How does one allocate this budget?
More specifically i am 19 in college and training for 400m. The diet is mostly clean though protein is ‘low’ ~1-1.5g/kg, fish is hardly ever an option.
Right now i am doing hpf liquid vitamins + cheap wpc.
Add some fish oil caps and I’d say you’ve got the basics covered.
And I don’t think your protein intake is low. I’m not a huge fan of massive protein intake. I still think fat is more important.
I am also in college, but I do take a protein supplement, not because I think I need massive amounts of protein - but I consider it a good source of clean protein, especially after a workout.
Prices actually turn out to be reasonable when you buy what you need. What I mean by this is, if you were looking for a creatine supplement, get creatine monohydrate, rather than something called “creatine super strength mix 4000” - 1) because you have no idea what’s in the later, and 2) it’s bound to be alot cheaper.
Pick high quality and trustworthy brands. Just because something is crappy, doesn’t mean it’s cheap.
More than anything I believe the diet should be optimized at the macro level before even looking into supplementation. There is no sense in supplementing with anything if your regular diet includes french fries, burgers, hot dogs, and sausages. Especially in college, this can be difficult to balance.
Personally I take:
-Optimum 100% Whey Gold Standard
-Higher Power Creatine Ethyl Ester
-NOW L-Arginine
-GNC Green Tea Extract
-Optimum ZMA
-Omega 3-6-9
-Flax seed oil
-Vitamin C
-NOW L-Taurine
I justify the cost of these supplements by saying that running pays for my college ride. Do I owe my performance to these supplements? No. But once you maximize yourself in the cafeteria, and you maximize yourself on the track/weight room, every small advantage counts.
These are just the things that I find work best for me, without costing too much. The bottom line is not getting caught up too much on supplementation, I could easily remove any one of these supplements without really doing anything to my performance.
HPF is a great product and has a great formula but…it is a liquid that can absorb plastic. Something I did’t think of years ago.
I would use omegabright.com 's fish oil and Biotests ZMA since a mixed diet and college training could render a zinc store to be less than optimal. That comes out to 30 dollars a month and you should ship in bulk.
As for protein powder I would invest into a good whey product (optimum is popular but sucks in quality) and think of it as part of your grocery bill. Cost per gram even the most expensive products come out cheeper than canned tuna. Also good wheys have growth fractions that can increase anabolism and are a good source of antioxidants.
FROST at 4.80 bucks a week is a great investment sinch most of the macronutrients at colleges are lame fruits and vegetables. Treat the food as calories and not vitamins and minerals. Don’t even count them as phytochemicals when you have canned peaches laced with enough syrup to make you look like a pregnant lady.
Buy dextrose to create your own PWO if needed (some can only buy one protein tub a month).
Teatek.com and mightleaf.com are great sources for green tea, and you can make your water taste better if you are having issues with hydration.
creatine ethel ester is good in caps…don’t buy in bulk or find yourself tasting it all day. The effectiveness of the formula will offset the cost difference.
Clemson,
How do you determine the quality of a protein powder?
Do you think CEE is more beneficial than regular creatine monohydrate?
Just in general, how do you know whether a cheap supplement is good quality? Simply by price?
Mortac8,
My visits to a few manufacturing plants have shed light to what label lines are investing money into their products or advertising. You might not get what you pay for since many expensive lines are just that! The whole China import problem is now huge, and any product you have should have raw ingredients domestically or from NZ (milk products such as growth fractions).
Creatine EE is legit and many non responders find it great. Most find themselves not hyperhydrated and even more find it working very fast.
“Creatine EE”…care to shed some light on the EE part?
Can you give examples of some good brands of protein and CEE?
I’ve always used Bioplex (higher power) protein so I don’t have anything to compare it to. I tried bulknurtrition CEE and I ran like garbage on it. Always felt “crampy”. NOW Sports Creatine monohydrate seemed to work better for me.
thought a bit expensive, i have always loved using BSN’s Cell-Mass CEE. ive gotten great gains off of it and the taste is awesome. After I am done with m EAS phosphagen I am going back on BSN from here on out.
Clemson, no multi just omegabrite + zma?
Sorry, double posted
no multi…just omegabrite and ZMA
Ethyl Ester
The difference between creatine and creatine ethyl ester is that the carboxylic acid group of creatine has been masked through the formation of an ester linkage. The masking of the carboxylic acid, results in a creatine-based compound with both increased aqueous solubility and enhanced membrane partitioning compared to the standard creatine monohydrate.
In other words - dissolves better in water, enters the muscle cells better.
good points…any other benefits you may see ironhead?
Yes - you may see less creatinine excretion in the urine.
However, this is all speculative based purely on what it should do. I’m not aware of any studies that shows creatine ethyl ester increases creatine retention more than creatine monohydrate. 
Clemson, what is the protocol for omegabrite, the recommended 2 pills/day? Also could you recommend an affordable quality whey protein.
Regards to whey protein use:
Buy a quality whey product in batches of 3 or more tubs if you can or you will end up buying a lame label from GNC. I work for a company so I can’t post the label here but:
(1) a nanofiltrated and microparticle whey protein can be used as a way to enhance a low protein meal as a refreshing drink. if it clumps it is crap (quality).
(2) Vanilla Cream or Strawberry whey can mix with cottage cheese and this makes a fast breakfast…toss in a few slices of fruit and you are ready. Think of a quality protein as a flavor system not just added protein.
(3) convert organic yogurt to delicious pudding by adding double dutch chocolate whey.
(4) Make your PWO adjustable by buying your fast acting carbs seperately so you can keep yourself lean. Some days you need to refill glycogen…others just repair muscle. Adjust!
(5) Save money overall…so you can buy other needed products.
What evidence do you have that Optimum is poor quality?