Sport supplements for teenagers

[mutt]

Asked in the gym today if i could recommend and sport supplements for guys aged between 14-18. Advised them that I thought they should wait a few years before trying anything.

Would you care to give me your comments? Is it advisable for youths to try Creatine etc?

Mutt

[got caught]

Try the best health food shop known to man....the green grocers:cool:

There's little evidence for the stuff stocked by the gym's, and some products have been linked to the development of kidney disease.

Having said that, good on yer for taking an interest in your fitness

[Jerricho]

Hi Mutt,

I see you mention creatine. Anything I have read regarding the stuff suggests (note - suggests) it's not the best idea for somebody under 18 to take it while the body is still developing. As creatine is naturally occuring in the muscles of the body (natural sources include meat and fish), some researches have questioned introducing extra quantities during puberty development as the body's natural reaction is to reduce what it produces, becoming reliant on the "added extra" to maintain homeostasis.

I think it has been decided as well that Creatine isn't beneficial for all types of training, especially for endurance (something to do with the different muscle fibres required for power or endurance activity)

[airborne_artist]

A good balanced diet and sensible training will be far better than any supplement for almost anyone, of almost any age, unless they have diagnosed dietary problems. I'm running ultra-marathons (50 miles and more) aged 46, and have never taken a supplement. The vast majority of people taking supplements would be horrified if they knew that 98% of the stuff is either broken down or excreted!

[wingman863]

I've a mate who was into that kind of thing and he tried all the chemical crap he could get his hands on. You're unlikely to grow a second head but sticking to a good healthy diet along with loads of exerciese is better for you than anything that comes in a tin.

[Telstar]

Creatine is used to help build muscle I gather from the advertisements on the tubs. The avergae european gets 2.5 tims more protein then they need. Its puts extra strain on your liver. 14-18 year olds really don't need it.

[Özcan]

well stay away from all other stuff as glutamines and these "magic stuff" they're all crap, there is only one "synthetic" product in the stores that actually works and that's creatine. In that age it's not uncommon to come in contact with steroids wich will harm you very bad when you're still in puberty so make sure you don't use what the "big guys" in the weightroom tells you!

creatine and loads of food will make you grow if you train right, remember the most common error isn't that people train too little, it's because they way too much

4-6 sets a week for each musclegroup will make a teenager grow well

also remember about cardio and make sure you eat alot of food (not chips and other junk food) only good food, protein from meat/milk/chicken etc and carbs from rice/potatoes/pasta

patience is the key :ok:

good luck /Özcan

[quifflegend]

Go the gym alot and now a fair bit about training. Its not a great idea to start taking loads of supplements whilst your young as your body is still developing and too much weight training can actually inhibit growth. Best thing to do is train 3-4 times a week, eating a well balanced diet. Alot of people choose to take protein supplements becuase of affordability and ease of use. Dont forget that a tin of mackeral (high in omega 3) which are awesome for you or tuna will provide nearly as much protein as a portion of protein shake does. Its important to remember that too much protein can put added pressure on your kidneys as they are essentially filters and will endure great strain in sorting things out if you have a high protein intake. Sure buy some protein to take after your workout as you dont usually feel like eating 2 chicken breats. but dont go overboard. Most important is to remember your rest days as this is when your muscles will be rebuilding from the breakdown of the day before. You need this time for your muscle fibres to grow bigger and stronger. Would't really use creatine at your age, as you will see grwat acheivemenst just working out and eating right, good luck

[littco]

Hi, Just a word on Creatine.

In my opinion it is great but there are certain things you have to remember and be aware of.

Firstly, it's not a miracle muscle builder.. as with most things in life you only get out what you put in and such you need to train regularily and hard. 3-4 a week for no more than 45mins to a hour.

Secondly it works by adding to your bodies already supply of creatine, which is found in alot of foods. Now when you body/muscles run out of the stuff the latic acid is able to form and thats when the burn you feel comes into its own. The extra creatine you take, manages to prolong the effect of this and as such allows you to train the muscle harder.

Third. You need to drink lots of water.. no if buts or maybes. While you are taking it double what you normally drink. There are two reasons for this 1 ) you liver can not break down Creatine and as such taking extra will ultimately cause damage as the liver wont know what to do and it can form crystals in the liver, not good. 2) you become dehydrate as the body as a result of taking it through water retention and the extra fluid needed to cleanes the liver.

Fourth. You will get noticably bigger in a matter of weeks for a number of reasons. 1 ) you should eat more protein to feed the muscles 2) the muscle retain water giving that pumped look 3) the extra training it allows you to do increase the muscle mass quicker.


But please please be aware of the following..

It can give you terrible upset stomach.. constipation. You'll loose alot of size when you stop as the water retention also stops. If you don't drink enough water you WILL get Kidney infection or even failure. It has been known to cause reverse annorexia in that you start taking it ,get bigger quickly and then think your not big enough so take more and ultimately something stronger.

It also tastes foul!

Its not illegal and anyone over the age of 16 can buy it! Does it work? Yes, but only if you eat and exercise properly.. My only concern is that there haven't been any long term studies on it and as such no one knows if any damage can be caused by using it for prelonged periods of time.. My recomendation is that if you are going to use it, do a 4-6 week cycle and then lay of it for the same period of time before repeating..

Hope this helps

[mutt]

Thanks for the replies.... advised the youngster to stick to the green grocers rather than GNC!

Mutt