Which supplements make you run to the toilet the fastest?

Geschatte leestijd: 3 minuten Supplements often promise to make you stronger, bigger, and/or leaner. Some at least make you a lot faster; on your way to the toilet.

Two scoop army

If you use a pre-workout, you want to feel it too. That pumped-up feeling on your way to the gym and fingers literally itching to pick up dumbbells. With caffeine and beta-alanine, you’re already on your way. But of course, you also want that ‘pump’, vasodilation, and better blood flow to the muscles. Maybe that’s why you’re specifically looking for a pre-workout with arginine or citrulline. Or you just look at the supplement with the nicest pictures, the most catchy texts, and the longest list of impressively sounding ingredients. You want as much ‘bang for your buck’ as possible. A powder or pill that makes you explode. A two scoop army. And sometimes you find such a pre-workout. One that ‘makes you go hard’, according to your gym buddy at least. Full of anticipation, you’ve ingested your first dose half an hour earlier. The advice on the label was to start with one scoop and possibly build up to two. Of course, you took two scoops. After all, you’re no rookie. You put on your coat, grab your gym bag, and feel your fingers tingling. “Yes, perfect timing” you think. Stepping out the door, you feel a slight rumbling in your stomach. Completely ignoring this first sign of trouble, you get into the car, only to get out again and quickly run back inside. Hitting it hard is successful. Now to the gym.

Trying out supplements

That warning about gradually increasing the dosage is there for a reason. Often it’s just a matter of getting used to it. Sometimes not. Sometimes you have a supplement that apparently contains a mix of ingredients that just don’t sit well. For example, we once had to try out a pre-workout on the editorial team that hadn’t even hit the market yet. Playing a bit of a guinea pig. Unfortunately, it was not a success. No one wants to end up in the toilet of the gym for number 2. And yes, of course, I had started with two hefty scoops. But even with one scoop, it was not particularly beneficial for the workout. On the contrary. I consciously avoided training to the max for fear of getting a rumbling stomach that just wouldn’t stop. That pre-workout never made it to the market, partly due to experiences like ours. You’re welcome.

Silent but deadly

Not all negative effects of supplements on your stomach and intestines directly affect your training and gains. Nor are pre-workouts the only ones that can cause digestive disruption. After all, you’re not a serious fitness fanatic if protein farts are unfamiliar to you. Protein puffs, a popular topic at the table of many relationship therapists. Your partner: “He promised to stop!” Therapist: “How do you feel when you smell at night that he has cheated on you again?” Your partner: “Hurt. Especially because he tries to hide it by quietly letting them out.” Behind every bodybuilder who successfully stands on a podium, there is a partner who has endured months of protein farts. So using protein is a bit like having children; you discuss that with each other.

Big supps, little supps

My wife has only given me an ultimatum once in all these years. “Get rid of that weight gainer, or you’re out of bed”. Personally, I’ve never had much trouble with proteins. However, when I was getting an extra 1800 calories a day from a weight gainer, that didn’t go down well. Imagine a Zeppelin magically appearing in your stomach every night and magically departing every morning, albeit fragrantly. That’s what I (or we) endured for a week. Then that experiment was over. But well, that’s not very strange. If you suddenly almost double your daily food intake, you can expect a reaction from your body. However, some supplements are much more efficient and require much less to achieve maximum effect on your stomach and intestines. MCT oil is an outstanding example of this. I’m a fan of MCT oil. In almost 10 years of writing about training and nutrition, I’ve described quite a few supplements. Proteins, and creatine are the only supplements I myself have most often in the kitchen. MCT oil follows at a respectful distance as third. MCT oil is typically the kind of product that you have to build up again each time to avoid complaints. The best recipe for ‘the runs’ is to add two tablespoons of MCT oil directly to your shake. Now you know.

Names and shaming

Of course, I haven’t mentioned any names of specific brands and/or labels here. After all, some of them pay a part of our bills. But that shouldn’t stop you from letting others know what your toilet champion among supplements turned out to be. Who knows, you might spare someone else the trouble.