Supplement usage, fellow gym goers please advise

[strangemonk]

Good morning all,

To summarise a long story

Safety critical role, wanting to use a american fat burner pre workout on workout days is not FDA approved but none of the ingredients are banned or cause any negative side effects, in short increases thermogenesis and mental focus.

Any one here with experience or knowledge with what's allowed and what's not regarding grey area supplements?

I don't plan to use steroids but understand a prescription is preferable and many on the railway use and don't disclose it and still pass medicals.

I don't want to jeopardise my safety critical role so if anyone has any insight into what's allowed and what's not in regards to sarms/fat burners/ pre workout supplements would be appreciated.

Kind regards

 

[sw1ller]

Only sensible advice is to ask your work. If they say it’s ok then crack on. There’s plenty of things out there that are ok to take, if you’ve found one that isn’t, then you need to change it or risk losing your job. I think disclosing it to your employer and finding out if it’s safe via them is the best course of action.

I don’t know what your job is but IF you are a driver, I don’t want to be sharing the rails with someone who’s on a banned substance. No matter how safe it’s perceived to be.

 

[Techniquest]

If it's not FDA approved, then I can't see a UK group approving it either.

When I was going to the gym, and indeed before/during my power walking sessions I do now, my preferred 'supplement' was/is black coffee. Granted I do have it with sugar or sweetener though, but I find it helps focus the mind on the workout quite substantially.

The other reply recommends seeking your work's medical team, and I would also suggest that course of action. Better to be safe than sorry after all!

 

[thenorthern]

I know several people who work in sensitive roles with regular drug tests who take dietary supplement rubbish and have never had any problems. As others have said if in doubt though ask your employer if a substance is acceptable or not and if you do get drugs tested sometimes its best to declare it beforehand as some legal over the counter drugs can create a false positive.

There are many legal over the counter drugs however that are prohibited for use in sporting competitions, I know Asafa Powell was banned a couple of years ago for taking Oxilofrine which is perfectly legal but banned in athletics.

In my line of work however drug abuse is significantly higher than the national average and there is no drugs testing in place.

 

[Saracen_83]

Good morning all,

To summarise a long story

Safety critical role, wanting to use a american fat burner pre workout on workout days is not FDA approved but none of the ingredients are banned or cause any negative side effects, in short increases thermogenesis and mental focus.

Any one here with experience or knowledge with what's allowed and what's not regarding grey area supplements?

I don't plan to use steroids but understand a prescription is preferable and many on the railway use and don't disclose it and still pass medicals.

I don't want to jeopardise my safety critical role so if anyone has any insight into what's allowed and what's not in regards to sarms/fat burners/ pre workout supplements would be appreciated.

Kind regards

The biggest worry you will have with pre-workout and fat burners is some of them will give a false positive for amphets, which is not good. Some use a derivative of ephedrine and this will show up. So you need to check. Doesn’t matter it if FDA approved or not approved, it depends if it will show up in a medical.

SARMs (not illegal) are too new to test for (doesn’t mean they can’t show false positives) however steroids are not tested for. (Know a few guys on railway who take and have passed everytime whilst on cycle - weather you agree with taking it or not!!!!)

Check the ingredients thoroughly and as mentioned ask your workplace. They won’t look bad as your checking BEFORE you take them. And if they say no then don’t take them.

When I had my medical, I declared my shakes and pre and Intra workout shakes, and passed. Nurse even told me these wouldn’t be a problem as long as do not show up for the banned drugs.

Personally, I’d declare everything. Even get the SARMS checked out first if your planning on taking them. What’s worse, asking or losing your job??

 

[MarkR26]

Natural things which have been proven to encourage the body to burn more fat and which I have used in the past are green tea, black coffee and blueberries. Can't help with the synthetic supplement side of things.