Recovery

[rtamesis]

Other than adequate rest between sets, sleep and at least a day or two between strength training sessions, are there any supplements that have been proven to hasten recovery between sets and sessions? The reason why I ask is, being in my 50's and doing the novice program, I have to spend at least 7-10 minutes resting after each set just to be able to complete all my sets. Some people in my gym have said that taking whey protein, MCT oil or ribose helps, and I consider your advice to be more informed by experience and thus valuable.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Anabolic steroids work quite well. But I suspect you were referring to other materials.

[rtamesis]

You are correct in that I was referring to non-steroidal supplements, if any effective ones exist.

[shaddix]

dude I'm 26 and I have to wait 5-6mins

[The Omni]

There are too many factors that affect how quickly you can recover. I'd say just eat well, sleep well and stay rigid in what you're doing. If it ain't broke, don't fix it is the quote that comes to mind.

[Ian Kovtunovich]

Other than adequate rest between sets, sleep and at least a day or two between strength training sessions, are there any supplements that have been proven to hasten recovery between sets and sessions? The reason why I ask is, being in my 50's and doing the novice program, I have to spend at least 7-10 minutes resting after each set just to be able to complete all my sets. Some people in my gym have said that taking whey protein, MCT oil or ribose helps, and I consider your advice to be more informed by experience and thus valuable.

If it makes you feel any younger, I'm just about 34, and I also spend 7-10 minutes between sets.

I don't put much stock in magic-bullet supplements myself, but I'm guessing you could improve your inter-set recovery by working on conditioning a bit. Taking whey protein will probably not help with recovery during the workout, but will make it easier to get adequate protein so you get stronger between workouts. I would bet that 99% of the people on this forum take whey protein, and we are all wicked strong (uhhh...yeah).

[Mark Rippetoe]

There are no supplements that make as much difference as steroids. And if you are a novice, nothing works as well as the program and gaining weight, no matter you age.

[Carlos Daniel]

Creatine pretty much fits the description. It is cheap and if there's a supplement that works and has shitloads of science backing it up, it's creatine.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Yeah, I forgot about that. Ever since creatine came out, steroids have been pretty much obsolete.

[MazdaMatt]

rtamesis - Bring a coffe with you to your next gym visit. Start drinking it before you warm up. I've found it lets me get under the bar sooner.