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Questions From Clients: Supplement Stacking

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– fat burning – muscle support – sleep assistance – emergenC +other useful supplements!
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Very recently I was asked by a client of mine,

about what ‘supplement stacks’ I would recommend for recovery and general health.

My first response was to say how you want your nutrients to come from good whole foods, as much as possible – However; there are some nutrients you just can’t get enough of through your diet – in which case it is then acceptable to use supplements.

But Note Well!

‘Supplements’ are aptly named for they are supposed to supplement or support your diet, not replace it!

And without getting into the still controversial and undecided topic of whether or not supplements even work at all ….

…. here is a list of  recommended Supplement Stacks for general health and fitness:

Fat Burning/Energy Stack:
– Acetaminophen
– green tea (or; EGCG)
– caffeine (no more than 200mg)
RLA
A Few Small Tips:
> you can drink Coffee and or Green Tea
> there are many types of Lipoic Acid; get the ‘R’ kind.
> acetaminophen is just Tylenol
> eat as much spicy food as possible….
ONE BIG TIP
= Supplement Cycling=
> For the sake of keeping your organs healthy, always ‘cycle’ the amount of each of the supplements you take.
You can EITHER:
– Increasing the dose over 2 days, then decreasing it for one day, repeat for a couple of cycles. Start again at low dose
OR
– Increase dosage every day or 10 days, then decrease the dose or 10 days -including a day without dosing. repeat.
*Cycling like this is safer and healthier for your organs*
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Muscle Supporting Stack:
BCAA (branched chain amino acids)
Glutamine (amino acid)
– New Zealand whey protein or vegan protein
– Omega3
Tips:
> Use the Amino Acids whenever – before, during or after a workout, when your hungry or even if you are just bored of plain ol’ water – the ‘B’ = a type of amino acid that can be readily used as energy!
> Have Omega3 throughout the day, but especially IMMEDIATELY AFTER A WORKOUT – it will make your internal environment anabolic (a good thing).
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Sleep Assistance:
GABA
5HTP
– Around equal parts Calcium & Magnesium
Tea: Valerian root / other herbal calming tea
Tips:
> 30 minutes to an hour before bed
> eliminate as much light as possible (also 30-60 minutes before bed)
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EmergenC:
– Vitamin C + Rose hips
Tea: ginger, honey, lemon, (rose hips)
Tips:
> Vitamin C seems to work best right as you start to get sick : take up to an entire gram (diarrhea may occur)….
> many supplements require some sort of fat to be taken at the same time so that whatever it is can be properly absorbed by the body.
> Drink the tea non-stop until you are better – Rose Hips have lots of Vit C as well as helps it get absorbed by the body.
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Other useful supplements:
– Greens powder / Super Greens
– a Brazil Nut a day keeps the doctor away! and provides you with your dose of Selenium.
Fermented Cod Liver Oil (high in Vit D and Omega3, strengthens bones and teeth)

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Make sure you are getting enough of these!
– Zinc
– Iron
– Vit D.
>It is not a bad idea to get your levels checked, a deficit in any one of these vitamins/minerals (and many others) can cause symptoms similar to other serious health issues > which is often misdiagnosed and mistreated with ‘medication’ (which is much different than ‘supplementation’…)
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I KNOW THERE ARE NO DOSAGE SUGGESTIONS
use whatever the lowest amount you can get and cycle up to greater doses – and remember: take some time OFF of your supplements every once and a while,
and,
         remember to consume whole foods whenever possible. and in a way (and if you can) try to ‘supplement’ your supplements with foods high in those nutrients talked about above.
Hope this helps,
Questions are welcome! – I will try to get back to you within a day of two.
Stay Strong (and healthy) My Friends!

 

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Hand Stand – a Strength Program

Purpose:

To become comfortable holding yourself upside down. Or if you are already comfortable upside down, the purpose is to condition your body while working on the skills needed to master a Free Standing Hand Stand.

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THE PROGRAM

 Wrist prep:
– wrist rocks
– loaded circle / flex/ext/deviate
– Tea cups
CNS prep:
– asymmetrical loaded walking VOR
– ball tracking
– jumps
Work:
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Day 1
> Pull over // Plank+hand walk
(x6-8r / x4-6r)
> Good morning // Pike walk
(x4r w/pause / x2 length)
> OH press // Wall walk
(x1-3r / x1r)
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Day 2
> Clean // kick up
(x1-3r / x3-5r)
> Deadlift // Hand stand hold
(x1-3r / x1r)
> Hand stand Re-balancing
ll OR ll
Crow // OH walk
(x10-60sec / 2KB x2 Length)
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Day 3
Mix it up / Variation day!
EX:
>Pullover//GM     >Hand walk//Pike walk     >Pr//Wall walk
ll OR ll
>Lifts Only
ll OR ll
>Hand Stand Stuff Only
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Train 3-4 days a week.
Day 1 & 2 are straight forward
Day 3 is a variation day:
– Have some fun!
– Chose from any of the exercises below.
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EXPLANATIONS & VIDEOS

Wrist Prep:
Hand Stands are very rough on the wrists, here are a series of great movements to help prepare your wrists for extreme extension:

CNS Prep:
To get a good hand stand you must be sufficiently warmed up, but not so aroused that your hear is pounding. This is why a smart, neurological warm up is best when preparing for something that requires such fine tuned skill:

 

 Day 1
Pull Over /super set/ Plank+Hand Walk
The pullover will activate your upper body muscles, while the hand walk will prepare you for the next step in your journey of becoming comfortable upside down.

Good Morning /super set/ Pike walk
The hip hinge (good morning) will teach you how the Pike feels through the hips / trunk, allowing you to practice ‘how’ to get into the Pike Position – AND – Practicing the Pike will start you on your path to becoming comfortable upside down!

Over Head Press/super set/ Wall Walk
The OH Press should not fatigue you, but should potentiate your strength and coordination in the subsequent Wall Walk. The Wall Walk is a challenging but very safe way to enter your first assisted Hand Stand.

Day2
Clean/super set/ kick Up
The Cleans ‘potentiate’ the kick ups – a ‘kick up’ when done well (that is, better than what is shown in the video), should place your feet directly over top of your hands – once upside down, try to straighten everything out ASAP – dismount and repeat.

Deadlift /super set/ Hand Stand Hold
The deadlifts don’t have to be super heavy – but the intensity does! Use the DL’s to activate your posterior chain and Abs. Then, try to maintain that activation while upside down!

 

Crow /super set/ Over Head Walk
This super set is for those who do not / can not do the Re-Balancing drill below.
The OH Hold-Walk will prepare your shoulders – and the Crow will prepare your Wrists and Abs/Trunk for Hand Stand Balancing.

 

 Hand Stand Re-Balancing
( I am not very good at this one…)
The next step is practicing Free Standing Hand Stands – but before that – try this drill that Ido Portal showed me and a group of friends back in 2011

That is all folks,
Hope you find this useful.
Let me know what you think, and if you have ANY questions at let feel free to contact me.
Stay Strong my Friends!

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Martin Colangelo – Blog Author

& Owner / Instructor

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