The Final Word on the #1 Renegade Supplement

Transcription

1 The Final Word on the #1 Renegade Supplement By RSC Asst. Coach Jack Penner Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. I will never forget the day that I first heard this timeless quote. There I sat, a little 3 year- old, frustrated with my inability to tie my shoes. As my father patiently tried to explain it to me, I fumbled with the laces as if I had 10 thumbs. Just do it for me, I pleaded, throwing my hands up in dismay. He responded by uttering those opening words of wisdom, burning them into my young mind. With shock and awe, I sat there, looking as if I had just been told the secret to life. Confusion, some enlightenment, and a bit of discomfort crawled across my face. And then, I farted. Ah, sweet relief. Truth be told, in the Winter of 1994, I had no fucking clue what that saying meant. But over time, I have come to process the value in those words. To me, they represent the importance of avoiding the common mistake of weighing you down with a steaming pile of information.

2 You don t need some word- vomit of buzzwords and scientific wording. You need knowledge that is educational. Knowledge you can immediately put into practice So, with that in mind, we are going to look at the confusing world of supplements and focus on simplifying down the most important one for all Renegades. Magnesium. Up until now, most of the information that has floated around the RSC has been broken up into small bits. A paragraph or two here, another post there, making you responsible for piecing it all together. But you don t need that. That keeps things complex. That leaves you with confusion. That s the opposite of the Renegade philosophy. What you really need is an easy- to- follow, clear cut, description of what magnesium does. Once you understand that, you can learn can how to use it to bring out a more awesome version of you. So, it s time to give you the Why, What, and How of magnesium supplementation. Why you should supplement with magnesium What benefits you can expect from using it. How to properly take magnesium to enhance your training and your life. Let s get started. The Real Reason a Renegade Needs Magnesium As far as I am concerned, there is one reason magnesium is such an incredible supplement for people who want to get bigger, faster, stronger, and more jacked.

3 Plain and simple. It will do wonders for your recovery. This is because magnesium plays a central role in helping your body relax and begin rebuilding itself after hard training. Your body, for the most part, has two states that it lives in: Sympathetic Mode and Parasympathetic Mode. Sympathetic Mode is the Fight or Flight mode. This is the phase we all know and love. You re wired. You re amped up. You re ready to rock. Parasympathetic Mode is the Rest and Digest and Mode. This is the phase that we sometimes struggle to enter. You are mellow. You are relaxed. You are recovering from the day s Fight or Flight moments. In order for our body to function at its peak potential, there needs to be balance between Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Mode. You can t just train all day, everyday and expect to make progress. Likewise, you can t live your life in sympathetic mode and expect to avoid injury and burnout. This is where magnesium comes in. Magnesium is a critical player in pulling your body out of Sympathetic Mode and into Parasympathetic Mode. We have all heard about how cortisol and adrenaline are involved in your body s stress response. When your Sympathetic Mode gets activated, you enter the Fight or Flight state. This makes your body ramp up the production of these two stress hormones. Ideally, when the stressor goes away, the levels of these hormones decrease, and you come back down to a relaxed state. And when that happens, your body can start to recover and adapt.

4 This Adaptation is what makes you come back better, stronger, and more prepared to handle taxing events like a 5RM, or brutal conditioning session. Because magnesium is one of the switches that let your body deactivate the stress response, it lets you recover and helps you adapt. However, many of us lack the magnesium intake necessary to reach our full recovery potential. Why? Our modern food cannot deliver us with enough magnesium. This makes it almost impossible to maintain adequate levels without supplementation. Even those following the Renegade Diet will fall short because the earth s soil has become so depleted of magnesium. This modern day magnesium depletion makes supplementation necessary for a hard training Renegade like you. Because of the high demands you place on your body, you are going to need an extra boost of magnesium to make sure you continue to improve. Of course, there is the option to just lay off the throttle, train less, and live an average life. But I d rather not live than live a life of mediocrity. So, make sure you don t sell yourself short in the world of recovery. Get in enough Magnesium and help yourself comeback come back stronger, everyday. What You Can Expect from Better Magnesium Supplementation Now that you understand the main benefit of Magnesium, let s get into the specifics of what you can expect when you restore adequate levels. The fact that magnesium improves your ability to turn off the stress response means it can help with anything that comes from being too stressed, burnt out, and under- recovered.

5 Trouble sleeping Waking up feeling groggy and tired Constipation or diarrhea Intense or prolonged soreness Low energy Low motivation to train Difficulty focusing Elevated anxiety Declining performance in the gym Right now, you re probably thinking, Wait. Magnesium can help with ALL of those areas? Absolutely. Time and time again, proper magnesium supplementation has been shown to impact these areas of health and performance. From longer and more restorative sleep, to better muscular recovery, to improved mental clarity, it can help alleviate many of the common problems that impact your ability to feel great and perform at your highest level. Recommendations for Supplementing Magnesium As with all supplements, there are good and bad products, and a right and wrong way to take them. Because I want to make sure you guys never waste your time and your money on snake oil supplements, here is your run- down on the best protocol for taking Magnesium. The two best forms of Magnesium are: 1. Transdermal Magnesium This is a spray, gel, or lotion that you absorb through your skin. Transdermal magnesium is thought to be more efficient than pills. Ancient Minerals makes a great magnesium product, and it is what I use personally. 2. Chelated Magnesium This is the best form of oral magnesium supplementation.

6 Unlike other kinds, chelated magnesium will not give you diarrhea, and you will absorb it better. The chelated forms include magnesium malate, magnesium glycinate, or a magnesium chelate blend. Now, some people say that you only need to use the transdermal form OR the oral form. But, since there are pros and cons to both, those of you that want to cover all of your bases should use a combo of transdermal and oral magnesium supplementation. A great starting protocol would be 400g of a chelated magnesium taken each day combined with transdermal use once per day (20-30 sprays, or about a quarter sized portion of the gel or lotion). As far as timing goes, take the oral magnesium whenever it is convenient. You would ideally use the transdermal form in the evening, since it can help you asleep. But if that s not practical for you, don t stress it. The most important thing is that you get it in at some point during the day. One final note: Stick with it. It takes a while to get your magnesium levels up, so dedicate a solid 8-10 weeks of supplementation before you decide whether or not you feel a difference. To sum it all up: Magnesium is a supplement that can dramatically improve your recovery It will help your body shut down the stress response and repair itself Because most of the world s soil is depleted from magnesium, it is nearly impossible to get enough without supplementing Better sleep, less soreness, and improved mental clarity are among the benefits you can expect from restoring adequate Magnesium levels A combination of transdermal and oral supplementation will ensure you are covering all of your bases. Start with 400g of oral Magnesium and 1 use of transdermal magnesium each day for 8-10 weeks and see how much of a difference you feel.