I'm with the majority of others here, too. Supplements aren't Magic Beans that are going to energize you, give you more muscle mass, make your shlong longer, etc. Only thing they do is empty your wallet, and with some potentially SERIOUS side effects with a few on the market.
429mustang: I'll retract a bit from the above statement when you're talking about black & green teas. They DO have some proven benefits, though I don't use them for fitness. I like green tea occasionally, but I use it more as an anti-oxidant and light free-radical remover. I like the taste and it's not killing me, therefore: Good stuff!
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With the new stuff on the market there seems to be a wide variety of stuff to randomly pop in your mouth, but none of their long term effects researched.
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EXACTLY!!!! And you know what?
They're not required to do ANY research on their products. As long as they're not selling lead tablets and marketing it as Vitamin C, pretty much the supplement makers have free reign.
It's so simple to get your energy back, most people don't believe it, or think they have to spend huge $$$ to get ahead, so they resort to some form of "Magic Beans."
Here's what I did, and a few of my friends have had great success with it as well. It's common sense, no-BS stuff, but read on.
1. GET OFF THE COFFEE. The caffeine is burning away your energy. Think of it like nitrous: yes, it's going to make you more "awake" now, but in the end, it's burning more gas. If you're tired, you need to be getting better "mileage."
2. WHAT ARE YOU EATING? Get rid of the carbs and learn to just
stop eating when you should. Eating until full is not acceptable; your stomach is a balloon (literally!). Not trying to call you or anyone a fat-ash, but this is where most (if not all!) people have a problem. DON'T starve yourself, that's much worse. I've been eating ~95% meat, eggs, and cheese, all of which are carb-free. Look at the labels on stuff, it's easy. Drink diet pop/soda/coke. NO packaged foods, that stuff is killin'-high in carbs!!!
ON A SIDE NOTE: We did a calculation in Engineering Physics to determine how many flights of stairs you would have to run up in order to burn off a single 20 oz. bottle of Mountain Dew. For an *average* 180-lb man, I *think* it was about 137 flights (mebbe higher).
Remember: 1 calorie is the amount of heat required to raise the temp of 1 gram of water 1 degree Celsius. One Dietetic Calorie (capital C) is equal to 1000 calories (1kcal). So that 20 oz Mountain Dew REALLY potentially contains 275*1000 =
275,000 calories.
3. GO TO BED. On time, and don't stay up late watching TV. If your day starts at 6:30, I'd be asleep, not just IN BED, by 11:00pm.
3a. TRY H2O. I'm not going to tell you how much, either. Just when you're thirsty, TRY to get a drink from the fountain or tap, not the vending machine. There's some more $$$ in your pocket!
4. WORKOUT. And I mean workout, NOT deathmarch. If you all of a sudden show up to a gym without having been exercising in some time (or ever), and you try running until collapse, you're back to square one. Not only are you going to want to eat more afterwards, you'll be discouraged from trying again.
Get some help from people who work there. That's why you're paying for the membership, right?!?!?
You don't have to go every day, either. I go every 3-4 days, and that is fine for most people. Everyone is different, and you'll find your own "pattern."
If on the other hand, life is in the way, you can always do some aerobics or simple weight stuff @ home. Just [b]use[b] your body!!!! Be creative!!!
5. GIVE IT TIME. You're not going to feel better overnight, but the more consistent your schedule is, and the faster you straighten everything else out I mentioned, the quicker you'll notice a difference.
I really hope this helps you out. Really, just do the simple stuff and give it TIME!!! Be persistent, and save your hard-earned cash for a gym membership, instead of spending on pills, fast food, and other rip-offs.