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Ok, so here is the deal, a friend of mine has convinced me to try a bench/deadlift contest with him that is coming up in mid-August. I have been training hard and working to get my bench press and deadlift up (my main goal is a 600# deadlift in the 220 weight class), but the problem is that over them summer I have been working as a landscaper which is just draining me. A lot of the time I wake up and my body feels drained and by the time I get to the gym after work I am dragging ass. Luckily my lifts have still been improving, but it has been a struggle. Plus, I still need to cut 8 pounds, but I don't see that as being too much of a problem due to the fact that I have been eating 400-500 calories over what my maintenance should be and I have still been dropping about 1-2 pounds per week.

What I am wondering is: can anybody give me some advice on some supplements (preferably cheap) that can help me with either my recovery or my energy when I go to the gym?

At the moment I am currently taking:
fish oil (6 per day)
whey protein (pre and post workout)
creatine post workout
multivitamin

thanks for any advice that you guys can give me
Rob

no pre/pwo carbs?

my bad i just didn't list them.

pre-workout I have 1 scoop whey mixed with 2 scoops instant coffee and a banana (I also eat a ham and turkey sandwich on wheat bread with spinach leaves about an hour before I go to the gym)

post-workout I have 2 scoops whey, a tbs of creatine, 1 cup grape juice, 1 carton of yogurt followed by another sandwich 45min-1hr later

dont really know if this is good or not but when im dragging ass before i go to the gym i chug a red bull right before i walk in the door.
and as far as the contest goes i was in one last summer and at 165 i put up 240...it would have been higher but i wasnt used to having a big gap in time between lifts so make sure you stay warmed up between lifts...

thanks for the advice about staying warm Hulk2211, i have never done a contest like this before so i can use all the advice i can get

The big thing is obviously going to be your diet. How much/how frequently have you been eating? Do you replace electrolytes? How much time do you have between work & the gym?

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As far as my diet goes i think i am doing a pretty good job getting all my nutrients in, but i do have a big gap between breakfast and my second meal due to the fact that i am working outside and we dont get a break before lunch. right now the diet looks like this:

6:30 breakfast
3 eggs
1/2 cup egg beaters
2 slices of ham or turkey
1/4 green bell pepper
1 crown broccoli
2 cups 2% milk
1 scoop whey protein
3 fish oil

11:30 lunch
1 cup brown rice
1 large chicken breast
1 tbs evoo
salsa for flavor

3:00 meal 3
ham and turkey sandwich on whole wheat with spinach leaves

4:00 pre-workout
1 scoop whey
2 scoops instant coffee
banana

5:30 post workout
2 scoops whey
1 tbs creatine
1 carton yogurt
1 cup grape juice

6:30 dinner
ham and turkey sandwich on whole wheat with spinach leaves
(sometimes hamburger if i have the money)
1 cup 2% milk

8:30
1 can tuna

10:00
1 cup cottage cheese
3 fish oil
1 multivitamin

also throughout the day i drink a shit-ton of water, i go through over a gallon while at work alone

also, i'd like to push my workout time back, but it is summer and i am lifting at my college gym so it is only open until 7 at night

hope that helps
Rob

You really, really need some carbs at breakfast. Low GI carbs. If you can, bring a protein bar with you or something. Something with some calories. Clif bars are very cheap. You could stick that in your pocket and shove it down your throat sometime between breakfast and lunch. You might want to try drinking gatorade instead of water. It has calories and electrolytes, and both are essential for you. You don't have much in the way of carbs after your workout. A couple of slices of bread, a cup of grape juice, and some yogurt aren't all that much. I have more carbs in my PWO shake on leg day. And your next carbs aren't until lunch the following day. I don't think that's really enough carbs to replenish glycogen & recover, especially considering that you're outside working for the next half of the following day. If you have a blender, add some oats to your PWO shake...or just throw them in raw. Hopefully that helps.

thanks for the ideas Ross. I think I am going to try adding some oatmeal to my postworkout shake and breakfast in the morning, and maybe i'll try to pick up some of those cheap protein bars that you mentioned for during the day between breakfast and lunch if i can find them.