i don't get how you are supposed to take this stuff before bed on an empty stomach, but all strength trainers know you should not go to bed on an empty stomach to stay anabolic. also, most of the potein powders have casein and i think this contains calcium which would prevent its use with zma as cacium and zinc do not mix. the supplement is awesome, but how do you overcome these obstacles?
well one thing u can try is take ur zma 1 hour before bed.. then right before bed take a shake.. 1 hour is probably more than enough to absorb ur zma especially on an empty stomach..
i take mine a half an hour before bed on an empty stomach, immediatly before going to sleep i eat a cup of cottage cheese
The idea behind taking ZMA on an empty stomach is to avoid mineral cross-absorption inhibitions. Zinc and magnesium are strongly out-competed for uptake by calcium and phosphorous. Ergo, taking your ZMA with a steak or some chicken breasts would cause minimal problems. However, cottage cheese or most protein powders would cause some inhibition. To keep things brief, I would recommend taking your ZMA either with foods devoid of Ca and Mg, or stagger it in between your final two meals of the day. For example, if you go to bed at 10:00, eat your next-to-last meal at 7:00, take your ZMA at 9:00, and eat your final meal at 10:00.
doesn't magnesium interfere with stomach acids as well since it's pretty alkaline?.. that's one of the reasons as well right?
Dang, I've been taking my ZMA post-workout (since that's when zinc is depleted in the muscles), but I'm also taking protein powder with it, of course. Terumo, do you have any actual numbers on this? Like, if I ingest x mg of calcium and phosphorous in my protein powder, and also 25mg of zinc, then y mg of zinc will be absorbed? That's pretty specific, I'm not sure how they would even measure that. But I would like to get my zinc right after my workouts.
It is not horrible. However, you would likely get a considerably higher Zn and Mg uptake by taking the ZMA about an hour before the Muscle Milk. Muscle Milk uses micellar casein as a base protein, which takes quite some time to clear from the GI. I would definitely take ZMA before micellar casein. Just throw the flax oil in with the Muscle Milk, and if you want a truly ideal pre-bedtime shake, add a teaspoon or two of of psyllium hulls or Benefiber.
Instead of taking zma post workout, a lot of people take it 30 minutes before the workout since they take the protein shakes after. There was some article on why taking it before a workout can be beneficial. I'll try to find it. fcfighter, your poop causes pain sometimes because you are constipated probably. That can happen when you don't go regularly or can happen when you're not drinking enough liquid daily. Your body cannot digest fiber and it is passed right through your system. It is not a laxative, it just helps you go.
Yeah, that would be a great time to take it (especially since I don't eat immediately before I work out), but the zinc isn't depleted in the muscles until after the workout. So once again, I have to wonder if much of my ZMA would go to waste.
How fast is Zinc assimalated? If it takes a few minutes then it would be a good idea to take it right before a workout. Does anyone know?
