Also guys..I am really upset that someone here erased a post by soundness where he talked about the placebo effect and how this will give a psychological boost to those who believe in supps, rather than the supps themselves....that was a very good post full of sound information and it was not offensive at all...why would someone delete his post???....if we are going to have nice old-fashioned debate on here then we have to be able to have access to ALL opinion....I am proud that this thread has not decended into gay-bashing jokes, racial name-calling, and stupid putdowns like a lot of other posts on getbig....If the moderator of this post can't stand the fire then get out of the kitchen and let someone else moderate....soundness made a very valid point with his post....lets not start censoring guys who are giving thoughtful and outstanding analysis just becaaause it may clash with some else's world view....there are many other stupid threads on here where that type of interference would be appreciated....
Thanks andreisdaman, I truly appreciate that and it shows upstanding character on your part.
I must admit, I bought some ZMA in pursuit of the deepest sleep possible. Arnold's comments and your comments were encouraging, as were numerous studies on magnesium, zinc, b-6, and an overwhelming amount of testimonials that it helped with sleep. I figure if all I get from it is a great night's sleep it's worth it... $30 for 120 tablets 2 tablets before bed comes out to only 50 cents a night that's worth a great night's sleep even if I don't get a boost in test as they claim....
What I'm asking for particularly are scientific studies to prove that specific supplements facilitate hypertrophy goals. I am not taking sides, testimonials are better than nothing, but if all you have is word-of-mouth, you must account for the fact that it is likely placebo. The mind tends to draw correlations, often illusory. Placebo means
belief caused the effect, not that it was actually caused by what's in the supplement. If you take something
believing it will cause you to have better workouts, that belief alone can increase your gains. Therefore, it is placebo, not the supplement. Think of "placebo" as synonymous with "belief." In scientific studies, it is usually a fake pill or fake something.
I agree with those of you who claim it's worth it to purchase supplements
if it is absolutely necessary to instill the belief in yourself and therefore yeild the additional gains. However, as andreisdaman pointed out, taking them can basically become a ritual. If you really wanted to save money you could simply find a different ritual. One thing I do personally is visualization. I put my hands on the bar, close my eyes and imagine myself pumping out solid reps. The triumph of strength. Then,
between my workouts I do all I can to maintain the feeling that I'm growing. The way you feel
between workouts will have a great bearing on your success when your workout finally does come around. You must
know you're growing. Convince yourself of it. Why does this work? You guessed it: BELIEF.
What I am asking for are LEGITIMATE, PUBLISHED, PEER-REVIEWED SCIENTIFIC STUDIES that show specific supplements promote muscular growth. Preferably they'd be confirmed by others and there wouldn't be contradictory research out there as we've seen with ZMA and testosterone increase. If you can show me such I'd greatly appreciate it and would be highly likely to take the supplement. Please either forward me the studies or direct me to them if you have any. I am interested and I'm sure many other Getbiggers are as well. Thanks.