a French Foreign Legion Forum

Welcome! Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Banned Supplements

IRL_legion

New Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2017
Messages
88
Reaction score
88
Location
Ireland
Home Country
Ireland
Is there a website or some info somewhere as to what supplements are okay/not okay to take in the Foreign Legion/French Army. There is a website here, that the British Army goes by. Maybe some of the serving members might know? Thanks in advance.
 

Ski

Joined
Feb 15, 2018
Messages
42
Reaction score
15
Location
Australia
Home Country
Australia
Probably a common sense thing. You want to increase productivity with using a chemical supplement such as amphetamines? That's a big no-no.
 

dusaboss

Hyper Active Member
Joined
Jun 3, 2016
Messages
4,545
Reaction score
1,640
Location
Serbia
Home Country
Yugoslavia
Probably a common sense thing. You want to increase productivity with using a chemical supplement such as amphetamines?


No, but you gonna have one hell of a party.

Actually the were part of air man survival kit in WW2. That call them "energy tablets" Couple years later British army realizes that maybe isn't that good idea to issue young, often bored men with easily available amphetamines. :)
 

Joseph Cosgrove

Moderator
Legionnaire
Joined
Jul 13, 2013
Messages
9,556
Reaction score
7,900
Location
Thailand
Home Country
New Zealand
First of all, there's a difference of getting in and once you are in. When you go through your urine and blood check in Aubagne, too much protein in your urine will raise eyebrows.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeCygoVKeJI

Skip through to 5 mins 06 sec., if you have got too much of anything you are just going to pee it out. It's like taking too much Vit C supps during winter. My advice is to stop the supplements a couple of months before joining. Because lets be honest, after the Luc Leger and the pull ups, you are not going to be offered a choice of protein shakes with raw egg and banana or without the egg. Idem in Castel. You might get a sardine sandwich.
 

IRL_legion

New Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2017
Messages
88
Reaction score
88
Location
Ireland
Home Country
Ireland
Probably a common sense thing. You want to increase productivity with using a chemical supplement such as amphetamines? That's a big no-no.

More so Protein shakes for recovery after training as opposed to performance enhancing drugs.... or amphetamines (y)
 

IRL_legion

New Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2017
Messages
88
Reaction score
88
Location
Ireland
Home Country
Ireland
My advice is to stop the supplements a couple of months before joining.

That is my plan anyway Joe cheers. I train, well, trying to get back into training a lot of Muay Thai and the body gets fairly bashed up so I take the protein shakes to help with recovery.
 
Joined
Nov 12, 2017
Messages
207
Reaction score
116
Location
egypt
Home Country
Egypt
I prefer staying away from supplements altogether. I remember a time when I used to have a daily run of 14 km in addition to working out and playing football for a couple of hours (in a single day and repeat every day) I didn't even know what the word supplements meant. Still, I rocked the earth beneath me. There was a video I watched on youtube some ex-ranger was advising guys who are applying for ranger school to stay away from all supplements because once you get used to it you cannot stop it and he said that (according to him, not me) US army doesn't support or offer you any form of supplements not during selection and not after being enlisted or even get assigned to SF. I reckon all other armies are like that but I am only guesing could be wrong. Even our mighty army that still promotes the idea of bodybuilding and bulking in the army and becoming Rambo likes doesn't support supplements or approve of them.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jan 11, 2018
Messages
113
Reaction score
82
Location
Inquisition Tribunal
Home Country
Vatican City State
Every body builder, fitness specialist, personal trainer, ect that isn't trying to sell you product will tell you one thing:

Food > Supplements.
Eat real food. Get proper meals.
No "powder" will ever replace it. Eat proper meals.

Are you training to be a soldier or Mr Olympia?
You do not need massive, heavy, symmetrical muscles or be able to bench press stupid high amounts.
Eat balanced diet before protein ruin your heart and you have heart attack during march.

As your parents say; eat your greens, eat your fruits, eat proper meals.
It's good to bulk a bit because you will burn a lot of energy doing marches carrying heavy sacks.
Do not depend on drugs, equipment, supplements because you will not be given them.
 
Last edited:

dusaboss

Hyper Active Member
Joined
Jun 3, 2016
Messages
4,545
Reaction score
1,640
Location
Serbia
Home Country
Yugoslavia
Guys, let's clear out something here...

When you go through your urine and blood check in Aubagne, too much protein in your urine will raise eyebrows.
Nope Joe. If you drink regular protein shake it will not show up on your urine or blood test . Increased proteins in urine shows up when something your body doesn't work right. Have nothing to do with how much protein you eat.
One good protein shake should be equal to 10 egg whites or 2-3 liters of whey. In protein shake its just isolated much as can clean protein so you don't have to eat enormous amounts of food and take in all unnecessary substances.
At least that is idea. Don't know how much protein shake powder have for real. They shouldn't have nothing "dirty" in it, but knowing how that industry boomed in last 10 y... everything is possible.

More so Protein shakes for recovery after training as opposed to performance enhancing drugs.... or amphetamines (y)

Man, you can't get faster recovery out of regular protein shake. If someone advertising that They are lying or if its really works probably their protein isn't just protein. Some other substances are involved. Common thing in that industry.
Protein only feed your muscle.


Are you training to be a soldier or Mr Olympia?
You do not need massive, heavy, symmetrical muscles or be able to bench press stupid high amounts.
Eat balanced diet before protein ruin your heart and you have heart attack during march.

Again, protein will not ruin your heart or make you bench press stupid high amounts. Some other substances will do. Most of them hormones, testosterone and HGH, but even that if its is used responsibly wouldn't have much dmg on body. Of course if you want to join army you wouldn't want to use them because they will show up on test.

Biggest problem here is that gray area - substances that are not officially prohibited, but they can still show on the test.
That's why we have such long list of banned supplements and it is increasing every months. So be really careful. Best is not to take anything.

Legion prefer ripped not bulked guys so there is no need for anything. Just train hard, pay attention on what you eat and you'll be good as far physical part is considered.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jan 14, 2006
Messages
4,272
Reaction score
2,785
Location
U.K.
Home Country
United Kingdom
Supplements who needs them ? As long as you are fit for your body size FFL PTIs' will ensure that you meet the standards. 2 arms, 2 legs, a good heart and lungs with some harsh encouragement will see you through.

I joined the RMs' as a callow youth, just under 5'7" and wiry in stature. The rest is history except that I was trained by former WW2 Cdos.

All you Aspirants simply Carpe Diem. It is all in the mind.
 

Ski

Joined
Feb 15, 2018
Messages
42
Reaction score
15
Location
Australia
Home Country
Australia
That is my plan anyway Joe cheers. I train, well, trying to get back into training a lot of Muay Thai and the body gets fairly bashed up so I take the protein shakes to help with recovery.
This personal info is coming from an amateur boxer. Typically I take whey protein drinks before training (sometimes after, sometimes before and after). After I stopped taking protein (1 serve is about 25g of protein), everything is sore. Although I'll say I'm cutting weight in a hurry so it might be a hit of dehydration and a bit if starvation lol
 

Countdown

Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2017
Messages
75
Reaction score
50
Location
Uni
Home Country
Norway
Dusaboss is quite on point about in his last post.

Protein powder has some strange reputation that somewhat prevents a scientific debate on the topic.

Most protein powders are made from Whey, which again comes from milk. Thats right, protein powder is milk protein in its highest quality.
As for why people then choose to drink protein powder instead of milk, the reason is simple: To get the same amount of protein from a "standard" protein shake (about 2 dl if dissolved in water, depends on how thick you like the shake), you will have to drink about 1 liter of milk, which is quite a lot and 1 liter of milk containt quite a lot more calories than the standard protein shake.

Protein powders offers a convenient and cheap way of getting protein into your diet, but the question is. However, there is a lot of protein hype these days and the industry tells you that you have to eat shitloads of protein.

Of course a Mr. Olympia needs a lot of protein. Considering he weighs around 140-150 kg and is full of muscle and drugs.

Usual recommendations for strength athletes is about 1,5-2g pr kg bodyweight. For a person that weighs 80 kg thats 120-160g protein each day. Considering that a soldier is not a strength athlete but maybe something in the middle (endurance + strength) and considering that a soldier might do a lot of work that does a lot of muscle breakdown (working days with little or no food for example) i guess about 1,5 g pr kg bodyweight or maximum 2g pr kg bodyweight is more than enough. Even tough studies on endurance athletes dont find a huge need for protein in great numbers at all.

As for protein powder for recovery thats mainly bullsh*t. Earlier scientific work thought there was a "anabolic window" the first 30-60 minutes post-exercise. Newer scientific works puts the "anabolic window" to a lot more than that, even up to 48 hours post-exercise. However, eating around the exercise times seems to have a little more effect (Eating 1-2 hours before and after workout shows a little better results vs eating 4 hours before and 4 hours after exercise). However, the total energy intake during the day is the most important dietary factor after you have done your exercise.

In my opinion protein powder is a great tool for those who needs it. If you are a strength athlete and have had a day with a little low protein intake because maybe you wasnt hungry that day or didnt have time to cook your meals, go ahead, toss in a shake. Whey protein is one of the best protein sources with the highest bioavailability. The problems occur when people substitute food and drink shakes instead, because food generally will give you more than just protein.

If you believe you need protein powders or supplements you either

a) you have a bad diet and should fix it

b) You dont have the ability to critical reflect your personal nutrition needs and your beliefs are based on what the industry tells you


Get some basic understandings on nutrition, know what you eat and if you calculate during the day that your protein take has been a little low, a shake might be okay. But if shakes becomes a staple for your protein intake you do something wrong. Eat animals and you will probably get enough protein.

As for health, there is little evidence that a generally high protein intake is dangerous, either if the protein comes from shakes (which as i said basically is milk proten) or other sources of protein.
 
Last edited:

Le petit caporal

Legionnaire
Joined
Sep 4, 2017
Messages
5,490
Reaction score
4,188
Location
Nimes
Home Country
North Korea
Quiona royal has a high protien level (served with fish, chicken, lean steak or liver and with rice, peas / lentilles )
1 or 2 a week
Rest is best for recupe (do nothing and nothing will not harm you)
 

IRL_legion

New Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2017
Messages
88
Reaction score
88
Location
Ireland
Home Country
Ireland
Thanks for all the information guys. I do get all the points made but as far as im concerned the extra protien in my diet does help, not with preformence, but with recovery. I train up until 9 or 10 in the night and don't feel much like cooking or eating a high protein meal when I get home so I supplement with protein. I don't take it any other time of the day, I eat a regular healthy diet and do my cardio fasted every morning. Nor am I or trying to be muscular, I am more ripped than big.

Muscles are built and repaired using proteins so not only to get bigger but to simply maintain you need protein. Harder heavier workouts mean you need more than the average intake amounts to repair and also maintain muscle size and growth.

The body repairs itself when you sleep so having that protein in your system while sleeping helps aid the process.

I'm not saying I superman the next day but the soreness and stiffness of muscle fatigue is less. I listen to my body and if it didn't work I wouldn't take it. Research is research but like joining the legion you'll never know until you do. Again thanks for all the info, if nothing else anyone who's thinking of taking protein and hasn't will have a good amount of info to read up on.
 
Joined
Jan 11, 2018
Messages
113
Reaction score
82
Location
Inquisition Tribunal
Home Country
Vatican City State
It's perfectly fine, even I take some protein powder/drink/liquid diet sometimes.

But eating and preparing big meals is trouble and I totally understand if you take it as part of diet.

It is also cheaper than buying all that food.
 

Ski

Joined
Feb 15, 2018
Messages
42
Reaction score
15
Location
Australia
Home Country
Australia
Dusaboss is quite on point about in his last post.

Protein powder has some strange reputation that somewhat prevents a scientific debate on the topic.

Most protein powders are made from Whey, which again comes from milk. Thats right, protein powder is milk protein in its highest quality.
As for why people then choose to drink protein powder instead of milk, the reason is simple: To get the same amount of protein from a "standard" protein shake (about 2 dl if dissolved in water, depends on how thick you like the shake), you will have to drink about 1 liter of milk, which is quite a lot and 1 liter of milk containt quite a lot more calories than the standard protein shake.

Protein powders offers a convenient and cheap way of getting protein into your diet, but the question is. However, there is a lot of protein hype these days and the industry tells you that you have to eat shitloads of protein.

Of course a Mr. Olympia needs a lot of protein. Considering he weighs around 140-150 kg and is full of muscle and drugs.

Usual recommendations for strength athletes is about 1,5-2g pr kg bodyweight. For a person that weighs 80 kg thats 120-160g protein each day. Considering that a soldier is not a strength athlete but maybe something in the middle (endurance + strength) and considering that a soldier might do a lot of work that does a lot of muscle breakdown (working days with little or no food for example) i guess about 1,5 g pr kg bodyweight or maximum 2g pr kg bodyweight is more than enough. Even tough studies on endurance athletes dont find a huge need for protein in great numbers at all.

As for protein powder for recovery thats mainly bullsh*t. Earlier scientific work thought there was a "anabolic window" the first 30-60 minutes post-exercise. Newer scientific works puts the "anabolic window" to a lot more than that, even up to 48 hours post-exercise. However, eating around the exercise times seems to have a little more effect (Eating 1-2 hours before and after workout shows a little better results vs eating 4 hours before and 4 hours after exercise). However, the total energy intake during the day is the most important dietary factor after you have done your exercise.

In my opinion protein powder is a great tool for those who needs it. If you are a strength athlete and have had a day with a little low protein intake because maybe you wasnt hungry that day or didnt have time to cook your meals, go ahead, toss in a shake. Whey protein is one of the best protein sources with the highest bioavailability. The problems occur when people substitute food and drink shakes instead, because food generally will give you more than just protein.

If you believe you need protein powders or supplements you either

a) you have a bad diet and should fix it

b) You dont have the ability to critical reflect your personal nutrition needs and your beliefs are based on what the industry tells you


Get some basic understandings on nutrition, know what you eat and if you calculate during the day that your protein take has been a little low, a shake might be okay. But if shakes becomes a staple for your protein intake you do something wrong. Eat animals and you will probably get enough protein.

As for health, there is little evidence that a generally high protein intake is dangerous, either if the protein comes from shakes (which as i said basically is milk proten) or other sources of protein.
Mate you have to be careful of the protein you take or any supplement in general. If anything, consume plant based protein. Here in Au, you may get disqualified from sports competition for consuming protein (excess amounts in piss or serology test). If it's not legal by sport standard, I'd keep away from it to be honest.
 

Papillon

Legionnaire
Joined
Dec 26, 2012
Messages
886
Reaction score
1,135
Location
Glasgow, Scotland
Home Country
United Kingdom
The youth of today, eat well sleep well and warm up and warm down you are looking at becoming a soldier not a pro athlete, I would be more concerned if I was going to get enough food at each meal in training as that can be an exercise in its self!
 

dusaboss

Hyper Active Member
Joined
Jun 3, 2016
Messages
4,545
Reaction score
1,640
Location
Serbia
Home Country
Yugoslavia
Mate you have to be careful of the protein you take or any supplement in general. If anything, consume plant based protein. Here in Au, you may get disqualified from sports competition for consuming protein (excess amounts in piss or serology test). If it's not legal by sport standard, I'd keep away from it to be honest.
But increased protein in urine should be cost by eating too much proteins or drinking shakes.

I 'm not a doctor, but I think is that way. Your stomach will dissolve them to amino acids in surplus will go out on ... other end. Increased level in urine is sign of something else. Maybe some banned substances
 
Top