What Are The Best Prohormone Alternatives? - Bodybuilding, Fitness and Health Forum Axiolabs and Syntrop Steroids Board

fastman · **What Are The Best Prohormone Alternatives? -** 03-11-2008

What Are The Best Prohormone Alternatives?

Now that prohormones are banned it isn't going to be as easy to gain muscle mass, but it can still be easy working out hard, dieting right, and using the right supplements. One cannot look for a supplement to give results like prohormones, you must make the results yourself through the right supplements.

Basically, you must focus on supplementing your diet. I don't care what prohormones or steroids your taking, a diet is still key. One of the greatest things about supplements is that they can help build up the diet perfectly.

Here are a few things that you must have in your supplement diet right off the bat to gain muscle:

The Essentials

Multi-Vitamins:

This is very important. Although you may not gain automatic mass with a multi-vitamin it is still essential. This supplies many nutrients and makes a difference if you are deficient in anything. Take one serving in the morning with breakfast.

Reccommended Products: AST Multi Pro 32X, Solaray Mult-Vita Mega-Mineral

Meal Replacements:

I have recently became a firm believer in these. To build muscle you need to eat 5-6 meals per day, and that is not always easy to do. A meal replacement is a nice and easy way of getting in that meal at work or school. A good meal replacement has many benefits such as protein, carbohydrates, EFA's, fiber, vitamins, minerals etc. A good meal replacement has everything you need for a good healthy meal to gain muscle. A good MRP I am taking right now is Prolab Lean Mass Matrix. It's great quality and tastes awesome. Take one serving whenever you cannot fit that meal in. If you cannot get 2 meals in, then use 2 MRP's per day. I use 1 everyday.

Recommended Products: Prolab Lean Mass Matrix, VPX Micellean

Whey Protein:

If protein is the building block of muscle than there is nothing more important for putting on lean mass. Whey is the highest quality protein and gets absorbed the fastest which makes it ideal post workout. Consume 1-2 scoops of whey protein post workout mixed with water.

Recommended products: AST VP2, PrimaForce Substance WPI, Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey

Flax Oil:

Flax Seed is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids, along with fiber and other vitamins and minerals. Take 1 tablespoon in the morning and 1 before bed.

Recommended Products: NOW, HFS

Combine all of these to help supplement your diet and you are already there to making great gains in mass and size.

Now that our diet is in check with the use of the right supplements, let's move onto what "other supplements" we can use to help us duplicate the effects of prohormones. I won't lie, now that prohormones are gone there is really no one legal supplement that can give the same results, but with the right combination of supplements, a good diet, and hard work you can achieve results very close and similar.

Here is an overview of a few supplements:

The Supplements For Mass

Creatine:

This is one of the most (if no the most) famous supplements out there. While it doesn't work for everyone it is definitely worth trying. Creatine increases muscle mass, recovery, and strength. Creatine gives energy by restoring phophates when they are lost from exercise. This is why only quick high intense sport athletes would benefit from creatine such as sprinters and weight lifters.

If using creatine monohydrate I would recommend loading creatine at 20-30 grams for the first 5 days, and then maintain at 5 grams per day for 5 more weeks. I would also recommend mixing your creatine with something high in sugar. I use grape juice and it works well. This helps with absorption.

Different Types of Creatine: Creatine Monohydrate, Dicreatine Malate, and Creatine Ethyl Ester.

Recommended Products: AST Micronized Creatine, Swole V.2, VPX CEX

Glutamine:

Here's a controversial supplement. Many studies have came out showing glutamine does not have an effects on muscle mass. Some people hat glutamine, some people love it. I personally like it. The one thing I noticed while taking glutamine in high doses is less or no soreness the days following my workouts. This would help me push harder and train the same muscle group more frequently without any pain. Although I don't believe in glutamine's ability to raise growth-hormone levels 400%, I do believe it serves a purpose for faster recovery.

If using regular L-glutamine I would recommend using a minimum of 5 grams pre workout, 5 grams post workout, and 5 grams before bed. I like to use high dosages of glutamine. I would use anywhere from 15-25 grams excluding what is in your protein powder.

Different Types Of Glutamine: L-glutamine, N-Acetyl-L-Glutamine, and Glutamine Peptides. All are good choices in my opinion.

Recommended Products: Prolab Glutamine, Optimum Nutrition Glutamine

Nitric Oxide:

NO2 helps increase blood flow which will carry more nutrients to your muscles, hence making them bigger after being worked. This supplement will work if you stick with it and use the right dosages. I would recommend using 6-8 grams per day depending on your weight.

Recommended Products: MRI NO2, BSN NO-Xplode

Methoxyisoflavone & Ecdysterone:

These non-hormonal flavones are supposed to increase muscle mass, protein synthesis, and improve recovery. Unfortunately this product seems to come off as a scam. Very few people make any good gains with these products. I wouldn't rely on either of these to help you give good results, especially prohormone results.

Alpha Lipoic Acid:

This antioxidant helps bring nutrients to the muscle cells. It can also increase insulin sensitivity and absorb more creatine into your muscles. This supplement works great with creatine. With the 2 working together they deliver great results. Also look for chromium picolinate- another similar supplement with good benefits. I would recommend using 400mgs-600mgs spread throughout the day.

Recommended Products: Syntrax R, PrimaForce Insopro-R, Legal Gear Slin (discocontinued)

HMB:

This supplement is supposed to build muscle and burn fat. The effects if HMB aren't half as good as the claims, and they are only somewhat good if taken in really high doses. If you have the money and don't mind spending it then you may want to try it out. Otherwise it is not a must use product. I recommend if you are going to use this try to take a minimum of 5 grams per day and stack it with creatine. Do not expect much from HMB.

* Recommended Products: EAS HMB, SciFit HMB

Ribose:

Ribose is a 5-carbon sugar that will help with recovery and build muscle. Ribose makes a big difference in muscle recovery from a workout, and helps with energy similar to creatine. The only downside to ribose it the price. It is best used in higher doses, but can be pretty pricey. I recommend stacking ribose with creatine and loading it with creatine and use it during the maintience phase with creatine. I would load at 20 grams and maintain at 5-10 grams.

Recommended Products: Muscle-Link Ribose Size

Myostatin Blockers:

These are bigger scams then methoxyisoflavone and ecdysterone. These are supposed to block the protein myostain which regulates muscle mass. Unfortunately these products do not block myostatin otherwise they would be huge and used by everyone. Stay away it's a scam.

Amino Acids/ Branched Chain Amino Acids:

Amino Acids are the building blocks of protein and BCAA's are not made by the body. Obviously one will be able to benefit from using amino acids and BCAA's. They will both help in building muscle. I would suggest using a liquid amino acid formula and using powdered BCAA's to add to your protein shake. Follow the directions on the bottles.

Recommended Products: Optimum Amino 2222 Liquid, Twinlab Amino Fuel Liquid

The Stack

Days 1-5:

Load creatine at 20-30 grams into 4-6 seperate servings
Load ribose at 20 grams in 2-3 separate servings

Weeks 1-6:

Morning:
Multi-vitamin
1 tablespoon of flax oil
3-4 grams NO2

Pre Workout:
5 grams creatine
5 grams ribose
5 grams glutamine

Post Workout:
Whey Protein
5-10 grams glutamine
5 grams creatine
5 grams ribose

Before Bed:
5 grams glutamine

Also be sure to include 3-4 grams of NO2 before lunch and a meal replacement to replace a small meal that you may not be able to fit in.

Alright, we've gone through the necessities, and other mass building supplements. I felt it would be a good idea to separate this section from them. Prohormones were used to raise testosterone levels above and beyond our limits. The only way to get remotely close to the effects of this is to naturally raise testosterone levels. Here are a few natural testosterone boosters.

ZMA:

Zinc, magnesium, and vitamin b-6 makes up ZMA. Studies have shown ZMA can increase testosterone levels to 30%. Many athletes can be deficient in zinc. A lot of people also find ZMA helps put them in a deeper sleep. I recommend taking ZMA about 30 minutes before bed because of its effects on sleeping. Follow the recommended dose on the bottle.

Recommended Products: SNAC, Optimum Nutrition ZMA

Tribulus:

Unlike prohormones, this plant increases luteinizing hormone levels, which means increased testosterone levels. This is a popular natural testosterone booster. I would recommend using around 1.5-2 grams of tribulus for best results. I would use 1.5 grams pre workout and 1.5 about 8-12 hours before of after your workout.

Recommended Products: Biotest Tribex, S.A.N. Tribuvar

6-OXO:

Not only does this supplement increase testosterone levels, but it also reduces estrogen levels, which makes a favorite for post cycle therapy after a prohormone cycle. This is the first supplement that came to my head after the prohormone ban. It' legal, and it works. I think taking 3 capsules in the morning and 3 in the evening may deliver best results.

Recommended Products: ErgoPharm 6-OXO

Forza-T:

This natural testosterone booster is basically a combination of 6-OXO and tribulus, so it is a good product. You may want to look into buying 6-OXO and tribulus separately to save some money. I recommend using 3 capsules in the morning and 3 in the evening.

Recommended Products: Instone Forza-T

The 6-Week Natural Testosterone Stack

Morning: 300mgs of 6-OXO and 1.5 grams Tribulus
Pre Workout: 1.5 grams Tribulus
Before Bed: 1 serving of ZMA

That's all of it. Now that prohormones are banned you must find out what supplements work right for you and then use them correctly. With a good diet, supplement plan, and training routine you can make crazy results.

source: bodybuilding.com