigger weights and getting strong, not meaninglessly pumping muscles for show.

I came across his article on nutritional supplements at http://www.ironworld.ru/diet/detail.php?ID=1960 , the site mostly aimed at bodybuilders. As with everything else Dr Lyuber writes about, this article is logical, consistent and makes a lot of sense. Below is somewhat shortened version of the article translated to English.

Frankly speaking, starts Dr Lyuber, for the last ten years I have not been involved in the intricacies of the topic of nutritional supplements, mostly because I have already burned myself with it. When supplements became popular in Russia I, like majority of people, was charmed by the advertisements of the industry (in my case it concerned Weider, Twinlab and Cybergenics), almost believed the scary fairy tales about steroids and started using “miracle-products” from “over the curtain”. The consequence – three years of my life and not one thousand dollars were wasted, and while deciding which super-duper supplement differs from the other I managed to lose around twenty kilos in bench press and several centimeter of biceps, while acquiring the “ears” on the waistline (love handles). One day I got fed up with this “progress”, roids were unconditionally rehabilitated and life miraculously transformed: the waistline god “dryer”, the weights started moving up again, and again I was not ashamed to wear short sleeved T-shirts. And the hobby of bodybuilding became way cheaper.

Recently, however, the doubt has returned: maybe in recent years food technology was “revolutionized”, made “breakthrough to the future” and turned from means of pumping money from trusting like children “muscle pumpers” into something really worthwhile and necessary? Reading articles in various journals added to the confusion and the feeling of being left behind. Thankfully, the period of intellectual suffering didn’t last long, and having dived into the bodybuilding movement and communicated with those who have been there all along the spirit relaxed again and the confusion has left.

Some aspects of nutritional supplements

I can dig out a lot of these aspects, but the first one, visible without glasses, I would call “aspect of incorrect directive”. For many neophytes who set feet in the gym for the first time the only information on bodybuilding is that from magazines with shiny covers, and they religiously believe that as soon as the start taking this or that advertised supplement their muscles will immediately proliferate and they will soon look similar to that big guy on the picture. When it doesn’t happen, they direct all their enthusiasm to experiments with the next product that “explodes the most hopeless muscles”. Sad, these “musculateurs” don’t realize that nutritional supplements are nothing more than SUPPLEMENTS, and without well planned training, balanced nutrition with “usual” products and proper rest any supplements will be useless. Exchanging the directive to “plow” with the directive to “search for a miracle” is the road to nowhere.

Another side of the same aspect is that if you want not only “build a bit of muscle” but body composition that fills modern bodybuilding magazines and believe that can get away only by finding proper nutritional supplement – I recommend you to take off the “pink glasses”. If you think that athletes whose bodies decorate advertising posters take the same stuff that they advertise – it is completely true, and if they do, then it constitutes only small addition to the real “formula of champions”. This formula is well known, but not widely advertised due to tradition. At the first glance it looks like this: “steroids + HGH + insulin + synthol + other small stuff (thyroid, clenbuterol, antiestrogens, diuretics and so on)”. And if someone standing at the highest step of the pedestal tells you that he never took anything from the above list but “became massive and defined thanks to the products of ISS – BSN – Dymazite” – take it as you take the TV adverts of beer: everyone on the screen is young, slim, beautiful and smart, but in real life we see only stinking idiots with big bellies. I am exaggerating, of course, but the distance between the promised and delivered for nutritional supplements is similar.

Anyway, let’s not shake the air for no reason and rather discuss another aspect of supplements, purely “applied”: is it really necessary to take great amounts of supplements and is it really useful? In order not to pile everything in the same heap I suggest that we classify the abundance of nutritional supplements into several groups. It can look like this:

Protein powders, amino acids, food substitutes
Gainers and energetics
Vitamins and minerals
Preparations for joints and ligaments
Fat burners
Creating and its derivatives; nitric oxide
Potency stimulants
Prohormones
General tonics
Other

Useful effects of nutritional supplements

We will now discuss useful effects of supplements in relation to the goals of bodybuilding and the necessity of every group from the position of average athlete, never mind on steroids or not, who does not have an extra suitcase of money.

Protein.

The fact that a bodybuilder needs considerably more protein than usual person has been established and proven long ago. And if it is not possible to get the necessary dose from food, the only way out is to add protein cocktail, food replacer or amino acids to the ration. Another matter is that it should not cross reasonable limits and these should not replace the usual food. On the other hand, addition of special additions like metoxyipriflavone to the powder does not carry any additional benefits and only allows the manufacturer charge extra dollars for usual protein.

Gainers and energetics

The usefulness of these is very doubtful. They can indeed help increase the bodyweight, but large part of the gain will be fat, for simple reason that the amount of calories that these gainers carry is difficult to direct to the muscle building, and currently used training methods often don’t have significant energy requirements. And if you need a “gainer” you can construct it at home: add couple of teaspoons of sugar to your protein and you will get your happiness.

Vitamins and minerals

It would be silly to argue that extra doses of vitamins and minerals are needed for bodybuilders, especially C, E and B group. Another thing that multivits can be successfully bought at the pharmacy. And it will be several times cheaper than getting it from a sports nutrition shop.

Preparations for joints and ligaments

Everyone seriously working out with iron has had problems with joints and ligaments: the load is definitely “unphysiological”. This topic is even more acute for steroid use, when joints and ligaments fall behind the development of muscles. And thank God that in addition to the grandfathers’ advice to “eat some gelatin” we have chondroitin and glucosamine. They are definitely working and helping. If they contain what is stated on the label. So far I have tried only one supplement whose effect I felt the next day.

Fat burners

The situation with fat burners is ambiguous: on one hand those who while fighting with fat has tried very hard diet in addition to large volume of aerobic exercise and did not get desired results – these supplements are necessary. On the other – the majority of names that are currently advertised is frank garbage created for pulling money from trusting consumers. In addition, after banning ephedrine which substances are not credited with fat burning properties? Open any fitness magazine – and will definitely find “new discovery”. But honestly – there has never been an alternative to ephedrine for burning fat. Rumors are that the ban will be removed, at least in the USA.

Creatine

Creatine and its derivatives: the furor doesn’t stop. No doubt, the logic is there, as creatine is indeed “working” supplement and can help some athletes to increase – sometimes significantly – the strength and muscle mass. However don’t forget the fact that 30-40 percent of athletes creatine brings nothing, except wasting money (to the lesser degree it is true for “transport forms of creatine”). The story is similar for the newly fashionable nitric oxide: some blow up on it, some – not a sneeze. The only way to see which group you belong to is the method of “scientific poking”: i.e. to at least once try the action of creatine and nitric oxide. The best time for such experiments for the “natural” is the period of heavy loads, for a “chemist” – the time between [steroid] cycles.

Prohormones

Not so long ago there was unbelievable fuss regarding this group of supplements. Some even claimed that this is the alternative to steroids (?!) Now this craziness has died out, and prohormones are sold only in the black market, as these drugs are on the list of illegal substances. And has melted away the only advantage of prohormones as opposed to steroids - similar though much weaker action – that those using them could still call themselves “natural bodybuilders”. Now the future of prohormones is very questionable, and the number of the “naturals” on the pages of Ironman should go down.

Potency stimulators

Confused by the advertising industry neophytes place large hopes on various potency stimulators – yohimbine, tribestan and so on. As far as the intended effect is concerned, I can say from my own experience and the experience of close friends – some of it indeed “works”. As far as their effect on training – it is under a very large question mark.

Adaptogens

Supplements based on adaptogens – ginseng, eleuterococc etc. – help normalizing body functions and improve work capacity after overtraining. However the effect is not as remarkable as is claimed, and therefore do not get your hopes too high. Moreover, these supplements are considerably more expensive than their full analogs sold in pharmacies.

Other

This group contains the largest number of names, probably thirty percent of all that is offered for sale. Here I classified all products that have not made it into the remaining groups, despite of their diversity: shark cartilage, vanadium, collagen, G-factor, Pro-h GH, Ginkgo Biloba, Saw Palmetto and whatever else. They are all united by one quality: while there is possibility that they may be somewhat useful for the main goals of bodybuilding – increase of muscle mass and getting rid of fat – they are absolutely useless: in most athletes they don’t lead to any changes.

Putting it all together.

If we summarize all of the above about the applied aspects of supplements, the result is far from optimistic. We can conclude the following.

Certain supplements may optimize the diet, i.e. eliminate the deficit of certain ingredients. At the same time, if you have the opportunity to balance your ration with natural products, extra intake of surrogate supplements is not that important. The exception is only vitamins, because getting the necessary amount from food is problematic. I will also make the disclaimer: “chemists” are excluded: to get 300 – 400 gram of protein from usual food is simply unreal.

There are working supplements, however much of what is on offer is inefficient and has not been able to confirm promises given in the advertising “traps”.

There is no supplement in regards to their effects on the muscle that comes close to steroids. And so far there is nothing on the horizon that could constitute competition to the “champion’s formula”.

[There are two more conclusions that are specific to Russian readers; therefore I am not citing them here]


That’s it. As always from Dr Lyuber, honest and down to earth. Do nutritional supplements work? I agree with Dr.Lyuber in that most of them show various results for different users. I guess there is no harm trying, except for the wallet. But what the hell, this pill can be your door to fame and world records… On the other hand, what achievements are actually expected from amateur athletes, the majority of visiting fitness forums and reading this blog? Does forty-something guys like me need to take complex composition of protein, nitric oxide releaser, high absorption glutamine and what not, because its manufacturer promises great results in only six weeks, just to add ten more reps to my jerks with two sixteens? Or maybe just eating enough food is enough? Sure, enough protein is important for those who want to build mega muscles. But other calories can be obtained from other, more conventional sources.

Luber’s views are in coherence with what I have believed for a few years now, namely that most supplements are useless and are not needed if things are kept in perspective. Most of us don’t make a living by being a professional athlete, why bother?

One group that always attracts my attention is vitamins. Multivits are the subject of various scams, celebrity adverts and pyramid marketing. You can show me all the studies you want, but the cheapest brand sold at supermarkets is no worse (or not much worse, at least not as much as the price would suggest) that expensive brands sold by post orders. Latest variations like Juice Plus make sense, but I am still to see some evidence that they make any difference in people's health. One company marketing these things actually uses some sort of transcutaneous chromatography that demonstrates that their supplements increase antioxidant capacity/activity of blood. Great. But I want to see is this increased number will make me live longer or get sick less likely. On the other hand, well structured training without overloading yourself, eating sensibly and sleeping enough will do ninety percent of the trick.