Best Bodybuilding Supplements For Success!

by Mark McManus on January 22, 2009

“Mark, what do you think of supplement X?”
or,
“Is supplement Y effective?”
or,
“Mark, what are the best bodybuilding supplements?”

Regular readers of this site will know that my supplement routine is quite modest. The majority of the time, the only actual bodybuilding supplements I take are:

Also, I only take these once a day (for the most part) as a post workout cocktail.

Now, I also have a little morning supplementation consisting of:

Fish Oil capsules
Magnesium or ZMA
(whichever I have at the time)
Multivitamin

That’s all folks!

(UPDATE: I now HIGHLY recommend MyProtein for all my UK and European readers. Their prices are up to 80% cheaper, and they have the best quality supplements in Europe. MyProtein is also where I get my own supplements.)

I have the above with my breakfast and my shake immediately after working out; everything else is food. (As a side note, I have started taking 100mg of caffeine pre-workout for an insanely cheap-but-very-effective buzz. Read more about that here.)

An important note here is that my supplementation increases when cutting. I get into ‘cutting’ supplementation in Total Six Pack Abs. A quick example from the book is Calcium; this incredibly cheap supplement will increase fat loss with a 3 x 600mg dosing strategy.

So supplementation increases when cutting, but this is understandable. We want to help the body burn fat while maintaining or building muscle as far as possible. Diet and cardio do most of the work, but I see aiding the fat-loss process as a healthy and sensible exercise.

So there you have it, guys. A modest supplementation routine works best. Use what works and leave the rest. Trust me, if a supplement comes on the market that does live up to the hype, we will all know about very quickly.

Train Effectively | Eat Intelligently | Supplement Wisely

…and do all the above CONSISTENTLY

Your buddy,

Mark McManus

{ 18 comments }

1 Bry January 22, 2009 at 10:22 pm: This is great, thanks. I’m new to muscle hack and was just wondering what your supplementation looked like. Love your no BS style. Honesty for a change. New, dedicated follower of musclehack.com!
Bry
2 Mark McManus January 22, 2009 at 10:29 pm: Always great to have a new reader, Bry.
Welcome!
3 Chris January 22, 2009 at 10:35 pm: Namasté Mark,

I the same as you for post-workout supps. I use a Whey/Casein Blend for slow release protein pre-bed though. I’m taking flax seed instead of fish for the EFAs and Omega-3. Not on any Magnesium, will have to check that out.

Also using Glucosamine Sulphate as I’ve had a shoulder injury in the past and running injuries so like to add to the joints health.

I also like try out other stuff so I’m big on Green Tea and Tumeric too!

Will be re-reading TSPA for the calcium tips!

Cheers,

Chris
4 Mark McManus January 22, 2009 at 10:44 pm: I should have put the link to my magnesium article, Chris, d’oh! Here it is:
http://www.musclehack.com/magnesium-supplements-no1-for-strength-muscle-growth/
I drink green tea too from time to time. Its fat loss properties have been WAY overstated but it’s a healthy beverage for other reasons.
Namasté, my friend!
Mark
5 Tom January 23, 2009 at 12:19 am: Just noticed in the magnesium thread a few comments about side effects. I have to say, whenever I’ve taken magnesium my digestive system hasn’t liked it at all. Not sure what it is but visiting the lavatory is less than thrilling when I’m on Mg. Is this a widely reported phenomenon or only certain types of Mg supplement?
6 Flest January 23, 2009 at 5:31 am: Hey thanks for answering my email so quickly with this article (whether by coincidence or by purpose). I was pretty confused after researching multi-vitamins on which one to take but I think that going with a strong brand is a good choice like you recommend.

Thanks for summing up your supplementation as I was confused a little on what you were taking but now its all clear. Thanks for the link to ZMA, looks interesting and I might try it soon!

By the way, are these affiliate links? (because I wouldn’t mind helping out when I do buy some more)
7 zackck January 23, 2009 at 6:48 am: Only whey protein, creatine and glutamine? I’m on the right track! )
8 Mc January 23, 2009 at 11:00 pm: You should add some links for Amazon UK too.
9 TonyStark January 25, 2009 at 3:49 pm: What if my protein already has glutamine in it?
10 Tyler January 27, 2009 at 2:10 am: Hey, thanks for the article. I’m 17 and a lot of my friends are taking creatine and leukic or gakic. I asked them about protein, and they said they don’t take it. I think they’ re wasting their money by just using creatine and the other stuff. My parents won’t let me take creatine because they think it causes roid rage and destroys your body. So, I only take optimum nutrition whey protein. What could I tell my parents or show them to prove that creatine is safe? Should I take glutamine, although I get a good amount in my protein? By the way, I have been on the MANS diet and THT for 2 weeks now. I feel the best I have ever felt, and my body is so tight! Thanks, Tyler.
11 Mark McManus January 27, 2009 at 7:58 pm: @Flest. Yes they are. I would appreciate the help if you would choose to go through the links provided, thanks
@Tony. That’s fine. Just don’t buy a protein that has sugars in it.
@Tyler. Tell them it’s been studied to the death! It keeps coming up safe and is nothing like a steroid. Just opt for protein, creatine and glutamine.
Mark
12 Matt January 28, 2009 at 12:16 am: Mark, I am new to your site and very excited to put some of your workouts and diets into practice. I have been working out and dieting my entire life going back to my wrestling day and still looking for that balance in what I need as I age. 36 now and still hitting the gym after 22 years. Thanks
13 SupplementPricing.com January 30, 2009 at 8:14 pm: I’m also a fan of keeping it simple. Have you tried anything like NO2 and had any success with it? It’s another pretty popular one out there and I’m curious what your take on it is.

Thanks!
14 Tyler February 1, 2009 at 12:55 am: Hey Mark, I saw that you recommend glutamine. How much would you recommend?
15 alecia March 5, 2009 at 6:44 pm: I take zma before bed. It really helps you sllep deeply
16 channy March 11, 2009 at 6:48 am: hi mark. whtz ur opinion abt soy protein powder? it bv is 74,datz k but major concern is nasty estrogens. oooohhhhh. what do u say?
17 Ben March 12, 2009 at 8:04 am: What about vitamin c? its great for recovery. Very cheap too I have about 3000mg a day. When dieting it makes your muscles look harder because its a natural diretic too.
18 Quick August 8, 2009 at 1:19 pm: Mark why did you you suggest that Tony shouldn’t buy protein with sugar in it, is sugar a bad thing to have in your whey protein and if so why?

Thanks in advance