If only I had known these essential ingredients for getting stronger, leaner, and more energetic when I was competing in bodybuilding, it would have made things a whole lot easier. On second thought, I did know these things and many of you will know them, too. It’s only a matter of putting them into practice. If you’re neurotic about your strength training and body, you will more than likely be of the mindset that more is better and sleep is for sissys. I’ve been fighting that problem all my life, but then something changed.
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I was at a seminar where I got the chance to see elite strength coach, Martin Rooney, speak. I actually saw him a few times, and each time he talked about the importance of sleep. The first time, it kind of stuck. The second time, I listened and dug deeper. I made a promise to myself that for two months I would get at least eight hours of sleep per night. This would be two more than my usual six. At this time, I also started to supplement more with fish oils, taking in 12–20 grams per day. Without changing anything else, I lost ten pounds of body fat and had the best strength producing workouts of my life. Notice—I didn’t change anything with my nutrition yet lost 10 pounds. I didn’t add in any extra conditioning either. My energy throughout the day was also superb. And I was getting just as much stuff accomplished every day on my daily to do list. I didn’t get sick during the winter for the first time in the five years that I’ve been teaching physical education.
I read the book, Why Zebras Don’t get Ulcers, by Sapolsky and that shed some more light on the issue. Sleep is critical. If you aren’t sleeping enough, you are never fully entering a parasympathetic state, the state in which you recover and make your best gains. This is the state after the stress is applied and the tissue must adapt. Also, lack of sleep will lead to raised cortisol levels. Some cortisol is OK, but too much is the strength athlete’s enemy! The double whammy of fish oil and sleep with be the best ‘upper’ medicine you could ever find. I can’t emphasize enough to my students, athletes, and clients how much sleep will aide in their growth, fat loss, muscle gain, cognitive function, and everything else in between. Something simple, something overlooked too often. Turn off the television and sleep! And don’t forget the fish oil…
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Kyle Newell is the owner of Newell Strength, located in central New Jersey. To find out more about Kyle’s training insights, visit 
Hello coach! What do you think about the fish oil quality – should one shell out on a high quality fish oil or a standard one? Also is Acne on the back from to much dehydro testosterone or from wheat and milk in the diet?
Is the fish-oil dosage related to bodyweight? How much is too little or too much?
Dan John recommends upping the daily dosage of fish oil until your body can no longer tolerate it (i.e. diarrhea sets in) and then backing off slightly from that amount. I’m not keen on trying that method
Nice article and I also read that book. Its very heady but great.
You would think sleep would be more of a priority but its easy to skimp on it and you pay for it eventually…..thinking of more sleep I remember Dan John talking about getting 12 hours a night imagine that!
Too much fish oil can cause, brain hemorrhage, internal bleeding and allergic reactions.
It is one thing to push a supplement that reaps health benefits. It is another to promote mega dosing that has adverse side affects. Actually, it is downright unconscionable.
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/too-much-fish-oil.html
@BiffA:
I’d be a lot more apt to believe your claims about fish oil if you had provided a link to actual research rather than a website called “buzzle” – can you provide a link to any research published in a peer-reviewed journal that links fish oil consumption to any of the listed side effects?
A quick search of PUBMED and a few other sites didn’t turn up anything for me linking high-dose fish oil consumption to any of those three side effects. If you actually know of any studies that conclusively demonstrated that excessive fish oil intake was linked to those side effects, then I’ll buy what you’re selling, but not based on some nonsense gossip website.
As a follow-up to my previous comment, I’ve included a link from Alan Aragon that actually DOES discuss the published research regarding fish oil, which includes references that discuss the possible risk of immunosuppression and bleeding risk.
http://alanaragon.com/fish-oil.html
Biff,
Your source contains no external sources or empirical evidence, and does not even list overdose ranges.
Better luck next time.
Where’s that buzzle authors sources? I don’t see them cited. Also that looks like a website for people who like to keep fish in aquariums not strength athletes.
Written by MD’s:
http://heart-disease.emedtv.com/fish-oil/fish-oil-overdose.html
WebMD:
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-993-FISH+OIL.aspx?activeIngredientId=993&activeIngredientName=FISH+OIL
It is cool if you want to take the advice of the unregulated supplement industry over that of the medical community.
Still no sources published in a peer-reviewed journal there, Biffy. Just because an MD wrote an article and posted on his blog doesn’t mean it’s true.
I didn’t ask to see a link to WebMD, I asked you to give me results from a study where fish oil was definitively linked to one of those side effects.
Wow Biff, that’s all you’ve got? Fish oil thins the blood? Who knew…come on man.
I don’t recommend taking 20g a day, but ever since I was diagnosed with autoimmune arthritis, I’ve been taking a consistent 10g a day for a while now and guess what? Joints that had pain every single day don’t hurt at all now. I’ll take the .0001% chance I may not be able to clot fast enough, thanks.
Andrew,
The you already did that for us.
I have posted links to sites that linking harmful side effects of megadosing fish oil. You can only dismiss them by stating that they are not in a journal when they are indeed peer reviewed? That’s pretty weak. Want more, you can use google too.
Again, if you want to ignore the results of studies found in attached articles, that is your decision. BTW, the article above has no external sources.
This is from your link:
“Thies and colleagues examined the 12-week effect of various fatty acid supplement mixes on healthy subjects [19]. Various blends of placebo oil and oils rich in ALA, GLA, AA, DHA, or EPA (720mg) + DHA (280mg) were compared. Total fat intake from the 9-capsule dose was 4 g/d. The EPA/DHA treatment was the only one that had a negative effect on immunity, significantly decreasing natural killer cell activity by 48%. This effect was reversed after 4 weeks of ceasing intake of the supplement.”
This supports my argument against megadosing.
Fish oil has benefits. As with anything, keep the doses within reason, and you will see benefits. Take too much, you can have problems.
Being that the “medical community” has a terrible track record, no research, and virtually no education in nutrition, I’d take the supplement companies word for it, seeing as they have a better track record (compare ephedra to aspirin, no really), millions of dollars of research, and a fairly good idea of how nutrition works.
(Different Mike) How old are you girls, 15? If you don’t like what someone posts big deal, move on. Figure it out on your own.
hey guys, thanks for reading! I believe the dose to be weight dependent, but benefits are not seen with fish oil until you reach approx 6 grams per day. I prefer Barlean;s brand and no, I do not have any affiliation with them. Acne on the back can be caused by foods that you are intolerant to, including wheat and milk. Hormones can also play a role in that, but another benefit of the fish oil is that it helps clear up the acne. -Kyle
HAHAHAHA @Andrew and @Mike, Kudos to you for calling out the “informational” articles. All though they do have a point I would assume there is a greater risk from overdosing on health supplements whatever they may be. Is everyone afraid of the adverse side effects of too much Nitrogen from all your protein shakes? Gimme a break. i would say as many PEER REVIEWED articles suggest to take a bowel tolerance dose. The medical community did not even recognize the health benefits of fish oil until five maybe 7 years ago?