Energy Supplements???

lawlitssoo1n

Professional
I'm 17 years, 6'2" currently a senior in high school. lately, i've been VERY VERY busy and have not been getting much sleep. so i was looking for alternative to regain my energy...so i decided to try the 5 hours energy drink. it sure did give me energy but i was looking for some energy supplement pills i can take on a daily basis.
This is my schedule
4:40am-stretch and jog
5:50am-shower and eat breakfast
6:30am-get to bus stop and go to school
then the usual 7 hours of school from 8;00am till 3:00pm(w/ lunch and nutrition)
ride the bus back home at around 4:30pm
eat some snack and go out and play tennis till 8:00pm
shower then eat dinner
9:00pm-finish hw
10:00pm- work out, stretch
10:30pm-sleep

so can anyone recommend energy supplement pills that will give me LONG lasting energy for the whole day, if not at least half the day 12 hours
 

Fee

Legend
The only thing that I can recommend for you is 8 hours of sleep per night. You are two hours short and bursting/crashing on assorted sugar and caffeine induced spurts is not going to help you. Eating a healthy diet is only part of it.
 

Fee

Legend
That's not a balanced diet, and does not seem at all healthy for someone your age. I would bet that you are still growing to some degree, so you need vegetables, proteins, carbs, even a little bit of healthy fats in your diet to fuel you for all these activities and to fuel the overdrive your body goes into to function on lack of sleep. I think you would be better off with the widest variety of healthy foods you that you can get.

There are people here with far more nutrition expertise than me who can give you specifics, but your lack of sleep is the biggest problem I see. If you have health insurance, you should discuss your schedule and your diet with your doctor and a nutrionist/registered dietician.
 

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
Optimal amount of sleep <-- (by age)


Typical sleep cycles:

sleepcycles.gif



You would probably be much better off with 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night rather than trying to get away with 6 hours. It would undoubtedly improve your performance in school and on the tennis court. Not really a good idea to rely on energy supplements, caffeine, or 5-Hour Energy as a substitute for adequate sleep.

On a few days a week you might be able to get by with a little bit less than 7 hours, but less than 6.5 hours is not recommended. It is usually best to wake up near the end of a REM cycle. If you cannot wake up easily after 6.5 hours, then try something closer to 7 hours. On other days, try to sleep 1 or 2 sleep cycles more. (Note that the first few sleep cycles at night are 1.5-2 hours, whereas later sleep cycles are closer to 1 hour in duration).

tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?p=2759567
tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?p=2758360


Some sort of meditation twice a day could be very helpful for getting you thru the day. Again, this should not be viewed as a replacement for sleep -- it should be used more of an adjunct to sleep -- a way to refresh & energize the brain/body. Each meditation session should be 10-20 minutes in length. You can perform the first session immediately after waking up. Alternately, you can do it on your bus ride to school. The 2nd session can be done in the late afternoon or early evening.
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SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
Note that 5-Hour Energy is most effective taken on a relatively empty stomach or taken w/o competing amino acids (from protein sources). If taken w/o food 10 minutes or so before an exercise session, the 5-Hour Energy should be more effective. I find that I can get satisfactory results with only 1 oz (1/2 bottle) of 5-Hour Energy or 6 Hour Power.

Note that the latter product uses the older formulation of 5-Hour Energy (who changed their formula a bit in Oct 2007). I have seen both products at Long's Drugs for fairly decent prices. (Might also find 1 or both at Rite Aid or similar merchants).

I'd suggest taking 1/2 bottle shortly before your morning jog. Save the rest of the bottle for the afternoon. Take that dose somewhat before you eat your snack (or after a snack that does not include protein). I feel that either of these products are probably preferable, health-wise, to drinking a lot of coffee with sugar.

Another excellent alternative to the 2 energy shot products is ProEndorphin. If you shop around, you can sometimes find this product for a price that comes out to less than 60 cents per 1/2 serving:

www.thesupplenet.com/602359050028.html

Another product that I might suggest is (VPX) Redline RTD. Note that this product is fairly potent. When I use this product, I use only 1/4 of an 8 oz can at a time. I do not recommned drinking more than 1/2 bottle of this stuff at one sitting.

Rev3 Energy drink also looks like it might be another good alternative. I've only tried a small sample of this but it appears to be a very good product. Try sending email to this guy fo more info on this product. I believe that it is a good idea to switch up and use various different products rather than using just one (like 5-Hour Energy). Will try more Rev3 in the near future and report back on it.

Other supplements or foods to consder:

DMAE is a nutrient found in the brain that is related to the B vitamin family. Small amounts of DMAE is found in sardines and possibly other fish. Supplementing with DMAE might be helpful. Doses should be taken in the morning & afternoon, not at night. Ginseng (Panax) might also help with your energy levels -- American and Korean ginsengs might be the best choices.

Instead of coffee or caffeineted soft drinks, drink green or black teas. These contain both L-Theanine and caffeine as well possesing a number of health benefits. Note that L-Theanine has been shown to reduce mental and physical stress. It can produce feelings of relaxation and may improve cognition & mood when taken in combination with caffeine.

One suggestion on your 10pm workout -- do not do any exercises that significantly raise your heart rate before hitting the sack. 5 to 15 minutes of static stretching would be ok, but nothing strenuous at all.
 

lawlitssoo1n

Professional
WOW thanks man. i will keep this in mind!!!! btw i changed my plans... i sleep at 8:00pm or i try my best to sleep 9:00pm the latesT!!!! thanks man

oh yea
also, my previous school tennis coach has some 'one a day' pill thing. he says that gives him energy throughout the whole day...anyone know what that is?
 

ollinger

G.O.A.T.
Ever ask yourself "what the hell am I thinking at my age that I need a pill to give me energy??!!" You have three periods of exercise each day. Perhaps your body is telling you that that's a little irrational.
 

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
WOW thanks man. i will keep this in mind!!!! btw i changed my plans... i sleep at 8:00pm or i try my best to sleep 9:00pm the latesT!!!! thanks man

oh yea
also, my previous school tennis coach has some 'one a day' pill thing. he says that gives him energy throughout the whole day...anyone know what that is?

Good to hear that you're increasing your sleep time. This should help quite a lot.

Hard to say what that wonder pill might be -there are many possibilities. As I suggested before, it may be DMAE, or a Ginseng. Another possibility is an amino acid such as DLPA or Phenylalanine or a B vitamin complex. There are also several cocktail (multi-nutrient) supplements such as BrainQuicken. Others would include diet/energy supplements such as Zanatrex of HydroxyCut -- caution: be very careful about using anything like these 2 products. Is it possible that your old coach was getting something from a Euro (or other) pharmacy such as Modafinil?

I would like to stress again that it is best not to rely on some "magic bullet". You are much better off incorporating meditation and adequate sleep. Drinking green & black teas during the day would be a good idea as well.

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roc17355

Rookie
Acai

I have been taking 2 ounces of pure Acai concentrate for nearly a month now. 1 ounce in the morning and 1 at night and I feel it has done wonders for my energy level amongst other things. I seem to sleep better aswell whcih may have something to do with my energy level. I would suggest looking into it. You can get it at GNC for $30 a bottle. I prefer the stuff w/out green tea or other juices. also check brazilbotanicals.com they seem to have a pretty good product.
 

ollinger

G.O.A.T.
The acai thing makes no sense to me in terms of energy. The process by which the body utilizes energy is oxidation. Acai is said to be an extremely rich source of antioxidants. What's wrong with this picture?? The antioxidant marketing machine is a spectacle to behold.
 

Fee

Legend
The acai thing makes no sense to me in terms of energy. The process by which the body utilizes energy is oxidation. Acai is said to be an extremely rich source of antioxidants. What's wrong with this picture?? The antioxidant marketing machine is a spectacle to behold.

Placebo affect perhaps?

Acai is just another fruit juice, it's this year's pomengrante juice, and next year there will be a new wonder fruit.
 
I would like to stress again that it is best not to rely on some "magic bullet". You are much better off incorporating meditation and adequate sleep. Drinking green & black teas during the day would be a good idea as well.

.

Agreed, S.A. I've worked as a strength coach for a very long time, and these are still the best ways to go. Back in the 70's, it was not uncommon for competitive weightlifters to drink black coffee before and even during certain workouts!
 

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
how about "stemulite"??

Have not tried it and do not know enough about it to form an informed opinion. It appears that there may be something to "the science" of Stemulite and it certainly seems that there are many out there who rave about it. On the other hand, there also appears to be quite a large number of detractors -- those who feel it is a scam for the most part. Best to do more investigation on your own. Here is just a small sampling:

www.Stemulite.com/ingredients

www.StemuliteScam.com

forum.BodyBuilding.com

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maverick66

Hall of Fame
you shouldnt need an energy booster at 17 yo. seriously cut back on something and let your body rest. at your age you should be bouncing back fairly quickly from hard workouts but it sounds like your body is telling you to back off for a few days. that schedule is alot even for someone that is in insane shape. where is your rest time? rest is just as important as the work.
 

Sleepstream

Semi-Pro
SA, I've consumed two bottles of Redline Xtreme within 3 hours of each other. Not recommended unless a person needs to stay up for many hours.

VPX also has their version of the energy shots with the Redline Power Rush. Quite a bit more caffeine than the 5-hour energy shots, but I found it more effective.
 

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
SA, I've consumed two bottles of Redline Xtreme within 3 hours of each other. Not recommended unless a person needs to stay up for many hours...

Yeah, I wouldn't recommend that at all. I find that even 1/2 of a bottle of the Redline RTD is a tad too much for me -- 1/4 to 1/3 bottle suffices.

...

VPX also has their version of the energy shots with the Redline Power Rush. Quite a bit more caffeine than the 5-hour energy shots, but I found it more effective.

Not tried the Power Rush since a mere 2 oz of the regular Redline costs me less that 80 cents (per mini-dose) and is plenty effective for my needs. You can get it even cheaper than that if you shop around (lower than $2 per bottle):

VPX Redline
VPX Redline Xtreme
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Sleepstream

Semi-Pro
I've tried too many energy supplements. For the money, I do love Redline Xtreme, but I just can't get out of the habit of trying the low calorie energy supplements.

The only negative of the Redline products is the yohimbine hcl, which is definitely not meant for everybody. Some individuals can become very moody when its effects start wearing off.
 

SystemicAnomaly

Bionic Poster
...

The only negative of the Redline products is the yohimbine hcl, which is definitely not meant for everybody. Some individuals can become very moody when its effects start wearing off.

Not noticed the Yohimbine effect that you've mentioned. But then it could be that the effect is very subtle with my normal dose of 2 oz. I don't think that I've ever tried much more than 1/3 of an 8 oz can. It could also be that the Xtreme version might have side effects not seen in the standard RTD version of Redline.

I believe that most of the Redline product line is meant to be thermogenic. Large doses of a thermogenic product might very well tend to make one edgy or moody. In order to minimize side effects and to avoid building up a tolerance to any one product, I like to mix it up -- I'll use one product for a while (like a week or so) and then switch to another. Have you tried the ProEndorphin or Rev3 products that I mentioned in post #6?

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Jim A

Professional
Why are you working out 30min before you go to bed? Sleep is what you are missing and putting yourself deeper in a hole is just going to make it worse. Trying to sleep after being active makes it harder for your body to fall asleep.

Essentially the 30 min right after you wake up, you should stimulating the brain and/or body, not laying on the couch and watching ESPN. The 30 min prior to sleep should be the opposite.

How long does it take you to get to/from school? 90 min between catching the bus and homeroom is a long period of time. Are you just playing tennis on your own or with a team?
 
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