In case you happened to miss it, our lifestyle editor Adrian Collins went on an 8-week challenge to 'get ripped', and we think he did pretty well. Here's a guide to some of the nutritional aspect of what he did over those tough few months.

Before we start this off, it's important to get something in here as the first thing said: nutritional supplements are only a part of the process, your main work is going to come in the kitchen, that's just the way it is. Yes, I used supplements, but as you'll see below, a lot of them were based around energy and workout mixes as opposed to proteins, and you should always keep a close eye on what it is that each powder contains. 

You want to aim for high quality stuff with little sugar, and there are of course differing price ranges as well as a whole number of other factors, so it can be confusing to get to grips with. What's in here is not gospel, and if you have a goal in mind, chat to the assistant at the store about what exactly you need. I always found the guys at Discount Supplements as well as the folks at UN Sports Nutrition to be very helpful, in particular the latter, who really know what they're on about and are happy to chat to you to help you find what you need.

Anyway, for one last time before we start, you need to get most of your nutrition from good, clean food. Eat lots of greens, cut down on sugar, manage your carbs properly and get your protein from food first before you turn to supplements. 

Protein

What Anthony at Raw Gyms stressed to me was to find a powder that had little or no sugar in it, and to only take a shake if I knew I wasn't going to be able to eat, so these are the ones I found best. 

Best Taste

No surprise here, it's Optimum Nutrition. They cost a little bit extra but they have a good range of flavours in their Gold Standard Whey, which has some sugar in it. Because of that, I opted for the Platinum HydroWhey which has less sugar and fewer flavours. It's also more expensive again, but you can be sure you're getting good quality from one of the biggest names in the industry.

 

Best Value

SO Nutrition are a brand I wasn't familiar with, but at under €30 for a tub, this was a no brainer, at least to try it out. On the downside, it didn't mix very well at all, but it tasted fairly similar to the others on the market, so it scores pretty highly on that front. If you want a cheap powder that you can add to smoothies or other recipes, this is a handy one to buy from supplementoutlet.ie.

Lifestyle Option

So this might sound like a slightly strange category, but Sun Warrior do a range of vegan proteins, and there's no doubting that if you are a vegan or vegetarian bodybuilder, it can be very difficult to hit your protein goals every day. I was eating a whole lot of meat on the transformation program, and I've looked to get a lot more nutrients from veg since finishing, so I thought I'd try this. It's a great tasting option that mixes well, and is also a good consistency for cooking up your own protein bars. 

Pre-Workout Mixes

Sometimes you're feeling tired and you need a kick to get you through. Sometimes it's leg day. It can be pretty hard to motivate yourself in the morning when you get out of bed, but the things you do to prepare are the things that will determine whether or not you succeed. These mixes can help you hit your max. 

Best Taste

BSN N.O.-Xplode has a great range of flavours (including watermelon, the reason I chose it) and is slightly less intense than something like Platinum Pre from Optimum Nutrition. Some people find PRE very intense, and N.O.-Xplode was more than enough for what I needed. You don't shake it to mix it, rather you stir it instead, and it's a good option for those who might be more sensitive to caffeine. 

Most Effective

No doubt about it, Optimum Nutrion's Platinum PRE is more or less rocket fuel, and I only ever used one scoop of the stuff. I'm not hugely sensitive to caffeine, but you can really feel this working almost straight away, so if you know you're headed in for a hard slog or it's an early morning that you're dreading, this is what you want. 

Endurance

Some energy needs to be a bit more endurance based, and Amino Energy was what I turned to when I needed that. It's not as strong as either of the other two above, but it releases over a longer time period and it also has a great range of flavours. Green Apple tastes like apple jacks, while there's also a fruit punch flavour and blue raspberry, all of which are pretty nice.  

When all else fails...

Sugarfree RedBull. It gives you a big kick for about a half hour, and can power you through a heavy session, just make sure you've got plenty of water for afterwards. 

Snacks

Sometimes you're going to miss a meal, and if you want to get a snack on the go, a good protein bar will hit the spot. It goes nicely with that plain black coffee too when you're missing a biscuit for dunking. 

Best Taste

Absolutely no contest in this category, the BSN Syntha-6 bars are by far and away the best bars I've ever tasted, and they contain a whopping 30 grams of protein. They taste better than your average chocolate bar, they're high in fibre and they come in Cookies & Cream flavour as well as Rocky Road, which are both delicious. However, there is a price to be paid; at just under 330 calories (along with 18g of sugar) these are a meal replacement more than a snack. Still, it's worth it.

Best Bang for Your Buck

Quest bars are great because they're sweetened with a derivative of stevia rather than sugar, so you're not getting that hit of the sweet white stuff that you're trying to cut out. They come in a good range of flavours (apple pie and cookie dough in particular are good) but on the downside they are exceedingly dry, and need to be taken with water, at least. You can grab a box of 12 for around €30 (or as low as €23 if you shop around), so you're getting really good quality for the money you fork over, and most places will allow you to pick and mix a box of flavours.

Obviously, budget is a consideration for a lot of people, given the cost of getting the majority of your nutrients from food, so if you had to pick a few absolute necessities, then I would choose one from each category. A protein mix, something for pre-workout energy, and a box of bars to keep in the house for emergencies. If money is really tight, then the protein shakes will be your best investment, as they can help you get what you need to recover and build muscle on the go. 

Check out the final reveal on the Man Cave's eight week program to see how the transformation went.