The last ten pounds...for good (part 3)

September 25, 4:36 PMNY Personal Training ExaminerTara LaValley

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the NY Personal Training Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

When you are trying to lose the last ten pounds, you need a few extra boosts to keep yourself motivated. For some of us, the last ten seem impossible to achieve. In parts one and two, we talked about diet and training techniques to see maximum results. Now let's talk about the final element: supplements.

You need to add a few supplements to your usual vitamins and protein shakes to help the process along. Protein shakes should be a staple in your diet, before you train, after you train and….if you get hungry before bed! When choosing a protein powder, make sure you look for whey protein isolate as the first ingredient instead of whey protein concentrate. This is a better quality protein and worth the extra money. I personally love Optimum Nutrition Pro Complex. CLA is great for burning excess fat in the body and actually helps your heart stay healthy. This is a supplement you can take all year long. You should absolutely be taking a multi-vitamin, especially when you are carb depleting for extra energy. Cissus is also another supplement that has been proven to help joints as well as burn fat at the same time. These supplements are great to take all year round as well as when you are leaning out. These are not the “fat burners” that claim to help you lose weight, but they promote lean muscle mass and help fight fat. You can look into taking a commercial fat burner if you’d like, but I warn you: Know every ingredient in the proprietary blend. Many herbal ingredients are disguised and may harm you. My advice is to stay away from diuretics. Many men ask me what they should take for gaining mass. I am a fan of MHP products (Maximum Human Performance). They have a supplement for whatever your goal may be (gaining mass, leaning out, burning fat, extra energy) and they all work wonderfully, especially when used together. They also make a fabulous multi-vitamin called Activite that is suited for the athlete. For extra energy while you train, try MHP's Trac Extreme (with Nitric Oxide and Creatine). I find that when I drink that before my workout, I am stronger and more focused.

When it’s crunch time, these three components are the key to success: diet, training and supplements. It’s the difference between being “okay” and “WOW”.