“Behind your thoughts and feelings, my brother, there stands
a mighty ruler, an unknown sage--whose name is self. In your body he dwells; he
is your body. There is more reason in your body than in your best wisdom. And
who knows why your body needs precisely your best wisdom?” Nietzsche
Nothing has more enhanced my continuing performance as a
hiker, trekker, mountain climber and cyclist than modern sports nutrition. The
following are some of my opinions and experiences after almost 40 years of
strenuous activity.
This is what is actually in my backpack on every hike:
2-3 liters of water
26 oz. bottle of pre-mixed Hammer Heed
5 oz. bottle of Hammer energy gel
3 oz. bottle of MCT oil
Small container of Electrolyte Stamina tablets, aspirin,
Vitamin C, green tea pills
Small bottle of HydroxyCut caps
More details
0.
Water
I left this off earlier versions and didn’t want to
re-number all the paragraphs. I try to saturate my body with water BEFORE I climb, exercise or hike. Some
people begin hydrating the night before an event. The state I like to get to
before a hike in very hot weather (105 degrees) is to feel like I have to both
pee and throw up at the same time. When I camp in the desert in hot weather I
drink a liter or liter and a half of water a half hour before breakfast.
1. Hammer Nutrition Heed sports drink - https://www.hammernutrition.com/products/heed-sports-drink/
The single most important supplement I take during exercise.
Hydrates the body better than water alone. I sometimes add carnosine and chromium picolinate to it and extra minerals.
The Hammer website is a great resource for information.
My sports drink of many years, CytoSport CytoMax has been
‘upgraded’ by the company (Hormel, the pig people, SPAM, etc.) that bought them
and severely wrecked, to the point that I get sick when I take it. Heed does
not have any of the herbal lift supplements that were in CytoMax so I’m careful
to take one of my green tea supplements.
2. Trace Minerals Research Electrolyte Stamina Tablets
I take 2 every hour while exercising. You MUST sustain your
serum electrolytes (sodium and potassium) during continuous exercise. Mineral
depletion is the main reason, IMO, people conk over dead at races, probably
potassium and magnesium depletion. Read the label for the ingredients and note
the serving size is 6.
3. Magnesium
Magnesium deficiency is probably the most common problem of
most athletes. IMO the best supplement is Jarrow Magnesium Optimizer although
other forms such as magnesium glycinate and magnesium aspartate are preferred by
some. https://secure.endfatigue.com/store/products/publications/from-fatigued-to-fan/
Watch out for magnesium citrate as it has a laxative
effect.
I am researching magnesium L-theonate as it purportedly
gets more magnesium to the brain than other forms, promoting sleep.
IMO Take taurine
with magnesium to facilitate absorption AND note overdoses of magnesium can
cause kidney damage. That’s why I like the Jarrow
and Trace Minerals Research forms of magnesium as they include taurine.
4. Post exercise recovery nutrition
After 2 or more hours of exercise I take a carefully crafted
post exercise protein/mineral/carb drink. The components are:
A.
Garden of Life plant based protein – chocolate https://www.allstarhealth.com/f/garden_of_life-sport_organic_plant_based_protein.htm
B.
200 mg magnesium
C. 200
mg calcium
D. 500 mg.
arginine/250 mg. ornithine
E. ½ scoop Heed
carb sports drink
F. 500 mg.
taurine
Taking this this post exercise drink within 20 minutes of
completing exercise I NEVER get muscle soreness or ravenous food cravings 1 and
2 days after a big hike or climb AND I recover enough to do a big exercise
again the next day. The research for this nutrition and recovery was done by
cyclists who have to ride max every day.
5. Daily trace mineral supplement – Catalyzes the Kreb’s
energy cycle in the body. Also smooths out heart and brain function IMO. https://nutritionreview.org/2013/04/krebs-cycle-intermediates/
Types I have taken are:
a . http://bluebonnetnutrition.com/product/362/Iron-Free_Multiminerals_Plus_Boron_Vegetable_Capsules
b. https://www.enzymatictherapy.com/products/Heart/Daily-Heart-Health/07751-Krebs-Cycle-Chelates.aspx
It may be important to take one WITHOUT iron and copper
but I don’t know why. Search ‘Krebs cycle minerals’ and see what you come up
with. I just got a deal on the Enzymatic Therapy stuff and bought 4 bottles.
6. Trace Mineral Research Concentrace Trace Mineral drops -- http://www.traceminerals.com/products/liquid-tablet-minerals/concentrace-ionic-minerals
Take only 10-15 drops a day, allow at least a month for it
to work. By itself this removed a heart arrhythmia I had for 40+ years and,
IMO, greatly contributes to my being depression free, along with niacin, noted
below. I have run an unsupervised ‘clinical trial’ of about 20 people on Trace
Mineral Concentrace and niacin and none have resorted to mood or mind altering
medications.
7. Niacin – I take 1000 mg./day every day. A known anti-depressant https://www.google.com/search?q=niacin+depression&oq=niacin+depression&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.5214j0j4&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=122&ie=UTF-8
also improves heart function and cholesterol. Several people
who have consulted me have avoided invasive cardiac procedures by taking niacin
and Concentrace. My take on niacin is this: Anyone not taking niacin daily is
shortening their lifespan by 10 years OR, the obverse, they are not lengthening
their lifespan by 10 years.
8. CoenzymeQ10 – increases the blood hemoglobin’s capacity
to dissolve oxygen. I currently take 100 mg. of Jarrow’s Q-Sorb http://www.allstarhealth.com/f/jarrow-q-absorb_coq-10_100mg.htm
[equivalent to a larger dose of
another brand/formula] per day. My performance noticeably drops off if I stop
taking this. A few months after I first began taking CoQ10 I went to the
Himalayas and was tested by a scientific expedition and I had the highest
dissolved oxygen of anyone they tested including all the Sherpa [97% while
walking at 13,000’, the Sherpa ran 95% and lower].
9. Vitamin C 100 mg. – Calcium ascorbate or Ester C. The
only one I can currently recommend is http://www.allstarhealth.com/f/solgar-ester-c_plus_1000mg_vitamin_c.htm
. I take 1000 mg. per day AND one 1000
mg. tab every 2 to 4 hours of a big climb or hike. I’m convinced the vitamin C
assists sugar metabolism preventing muscle soreness but I can’t prove it by the
literature or any health “professionals” I’ve talked to, even Olympic trainers.
10. Green Tea extract – a nice energy boost. I usually go
to the dollar store and look in the weight loss section. Green tea works better
for me than green coffee. Most come with additional ingredients that are VERY
effective. The supplement I got today has:
·
Calcium
·
Chromium
·
Green tea leaf extract with EGCG
·
Eleuthro (Siberian ginseng)
·
Caffeine
·
Fo Ti
·
Garcina
·
Guarana
·
Bladderwrack
·
Gotu kola
Fo ti is worth
your time researching or just trying if you have any kind of energy problems.
11. MUSCLETECH Hydroxycut Hardcore Elite http://www.allstarhealth.com/f/muscletech-hydroxycut_hardcore_elite.htm
is a spectacular energy boost, mostly
from caffeine. I sometimes take ½ a capsule 4 hours or more into a long climb
or hike. This stuff has some INTERESTING ingredients, like coleus! Having a
logy day? Take ½ cap [approx. = 1 espresso shot of caffeine] The only problem
with this stuff is sometimes I have to go to bed at like 6:30 PM the next day
to catch up on the energy I ‘paid forward’ to today.
12. White Willow Bark extract http://www.bulksupplements.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=White+Willow+Bark+Extract+
All the many benefits of aspirin with none of the substantial drawbacks. I
currently take this daily and have several other people on it all reporting
great results. Actually, I’m taking 1 or 2 Wal-Mart 88 mg. aspirin before just
about every hike.
13. NALT –
http://www.bulksupplements.com/n-acetyl-l-tyrosine-nalt.html
I don’t want to say too much here for any potential liability reasons. I take
it daily. When I hiked 10 miles yesterday, 10 miles the day before that, it’s
95 degrees outside at 2 PM and the ‘market’ is not going my way, I take NALT
and take another hike. Trust me, it’s on my list here for a reason. NALT is a
dopamine and adrenaline precursor.
14. Green coffee extract
http://www.bulksupplements.com/green-coffee-bean.html
A nice gentle caffeine boost.
15. Clark’s Minerals
https://www.amazon.com/T-J-Clark-Legendary-Colloidal-Mineral/dp/B0052C0P4W/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1465870389&sr=1-1&keywords=T.J.+Clark+Legendary+Colloidal+Mineral
I recently set a weekly distance record hiking. I noted I was taking Clark’s
mineral daily during that time. I believe there may be an important trace
mineral in here in higher quantity than my Kreb’s minerals that boosts my
energy. Eg. there are only minuscule amounts of vanadium in my Kreb’s
complexes. It could be a higher quantity in Clark’s that’s important or some
other mineral not normally in mineral complexes. Who knows what yttrium,
ytterbium, niobium, etc. do for energy? All these are in Clarks.
16. Rhodiola
This stuff definitely improves my long term trail
stamina. I’m currently taking a heaping teaspoon of https://www.mountainroseherbs.com/products/rhodiola-root-powder-north-american/profile
Schisandra is another powerful herb, especially in cold
weather. Siberian fur trappers use it. It’s astringent so I don’t like to mix
it with other stuff.
17. Other supplements I am currently taking but cannot
comment on in detail yet:
1.
L-Citrulline DL-Malate – malates are VERY important for the sugar burning cycle
in the body. See: https://www.hammernutrition.com/products/supplements/anti-fatigue-caps/
2.
L-theanine – I take it daily and I’m sure it boosts me somehow but haven’t
discerned its exact impact.
18. Hammer ANTI-FATIGUE CAPS
These things work!
I just began taking some in the Himalayas.
My current view is that minerals are more important than
vitamins. I have a lot of other opinions and things I have tried. Email me,
call me. This is one of the FEW subjects on which I am accessible.
