Muscle Endurance/Recovery

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Wiever
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Muscle Endurance/Recovery

Post by Wiever »

I am starting a new career with the fire department in a few weeks. I have been through academies and have spent plenty of time working as a part time firefighter. My question is in regards to my new job's academy and whether I should consider supplements while going through it.
The academy will be approximately 56 hours/week for 17 weeks. The first 2 hours every day will be dedicated to fitness (running, stretching and lifting weights). Running being Tues. and Thurs. and lifting Mon., Wed., and Fri. Obviously the nature of the work will be strenuous as well throughout the rest of the day. My understanding is that the weight training will be high intensity training (circuit training involving high reps and short intervals between stations). I haven't lifted in a while (years) and am hesitant of hitting the gym and injuring myself before I start by using poor technique. I do want to burn out my built up lactic acids before hand so that I am not getting smoked and looking silly when I start. I am active, I surf, run regularly, and lately doing core weightless workouts (pushups, pullups, crunches, plank exorcise, lunges, explosive squats jumps, etc). I was merely hoping to get information regarding diet or supplements I should consider to increase my success for this venture in my life. I had thought about using creatine as I thought the muscle water retention might help with endurance and recovery, but looking into it more I noticed little mention of these benefits. Any feedback will be welcomed.
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noel
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Re: Muscle Endurance/Recovery

Post by noel »

I am not a fan of Creatine. The only thing I'd recommend using it for was if you needed to look especially pumped for a contest or photoshoot that's occurring in the future. Given that you want actual strength/recovery I'd recommend the following supplements/course of action:

* get yourself a decent multivitamin - I use Ultra Mega Gold without Iron from GNC. Think of it as an insurance policy for your diet that will cover you if you're 'not' eating a balanced diet on a given day
* BCAA + G - Branch Chain Amino Acids + Glutamine - I use MRM's BCAA+G specifically for muscle recovery. I used it the whole time I was cycling heavily for muscle recovery and was extremely happy about it. I also use it whenever I'm doing any kind of intense muscular workouts to promote recovery. I don't mix it; it tastes like lemonade powder. I put three scoops in my mouth and wash it down with water.
* Potentially some form of Whey protein powder you could add to food/use to make shakes.
* Drink plenty of water.

Mostly, don't miss a meal, and eat a high amount of lean protein. If you're doing a lot of sustained cardio, try to eat a decent amount of complex carbohydrates. Ignore all the bullshit about Americans eating too much carbs. This is only for the sedentary couch-potatoes that do nothing. For active people like you and I, you're going to need those carbs, and probably more food in general than you're used to. It's possible that if you're eating enough quality foods, you won't need supplements at all, but you will still potentially benefit from them, and they might make your recovery faster.

I recommend the book 'Muscle Chow' by Gregg Avedon for muscle building diet suggestions (including what to do with they whey protein powder). I recently got the book, and I'm really impressed with it. I agree with most all of what he says, except for part about Creatine, but it should be noted that the purpose of the book is to get you to your 'most ripped' look as though you were going for a competition/photoshoot, which isn't really aligned with my goals. At $12 though it's well worth at least a look.

One of my best friends is a firefighter for LA County. Good luck with your academy.
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Wiever
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Re: Muscle Endurance/Recovery

Post by Wiever »

Awesome. Thanks Noel, exactly what I was looking for. After looking at the creatine ideas, the last thing I want is to gain weight real fast and make the cardio work a PITA.
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