Workout: Lower Body 2 and My Odd Style of Supplementation.

-          BB Olympic Snatches 5x2

o   Superset w/ max effort box jumps x1

-          Deadlift 5x2

o   Single leg drop jumps x3 each leg

-          DB lunges 3x4 each leg

o   Single leg vertical jumps x3 each leg

-          Quadruped Series 3x8 each leg

-          Single Leg Plyo ball leg curls 2x8 each leg

o   Superset w/ Single Leg Plyo ball knee tucks 2x8 each leg

-          Partner Bosu Balance w/ med ball x5 minutues 

For the single leg drop jumps, stand on a low plyo box then step off, landing on the ground on one leg, balance, stabilize, and repeat. Be sure to land as softly as possible when stepping off. For max effort box jumps, increase the height of the tallest plyo box so that it takes max effort in order to jump upon it. I will generally stack plates on the box to increase its height.

My Odd Style of Supplementation

There is very little similarity between how I  supplement and how most of the lifting world supplements. Probably the only similarity is that I do take a traditional Whey protein, but I even take that uniquely. My list of supplements is made up of these:

• Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey
• Fish Oil
• Now brand L-Arginine
• Baking Soda
• Vemma Verve

 Whey
I said earlier in this blog that I don't take whey protein in a typical manner. What I'll usually do is add two and a half servings of the whey, two teaspoons of L-arginine, then a table spoon of vegetable oil, and two cups of milk. I got the idea of adding vegetable oil from Elliott Hulse's youtube channel. Elliott is a brilliant man and I've learned a lot of what I know by using him as a resource. Adding the vegetable oil adds a huge amount of calories to the shake, turning it into a healthy mass gainer shake. I also used to add a raw egg, but then I learned that the body actually digests an egg easier if it's cooked so now I just fry my eggs. In total this shake comes out to about 800-900 calories, and 70 grams of protein. And if you use the chocolate mint flavor of gold standard whey, it's actually really tasty.

Fish Oil
I take fish oil capsules for two reasons. First of all, I take it because it helps alleviate any joint pain I might have. When I've been lifting a lot, my elbows tend to get a little sore and the fish oil really helps with that. Mainly however, I have been taking fish oil as a post surgical supplement. About three months ago I had my second hip surgery on my right hip labrum. The fish oil has really helped with the overall joint health of my hips, which has helped speed up my recovery.

Now brand L-Arginine
L-Arginine is my second favorite supplement that I take. It is an essential amino acid which is an amino acid that cannot be synthesized in the body and must be taken in through diet. L-Arginine helps regulate blood flow throughout the body, so by taking Arginine, blood flow becomes more efficient throughout the body, and you can probably imagine the benefits of this. The benefits of L-Arginine that I have experienced include but are not limited to:

• Much faster muscle recovery time
• Stronger muscles
• Better pumps in the gym
• Massive increase in the effectiveness of the immune system
• Much faster post-surgical recovery time

The thing about L-Arginine is that in order to see significant results, it is best to take 10-12 grams a day. It simply is not cost effective to take this much in tablet or capsule form, so powder form is best. I can tell you from personal experience that the powder form of Now L-Arginine is extremely effective but truly disgusting. I'll generally drink it mixed with water, and then immediately chase it with something sweet. Orange juice, or apple juice is really effective. It's also best to start out slow (4-5 grams a day) and gradually increase to 10-12 grams a day. It tastes awful but the results of consistent usage are staggering.

In my next blog I will discuss the benefits of drinking baking soda, Vemma and also my opinion on the infamous Creatine.

Thank you.