Carbohydrate Supplements

Carbohydrates, hated by many, understood by few........

Now where to start ….
We don’t stock that many carbohydrate only products right now, the reason for that is that we don’t sell many so we stick to just selling the best ones that are quite popular. Probably the reason why we don’t sell many is that very people understand why you would want to supplement with carbohydrates. Most people that come to us are trying to lose weight and get into shape and they usually do a bit of reading about diet, fitness, exercise and a few really interesting articles about how Carbs are Evil!

Well cut carbs out of your diet completely, eat and supplement with plenty of protein, creatine and a good multi vitamin and see how far you get, now before you take that seriously and go off and try it, you’re going to get nowhere!

Carbohydrates are an energy source, the energy source your body uses to turn protein into muscle tissue. You should read the article on Protein and take note of a few points from it, Protein can be used by your body for energy as it is easily broken down, it is actually easier to break down than fat however your body will try and avoid doing it as best it can but if it doesn’t have any other energy source available it will start to use your body protein. Think about it your muscles are made up of protein, you’ve probably been there before dieting to lose weight going to the gym working out, lifting weights not getting any bigger muscles feel sore and no matter what you do you feel run down out of energy and de-motivated because you’re not getting any gains.

By consuming carbohydrates you give your body the energy source it needs to process all the protein that you are putting into your body. So Carbohydrates are essential if you want to build muscle.

From Personal experience I get enough carbs from my everyday food and so I don’t need to supplement with them. People that could benefit from carbohydrates are very often people who don’t eat much they try and keep up a diet of say lean chicken don’t eat much fruit or veg thinking the protein from the chicken will help them build muscle but really they just slow their growth.
And then you have the other end of the scale, you find some big guys out there in excess of 200lbs that train hard and eat a lot but because they have a lot of muscle to maintain normal amounts of carbohydrates that you would get from say 3 maybe 4 meals a day just doesn’t cut it and really they need a carbohydrate supplement to help maintain their large muscle mass

Now when it comes to the carbohydrate supplements/workout nutrition (pre and post workout supps)/weight gainers out there you will notice especially with our site we keep them separate some would argue that this isn’t quite right but it fits for us because of the way we look at them and the way this blog teaches you about them. Our carbohydrates section on our web store is for slow release carbohydrate supplements designed for carb loading for Endurance athletes to give them the energy needed for the sorts of activities that they do whether it be marathons, triathlons or boxing. If you are looking for fast release carbohydrates for post workout to help your body recover from intense training then you should look at our Workout Nutrition category as these will be what you’re looking for.

PHD Waxy Vol 2kg - Good quality cheap carbohydrates, comes in a handy sack like a lot of PHD supplements which are easy to store instead of big old plastic tubs. Waxy Vol gives you kind of a best of both when it comes to carbohydrates, it’s all carbs nothing else but has a good mix of hi GI and low GI carbs which means you can get maximum recovery from intense exercise as well as great carb loading for endurance sports

Extreme Nutrition Carbs 2.5kg - Straight forward slow releasing carbohydrates perfect for carb loading for endurance sports and it’s cheap.

CNP Professional Pro Fuel - contains maltodextrin and can be used on its own to help load with carbs for endurance sports or to add it to your protein shake for added calories to assist with weight gain.

Sci-MX Rapid Recovery - Is designed really for post workout recovery it contains whey protein Isolate to help with maintaining muscle tissue, I’ve heard some people actually use it while doing endurance sports. So while running they will drink it to give them energy and protein while they are exercising as it is very fast release it can help put off muscle fatigue by providing everything you need to keep pushing and it protects your muscles from catabolism by feeding it high quality whey protein Isolate.

So to conclude..........

There are 3 main types of carbohydrate supplements, weight gainers that contain carbs, post/pre workout drinks and carbs for endurance sports.

Remember these and make sure you pick the right ones otherwise you could find yourself getting further away from your goals by taking the wrong supplements.