Friday, September 26, 2014

Welcome to Krank



Back in March of this year, I started interning at a strength and conditioning gym in Nutley, New Jersey known as Krank. For me it has been as an opportunity to learn more, gain hands on experience, and interact with a variety of individuals.

In my initial weeks, I would shadow classes and talk with members before or after class. Throughout the conversations, I'd usually pick up on something. Topics would cover things such as occupations, day-to-day ongoings, pains & injuries, performing an exercise, you name it. A lot of times, there would be similar information overlapping between people. Combine this with everything I would be taught by the coaching staff, I thought I could take a more proactive role through this site.

This site will allow me to share information and help everyone at the gym, as well as current clients and readers. Not only that but when I need to look something up, I actually revisit a lot of what I write. It's a win-win for everyone. I'll be writing similarly to how I have been and keep in line with the theme of exercise.

The regular posts will still be part of this site. The only change now is I'll feature something geared more towards the Krank members that can benefit everyone.

Enjoy the content and welcome to Krank.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Supplements for Joint Pain

Pain can occur for a number of reasons. This is especially true in exercise because of factors such as frequency, intensity, improper technique, and a host of other variables.

For myself, my main issue is my knee (I'll cover knee care in a separate entry). The other minor aches I have are the shoulder, bicep tendon occasionally, and my pec. They're not agonizing, but I can feel them from time-to-time.

As such, I've experimented with a few joint supplements to alleviate the pain. They aren't cures, but they have made daily life and lifting a little more tolerable. I won't be explaining the chemistry and action of the ingredients since that's beyond my scope. Instead, I'll share my experiences on which have seemed to help (and some discount codes for anyone looking to order).

With the exception of fish oil and cissus quadrangularis, they're listed in the order of my initial experience with the said supplement.


True Nutrition Joint Formula
This is one of the first I tried. It had a nice mix of everything I read about that could alleviate discomfort - mainly glucosamine, chondroitin, and cissus quadralangularis. Sure enough, I noticed less aggravation in my knee from day-to-day. Its temporary use was good, but discontinuing it didn't cause immediate flare up. 
USE: As the label directs, "take 1 capsule 4 times daily with food." 
WHERE TO BUY: On their website here. The code "NKP821" will provide a 5% on the Joint Support formula or any other True Nutrition supplements. For full disclosure, the code does provide me rewards as outlined here for new customers' first order through the site.
  • Alternatively, Vitamin Shoppe sells a similar product here that excludes the Cissus Quadrangularis.
Glycine / L-Glycine
The first mention of glycine - also known as L-glycine - I came across was from Kelly Baggett. Being curious, I began to add it to my daily shakes during the same time I used the True Nutrition joint support. I used it briefly, but I noticed my knee felt better than relying on only the joint support formula. This is one I'd recommend to check out. 
USE: Per Bagget's recommendation, take 5g twice a day. It's soluble enough to mix with a spoon. The downside is, the powder most likely doesn't come with a serving spoon. I used a food scale to measure out the serving, but one teaspoon is approximate to 5g. 
WHERE TO BUY: Most brands sell glycine. Typically it's sold in 100g - regardless whether it's the powder or pills. With the above dosage, it will last 10 days. Bulk quantities can be found on Amazon from the following brands: BulkSupplements and Hard Rhino


Helios caught my attention because of the ingredients. To date, I haven't seen any formula with a similar blend. I began to use it a day after I pulled a heavy deadlift at the gym without warming up (walked up to it and pulled). The next day I felt a few aches  - knee, bicep tendon, and shoulder. I couldn't miss my session to front squat and push a prowler that day. It looked like a perfect time to take Helios. I took one scoop, lifted two hours later, and I was fine in the evening. It was a pleasant surprise that I didn't have any pains the rest of day. 
If the powder gets on your fingers, you get a bit of yellow tinge on your skin from the curcumin. The mango ambrosia flavor tastes fruity at first, but has a bitter aftertaste. 
USE: 1-2 scoops a day with or without food. A scoop is included for measuring and it's very soluble in water. 
WHERE TO BUY: Directly from Chaos and Pain here. The discount code "HELIOS" will give a 15% discount at checkout. I do not receive any rewards from this. 
Cissus Quadrangularis
I haven't bought cissus as a separate supplement, but I mention it because it's one of the ingredients I was looking at prior to trying the True Nutrition Joint Support formula. It's found in that as well as Helios and could be something worth looking into if the above supplements are not of interest. 
USE: Varies by brand. The range is 1g to 1.6g twice a day depending on if it's the capsules or powder. 
WHERE TO BUY: Any brand of your choosing. 
Fish Oil
Even with all the research on fish oil, I could never observe any positive effects with its use (which was 3g of combined EPA & DHA daily). I made the decision to drop it a while back and have not seen a difference.
While these supplements may provide some relief, recall that I said they are not the solution to a problem. Exercise in a safe and intelligent manner coupled with adequate nutrition and recovery (mainly in the form of sleep) are excellent for preventing pain and injury. In a serious case, seek professional help if the issue has persisted without any signs of improvement. Supplements cannot act as a substitute for a proper diagnosis.

Supplements are just that - supplemental.
Creative Commons License
Niel Patel's Blog by Niel K. Patel is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.