Food - Water - Sleep - Caffeine & a little blue Pill?...........allow me to explain:

its very hard after a long days work to have enough energy to play good badminton.. this is very frustrating .. for along time i would wonder before gettin on court if it was going to be a good night or a bad one.......the result was very random and seemingly beyond my control... now i think i've figured out some ways to have atleast some control over how i feel, but is there a catch?


to get some control over how i feel are the fallowing:

about a year ago i started drinking coffee before i played... later i made sure i fallowed this up with very cold water (within a few minutes of the coffee)

another thing is to eat something with high energy a little while before going out - like a ton of peanut butter on a bagel with a glass of skim milk.

in the past year i've tried (in addition to the coffee - taking naps before i leave to play .. at this point if I play in the evening i Always take a nap before i leave) i have read that you should not take an hour long nap - you need a complete sleep cycle (of aprox 90 minutes) or your body will not fully wake up after your nap - so if you do not have time for a complete sleep cycle it is best to take several shorter naps of say 15 - 30 minutes... this way you can rest but you will not be interupting a deep sleep and confusing your system.

i have also tried caffien pills which a co-worker used regularly - but they gave me heart burn :(

... if i wanted to feel like that i would just asume swallow a handfull of garlic pills :eek:

Enter the Blue Pill

but recently i was given a little blue pill by my boss at work - my supervisor is a former pro baseball player (who's out of baseball due to a shoulder injury ..now after surgery and 2 years since he has played for the montreal expos - he is struggling to get back into it and pitching in local league games) anyways - our boss gave us both this little pill which i later found out was Zantrex-3 (which is actually a fat-burner wheight loss pill :confused: )

the next morning we each had a story of how we played awsome in our respective sports... basically a high energy feeling like you drank ten cups of coffee or something, absolutely wired for sound! :cool:

i guess he got a bunch of hits in (which scored a few runs)..and i played as best as i have in quite awhile.... more alert and able to focus on the game w/out fighting fatigue, complacency etc.

the only side effect is how i feel after taking it .. nothing bad but alot of left over restless energy (even after 2+ hours of play) ... basiciallly wired when i get back home - and even as i write this i feel very fired up :D .. because the drug is time-release you feel it gradually and i believe you get the biggest hit of it just before it wears off (which would be right now lol :D ) and to be truthfull is possibly why i am writing this now.

- unlike a sugar high that you'd burn off withing the first 45mins or an hour and then you feel low.

at best i have found a way to make my body feel good - which matches my attitude... have you ever tried so hard to get your mind focused and alert on the game but your body doesnt' fallow?

at worse - will I become dependant on this drug? and 'have to have it' whenever i play - and scary to think this may be a kind of performance enhancing drug which might give me unfair advantage? - for club play i really dont care.. whatever helps me get the most out of my short-time on court (only 2 hours a week :( ) i'm going to use - but is it fair for tournaments ? .. i have yet to decide .. either way it doesnt' matter because i have enough integrity to do the right thing and Not take it if it infact is unfair... i am still researching this ..the bottle says its safe if drug testing is an issue... i have yet to find anything on the net about this.


The Truth about Zantrex-3 ?

- most of the ingredients appear to be fairly natural - the pill is not an ephedra based pill (which i think have been banned by the FDA) ..reading the bottle actually reveals some really cool ingredients like green tea extract - ginsing root, black pepper extract, coffee been extract - maca root and like 4 or 5 other things a few of which are used in exotic teas .... one thing to note however is that what this really adds up to is a lot of differnent sources of caffeine...is it worth it? at 75 cents per pill you decide.

- at $60 canadian a bottle its pricy stuff (aprox 82 pills) - the bottle recommends you take 2 - which i can't even imagine :eek: ... the prescribed use for wheight loss is to take 2 a day untill the bottle runs dry - which i am NOT going to do since i have no interest in losing wheight nor feeling that druged up all the time :eek: .. that is not desirable.

- i have read user-reviews and some people like it ..others said save your money because its whieght loss effects are exaggerated - nobody however doubted its energy levels.


Bottom Line:
------------

i am still researching Zantrex-3 ... so i have yet to decide to what level i will contiue using it - at this point i feel fairly positive towards taking it.. i really dont like drinking coffee because its hard on my stomach

to me the whole process is really smooth - no ill feelings aside from needless energy afterwards - while some people reported diahrea and other sick feelings i have not experienced this ... my dossage remember is only one pill per week however.

I highly recommend anyone give this a try if they are frustrated or helpless with feeling tired during your games.

I also recommend you dont take this or anything like it unless you do your own research - http://www.zantrex.net/

by typing Zantrex-3 Reviews in a search engine you can easily find information - do not trust anyone who is also selling the through the same site though... and realize that some of the claims are obviously exaggerated.

And i should probably note you should be causious of buying immatation ones - while it supposedly had the same ingredients - both my boss and supervisor bought a similar (canadian version) of Zantrex3 called Z-3 ... and the results were not impressive... they both soon returned them for the Zantrex.

--------------------

this should help you if you have a problem with fatigue and lack of energy ..and getting a good nights sleep doesn't hurt either ;)

Maybe some exercises?Running or some other

I also recommend you dont take this or anything like it unless you do your own research - http://www.zantrex.net/

by typing Zantrex-3 Reviews in a search engine you can easily find information

e.g.
http://www.bodybuildingforyou.com/weight-loss-etc/zantrex-3-review.htm
http://www.bodybuildingforyou.com/weight-loss-etc/zantrex-3-side-effects.htm

e.g.
http://www.bodybuildingforyou.com/weight-loss-etc/zantrex-3-review.htm
http://www.bodybuildingforyou.com/weight-loss-etc/zantrex-3-side-effects.htm


thanks Neil thats a good review... i also read that before i bought the stuff by the way

as well as a bunch of user reviews that were about 50/50

If I were you I would forget about coffee and any non-vitamin pill, including that little blue pill you seem to have fallen in love with. All you need is a balanced diet with lots of vegetables and fruits, enough sleep and plenty of hydration with water, and during games with sports drink or just water with a banana. If you feel aches in your legs after games you are probably short of vitamins and minerals. A balanced diet will correct that. Or you can consider taking antioxidants in the form of vitamin C and E. Coffee will only make you jittery. :D

If I were you I would forget about coffee and any non-vitamin pill, including that little blue pill you seem to have fallen in love with. All you need is a balanced diet with lots of vegetables and fruits, enough sleep and plenty of hydration with water, and during games with sports drink or just water with a banana. If you feel aches in your legs after games you are probably short of vitamins and minerals. A balanced diet will correct that. Or you can consider taking antioxidants in the form of vitamin C and E. Coffee will only make you jittery. :D

well it may be a matter of personal choice

have you ever heard of what andre aggassi does before matches?

apparently he drinks a bunch of capacino's (i heard 3-5) and a couple chocolate bars... i heard that a few years ago, and considering the way he acts on court (very intense and qucke between points) ... just watch him and its really not that hard to believe that he's high on caffein


i don't get aches or pains.. i have a physical job - at work i am on my feet almost all day - its fatigue that i feel.

well it may be a matter of personal choice

have you ever heard of what andre aggassi does before matches?

apparently he drinks a bunch of capacino's (i heard 3-5) and a couple chocolate bars... i heard that a few years ago, and considering the way he acts on court (very intense and qucke between points) ... just watch him and its really not that hard to believe that he's high on caffein


i don't get aches or pains.. i have a physical job - at work i am on my feet almost all day - its fatigue that i feel.
mmm. Maybe thats why he got so good. Caffeine POWER!!! Oh yea forgot SUGAR POWER!!!

lol

yea its pretty insane

coffee gives my stomach aches though.. i find it really hard on my system

drinking green tea has some caffiene but i find it also makes me tired at the same time as it wakes me up... its very strange.

yea its pretty insane

coffee gives my stomach aches though.. i find it really hard on my system

drinking green tea has some caffiene but i find it also makes me tired at the same time as it wakes me up... its very strange.

The amount of caffeine in green tea varies with its quality, the cheaper ones have more caffeine and the top grades of green tea have extremely low levels of caffeine, as it should be as they cost US$300 for 500gm.
Caffeine leaches calcium from yor body. According to funeral parlours, coffee drinkers' and smokers' cremated bones show tell-tale sign of their indulgence by being black in colour. :(

Well i know that Coke and Pepsi and most carbonated drinks have chemicals that not only pull caffiene from your bones but also inhibit your body from absobing calcium

there are 3 chemicals in carbonated drinks - 'something benzonate :confused: ' is one of them

i haven't heard that of caffiene .. i have known people who drink coke/pepsi for breakfast and have several cans a day

i drink probly 3 coffees a week (and i honestly try to go the day w/out it) ... most coffee drinkers have 1-2 a day, everyday

+ i seldom drink pop

so i'm not really concerned w/that

i sleep plenty b4 it....stay awake atleast 2hrs b4 u go 2 play/train.

i also eat a full meal b4 i go (bout1-1.5 hrs)

when u go then do stretches n **** b4 u start playin!

i sleep plenty b4 it....stay awake atleast 2hrs b4 u go 2 play/train.

i also eat a full meal b4 i go (bout1-1.5 hrs)

when u go then do stretches n **** b4 u start playin!

I'd do all of the above, but to add right before the game listen to some crazy music to get you pumped up!:cool::D

hi guys..
i do some stretching and also take in alittle isotonic drink..It helps me to wake up abit.=)

after i get up in the morning i drink tea and i eat a boiled egg before 45 minutes and start practising

I'd say keep drinking a lot during the day, and eat a lot of carbohydrates. up to two hours before you play eat anything that has carbohydrates in them.

in the hour before you play, eating carbo-stuff hardly helps, because your body hasn't absorbed them yet. and horu before your games surgar is your best bet.
during session keep drinking isotonic drinks and afterwards remember to eat a lot of vibres and protein.

we got a food-info-session at the club some months ago ;)

Water, and fruits. I love fruits. During play, water, or Gatorade.

Don't forget about FATS!!!

I think in modern society fat has been unfairly painted as the "bad guy" in foods. Want steadier energy levels? Eat more fat. Want your energy levels to fluctuate throughout the day? Eat more carbs.

Note: the original stimulant here is a fat burner. Excess caffeine is a banned substance because of its effects on increasing fat metabolism. High fat intake... also increases fat metabolism. See some connections here?

If I were you I would forget about coffee and any non-vitamin pill, including that little blue pill you seem to have fallen in love with. All you need is a balanced diet with lots of vegetables and fruits, enough sleep and plenty of hydration with water, and during games with sports drink or just water with a banana. If you feel aches in your legs after games you are probably short of vitamins and minerals. A balanced diet will correct that. Or you can consider taking antioxidants in the form of vitamin C and E. Coffee will only make you jittery. :D

Thank you taneepak for some common sense. I can't believe what I'm reading... Taking pills and drinking coffee before badminton? :eek: Why do you guys think you can't play badminton and you feel tired? Because you ARE tired! Your body is tired and WANT some rest! He is crying "give me some rest!" after the long day. And what do you do? You take a pill to repress the warning and you're happy! This is a good way for dreaming about playing badminton from hospital bed! And don't talk about proffesionals who are dependent on their condition and are payed for good results. Why do you think so many are on stimulants? Sure not because they are just tired! If you are tired so much that you need a pill, you should go to sleep!

Everyone who is reading this do not be imposed upon some magic blue or red pills unless you're considering about entering the Matrix! :) And please, read again what taneepak wrote above!

And my additional contribution to the diet would be complex carbohydrates like honey, rice, dates... Forget about heavy food (high fat, like peanuts??? and chocolate) before badminton! High protein and fat including carbohydrates are for after that (eggs!, fish...)

And no offence!

There's no harm in discussing these things. The fact is that life sometimes gets in the way of optimal playing/training, so sometimes a bit of supplemental help can be useful to maximize enjoyment and performance.
Of course, you shouldn't ever be trying to digest large amounts of food when playing. Your body can only handle so many things at once. The point is that athletes and even nutritionists always put so much emphasis on carb intake (e.g. carb loading), maybe some emphasis on protein intake and not enough on the fat intake. As a result, fat intake might be excessively low for many athletes.

If you tired, you tired. That's it, bottom line. There is no any magic pill for that. Get a rest instead of playing. I work PM's and I play on my days off. It works. But I have kinda long commute to the club so that is also somewhat tiring.
What shape are you in? Age? Type of work? Time when you off work? Get some food after work, crash for a few hours. Get some rest and then go play if You insist on playing during work week.

couldnt agree more with the above. Taking supplements, outside of food based ones, will almost always have impact on your health. dont look for short cuts and easy way out, because there is always a catch, and you might not feel it now, but in ten years when you have some health problem, it may well be due to this.

if your too tired to enjoy badminton, the honest truth is your not taking proper care of yourself, you may be unfit, or overworking. address those problems and regain the best balance, and forget about trying to cheat your way to more energy. it will catch up on you in the long run.

and i dont know much about those ingrediants listed on the web site, but just by looking at the site, you get the impression its a bit dodgey. it seems to be just a big ol' caffine pill :)