Concept2 Forum

Hello friends. Has anyone had success with or swear by certain supplements while only rowing? Maybe a weird question, but it seems like protein powder, pre-workout, creatine and things of that nature are mostly associated with weight lifting and not a rowing regiment. I mean, rowing is resistance, but also endurance and the research on supplements and endurance training seems limited. What has been your experience?

I take a daily regime of hmb, taurine and creatine. 2 grams of each and if take it in milk half an hour before a row or bike erg ride then I do think it makes a difference. Some times I forget to take it and the row or ride can seem harder, I wonder why it was harder and it tends to be that I forgot to take the powders.
I have stopped using protein powders and carb fillers like oats, as a pint and a half of milk a day gives me just as much as the powders, also recently the powders went up stupidly in price and are not cheaper now per day compared to milk in the long run.

Creatine is pretty much a proven product science wise after 30 yrs, just use mono or creapure. Creapure is micronised mono and is easier to digest. They are simple and do what they say and also 95% of the science is based on mono anyway.
Good benefits to people over 50 and thought to help with warding off dementia.
The main point of creatine to bear in mind is are you either a responder or not, if you are it will work if not you could take treble to amount to no effect and you will know within 2 weeks anyway.

Taurine has many benefits, just do the research. Purley down to choice this one. I take it as I am over 50 and feel I could benefit from the claims.

Hmb, again like creatine massive loads of research, it has been around 30 yrs. I take it as it stops muscle loss after a workout to catabolism and has quite a few claimed benefits to older people over 50. It is also claimed to help quicken muscle repair after a workout and protein synthesis. I do feel there is something to this claim. Again though take it for maybe 3 months and then 3 months off it. You would need the same work out structure and diet to compare and once again you may responder to it or you may not react to it at all.

I have tried nearly everything else you can think of, the above are all that I got a benefit from.
I have never taken sarms or peptides, which are legal, but a very dubious science and would advise to stick well clear off. Nobody knows the long term usage effects of these on the endocrine system.
There are also the pills that take the name of well know steroids, they are marketed heavily as legal steroid replacements with all the benefits. They are complete crud. They are made up of amino acids and are a total and utter rip off.

Just remember if you do take supplements, they will not transform you into an olympian and wont give you a 10% advantage. There is some benefit to be had for some people. Some people benefit from a coffee before a workout and swear by the lift in energy they get and it just feels better overall. Same thing for supplements.
I do get a placebo effect I reckon as well and am happy to live in that ignorance lol

I only have a strong black coffee, about 250ml of water and a small banana before rowing, unless it's a really long distance and I'll probably have a small bowl of porridge.

It depends on your goal distance, for sprint distances creatine should have measurable benefits (but body water can rise which can be a problem as a lightweight), caffeine too. There is only little reseach on beta alanine, I tried it for some weeks but didn't feel a difference.
Personally, I use 2.5g creatine per day (as a vegetarian I hardly get any creatine by food), coffee, and protein powder before and after weight training.

Unless you are an elite athlete looking for that last 1% a healthy diet is all you need. Creatine was big in rugby early in the professional era and the club I was involved with had a nutritionist who did a secret test. He asked who wanted to try it and provided creatine to those who did, except for half it was a placebo - about 8 in each group. One person on the real gear noticeably improved, but he started from a low base. While 3 in the placebo group improved.
Accepting there are studies that ‘prove’ all sorts the nutritionalists point was you can’t out supplement a poor diet, or poor lifestyle, just like you can’t out train one.
Maybe if you have everything else perfect in your strive for elite fitness and performance then supplements will give you that extra couple of millimetres.
Whilst I was never in the place to get that last 1-2% I played a decent standard of semi-professional sport and dipped into a few supplements over the years. My highest levels of fitness was achieved over the couple of years I gave up alcohol (and took No supplements).
Of course this is just my take on it. Others may find different.

I'm mainly doing long low intensity sessions but find the cramps later on a pita so pop an electrolyte tablet at the 60 minute mark and then one every for every additional 30 minutes