Supplements… by the numbers

I’ve been into the whole fitness & healthy lifestyle thing for about 8 years now. During that time; I’ve worked with trainers (some good, and some great), physical therapists, a couple nutritionists, and a whole bunch of great training partners. I’ve read a few thousand articles about training, nutrition, weight loss, weight gain, lean muscle gain, and a whole bunch (sometimes bs) about supplements. If you’ve read my Supplement Review, then you’ve seen my unbiased opinions on products that I’ve actually tried. At no time have I ever worked directly with an professional to evaluate my nutrition and balance my daily calorie & protein intake to reach my goals.

Unless this is your first time stopping by, you probably know that I’m an endurance athlete (or at least “enthusiast”). In order to keep up with all the crazy stuff I do, I need to make sure my body is fueled… but how the heck do I know what I’m doing? I have no real method of measuring what I take in aside from my own trial and error. I think I know what I “should” eat each day, and I’ve read a whole bunch of articles… but I’ve never had someone take the time to put together a plan based on my body composition (body fat, height, weight, etc) and my level of physical activity — and give me some sound advice on what foods & supplements I should be taking daily.

Today, Kristen & I stopped into Max Muscle on Carefree Highway in Phoenix and I got a little more than I anticipated. We were stopping by to see the owners were interested in being a sponsor for our races; The Fireside at Norterra Adventure Run Series and I totally had a preconceived notion of what the place was all about. Honestly, the first time I saw their logo it was next to a Gold’s Gym, and the Brian Bosworth-looking caricature led me to believe it was a place for steroid gym freaks. (IMHO, I’m not a fan of the logo as it really looks like a 80′s stereotype – a dude wearing striped Crayzee pants and a tank top.) My other impression of this place was a “musclehead’s GNC”. I’ve been into plenty of GNC’s on the East Coast, and I’ve never left impressed with the employee’s knowledge of any product. When “I heard this stuff worked for a friend of my brother” is the best you can muster, I’m not dropping $80 on a product.

I was pleasantly surprised when I met the owners of Max Muscle. They know their products inside & out — and how/why they work. I’m not saying every store is like this, but when you the shop owners put the time in to learn about why you should choose one product over the other next to it (and not because it’s more expensive) then you know you’ve found the right place. Here’s the cool thing; Pat and Chris didn’t treat me like an idiot, and answered my questions about each supplement I was interested in. If they didn’t have a complete answer, they grabbed the data sheet and we learned together. Good stuff.

The best part was I left without buying anything (I actually didn’t have my wallet in my running shorts) and they were cool with it – Pat even emailed me the full work-up he spent a half hour putting together. I left there a lot wiser on where my fitness is, where I want it to be and what I should be doing to get there. Ya know what, when I do decide what I want to take I sure as heck am going back there to get it.

[UPDATE] Pat from Max Muscle sent me an email over the weekend and really stepped up to the plate:

[Pat] “I could offer the plan free for two weeks, which includes the plan, the Body fat testing, and nutritonal evaluation. I can show your readers the sophitication behind the plan itself, and the body fat testing apparatus, and the neccessity for determining the proper daily intake of supplements including protein to perserve lean muscle tissue, improve and aid recovery thereby leading to greater results.”

Email me (Brett) at triphx@me.com for more details & to set up an appointment