100mg-120mg/KG Potassium Dosage

[Klax]

I'm seeing a lot of material lately online about the suggestion to ingest 100mg-120mg/kg of potassium per day. That puts most people in the 10,000mg+ range daily. I saw an example of a 100kg individual getting 10,000mg potassium + 8,000mg sodium per day for optimal electrolyte balance.

Someone reported massively increasing their potassium from ~4,000mg to 10,000mg+ per day resulted in much better pumps, lower water retention, more stamina in the gym, overall energy, etc.

They also stated that the concerns about increased (or very high) potassium intake while on ARB's like Telmisartan etc are massively overblown and not an issue for 99% of people. Also that anyone on GH and insulin should be upping their potassium to those levels for optimal performance and gains.

After reading all of this, I'm curious what everyone here thinks about high potassium intake.

 

[Splitzz]

I know high blood levels of potassium are not good can cause kidney disease, heart problems which can be life threatening.

In for the responses.

 

[TheOtherOne55]

I'm actually doing this experiment right now actually and going to get bloodwork soon. All of this is coming from Adam O'machy, an Australian BBer and coach. Its only kiiinda blowing up now because he called out Milos, then Phil VIz got into it and so on.

O'Machy is a smart guy, background in diabetic science and working at hospitals, spent a lot of time just coaching natty guys but coaches lots more enhanced guys too now. He's a little....blunt and terse. Gives Victor Black vibes a biiiit. Just aggressive and attacking for no reason. But i think this blow up with Viz has kinda chilled him a bit with his content. But yes, he's a huuuge proponent of very high sodium and potassium ESPECIALLY if you are using insulin and growth. Bigger proponent of basal insulin use as well.

Because im big, using high insulin and high growth, im really pushed my potassium up around 15-20g the past month or two. Pumps are great, feel awesome. Everything is FEELING fine. But well see with bloodwork. Again, he says that with telmisartan use (40-80mg) you should be a-ok unless you have some underlying kidney problems. Ill keep everyone updated when and how the bloodwork looks.

 

[d4ve]

I'm actually doing this experiment right now actually and going to get bloodwork soon. All of this is coming from Adam O'machy, an Australian BBer and coach. Its only kiiinda blowing up now because he called out Milos, then Phil VIz got into it and so on.

O'Machy is a smart guy, background in diabetic science and working at hospitals, spent a lot of time just coaching natty guys but coaches lots more enhanced guys too now. He's a little....blunt and terse. Gives Victor Black vibes a biiiit. Just aggressive and attacking for no reason. But i think this blow up with Viz has kinda chilled him a bit with his content. But yes, he's a huuuge proponent of very high sodium and potassium ESPECIALLY if you are using insulin and growth. Bigger proponent of basal insulin use as well.

Because im big, using high insulin and high growth, im really pushed my potassium up around 15-20g the past month or two. Pumps are great, feel awesome. Everything is FEELING fine. But well see with bloodwork. Again, he says that with telmisartan use (40-80mg) you should be a-ok unless you have some underlying kidney problems. Ill keep everyone updated when and how the bloodwork looks.

Dude, glad to see you commenting here on this, too. I get the same sort of might-be-snake-oily vibe from O'Machy, but Jon Heck signed on with him, and I respect him a lot. So I gave O'Machy's stuff a long read / scroll-through.

I spent maybe 3-4 weeks getting really anal about potassium intake, not sure how much a difference it really made. I might give it another go. What foods are you mainly using to get the numbers up?

I started using a lot of tomato paste (as he recommends, and I love the taste of tomato), more spinach, some extra potato added to meals in addition to the big potato meal I already do every night.

But tbh I'm on the fence whether it's really a difference maker. If nothing else, though, I'm glad to see more thought put into mineral and micronutrient intake.

 

[Jose1990]

'Should be ok unless you have kidney problems' thats not true.

You can definitely have hyperkalemia on hypertensive medication and not have kidney problem.

Its very individual but its not very hard to give yourself hyperkalemia using and arb/ace...

I would limit the supplemental potassium to intra workout with insulin pre workout. Just my opinion. this scenario would make sense supplement potassium.

 

[IFBBProDomCardone]

I'm actually doing this experiment right now actually and going to get bloodwork soon. All of this is coming from Adam O'machy, an Australian BBer and coach. Its only kiiinda blowing up now because he called out Milos, then Phil VIz got into it and so on.

O'Machy is a smart guy, background in diabetic science and working at hospitals, spent a lot of time just coaching natty guys but coaches lots more enhanced guys too now. He's a little....blunt and terse. Gives Victor Black vibes a biiiit. Just aggressive and attacking for no reason. But i think this blow up with Viz has kinda chilled him a bit with his content. But yes, he's a huuuge proponent of very high sodium and potassium ESPECIALLY if you are using insulin and growth. Bigger proponent of basal insulin use as well.

Because im big, using high insulin and high growth, im really pushed my potassium up around 15-20g the past month or two. Pumps are great, feel awesome. Everything is FEELING fine. But well see with bloodwork. Again, he says that with telmisartan use (40-80mg) you should be a-ok unless you have some underlying kidney problems. Ill keep everyone updated when and how the bloodwork lookJ

Just to add, i've seen pretty decent elevations on pottasium in people using Teli that had pristine kidney health.I wouldnt fully chaulk it up to kidney problems

 

[luki7788]

I'm actually doing this experiment right now actually and going to get bloodwork soon. All of this is coming from Adam O'machy, an Australian BBer and coach. Its only kiiinda blowing up now because he called out Milos, then Phil VIz got into it and so on.

O'Machy is a smart guy, background in diabetic science and working at hospitals, spent a lot of time just coaching natty guys but coaches lots more enhanced guys too now. He's a little....blunt and terse. Gives Victor Black vibes a biiiit. Just aggressive and attacking for no reason. But i think this blow up with Viz has kinda chilled him a bit with his content. But yes, he's a huuuge proponent of very high sodium and potassium ESPECIALLY if you are using insulin and growth. Bigger proponent of basal insulin use as well.

Because im big, using high insulin and high growth, im really pushed my potassium up around 15-20g the past month or two. Pumps are great, feel awesome. Everything is FEELING fine. But well see with bloodwork. Again, he says that with telmisartan use (40-80mg) you should be a-ok unless you have some underlying kidney problems. Ill keep everyone updated when and how the bloodwork looks.

Dude, glad to see you commenting here on this, too. I get the same sort of might-be-snake-oily vibe from O'Machy, but Jon Heck signed on with him, and I respect him a lot. So I gave O'Machy's stuff a long read / scroll-through.

I spent maybe 3-4 weeks getting really anal about potassium intake, not sure how much a difference it really made. I might give it another go. What foods are you mainly using to get the numbers up?

I started using a lot of tomato paste (as he recommends, and I love the taste of tomato), more spinach, some extra potato added to meals in addition to the big potato meal I already do every night.

But tbh I'm on the fence whether it's really a difference maker. If nothing else, though, I'm glad to see more thought put into mineral and micronutrient intake.

Gentlemen, you know me well and you know that I am far from hating anyone or questioning the knowledge of other coaches, but in this case, please do not listen to this man because you will end up wrongly following what he advises...

 

[Fleezy]

im really pushed my potassium up around 15-20g the past month or two.

how much sodium per day

 

[TheOtherOne55]

I knew my reply would sound the alarms LOL but...lemme preface this with:

1. My entire life ive always had insane electrolyte turnover (i just made that term up). In HS and college football i was insane prone to cramping. Genetic predisposition as my dad has always had the same thing. My whole life he has cramped up doing random shit and would add salt to his waters. Whole life.

2. O'Machy's thing isnt EVERYONE be above 15g+. It's based on bodyweight, GH usage, insulin usage, etc. I'm 320lbs using a lot of insulin and a lot of GH. Would i suggest this to everyone? Fuck no. But for me, it sounded promising.

3. My first jump into potassium supplementation wasnt just, "lets add 15g!" For the past 3 offseasons, all well above 300lbs, i would basically get over that 3bill mark and be crushed with debilitating "spasms" for lack of a better word. I wrote a bit about this in my log. For awhille it was just in my legs but it eventually spread up to upper body muscles too. Biceps, delts, etc. I basically couldnt make many "sudden" quick movements or else my muscle was spasm/cramp. Like in the shower if i wanted to wash the bottom of my feet, me curling my hamstring would BAM hit me so hard. Another example is i would sit down and the flex of my quads would send a ripple down them. I would pull my shorts up and watch the muscle flutter and fire uncontrollably. Personally, i knew it was either a severe electrolyte imbalance or something serious lol. Electrolyte packets were doing nothing. So talking with Justin, he suggested i make my own mix. Salt + No Salt (potassium chloride) into my daily water jug. Im probably drinking 210oz of water a day. And i was adding about 1/2 teaspoon of each into those. Plus my intra thats about 11ish grams of potassium right there, just supplemental. And that change alone made it allll disappear. No cramping. No spasms, nothing.

4. I do think my daily intake fluctuates a bit. On a high day, when carbs are above 1000g and im taking in over 100iu of insulin, my sodium is probably 20g and my potassium is around 15g+. Maybe sliiightly less on the rest of my workout days.

Again, i feel fine and have found no ill effects in the past month or so. I willll be getting bloodwork to take a look.

And @d4ve you are dead on. The way O'Machy talks and just explains himself bugs me a bit. Very Alex Kikel like where he, not sure if he intends it to, but makes it sound much more scientific than it needs to be. Just reply like a regular person for the love of god. I think he wants to sound intelligent. But I have been following him for years....i DID see that Heck is kinda working with him which DID make me feel better as he too is a massssive guy probably running lots of GH and insulin lol.

 

[buck]

As it seems potassium helps remove sodium from the body for most people. From my understanding. Taking in more sodium just to equal out the increase intake of potassium intake seems like it would just cancel each other out to a point. But bio chemistry is a bit beyond my pay grade.

 

[madg]

Snake oil salesman trying to reinvent the wheel while sounding like he lecturing in harvard

Jmho

 

[luki7788]

I knew my reply would sound the alarms LOL but...lemme preface this with:

1. My entire life ive always had insane electrolyte turnover (i just made that term up). In HS and college football i was insane prone to cramping. Genetic predisposition as my dad has always had the same thing. My whole life he has cramped up doing random shit and would add salt to his waters. Whole life.

2. O'Machy's thing isnt EVERYONE be above 15g+. It's based on bodyweight, GH usage, insulin usage, etc. I'm 320lbs using a lot of insulin and a lot of GH. Would i suggest this to everyone? Fuck no. But for me, it sounded promising.

3. My first jump into potassium supplementation wasnt just, "lets add 15g!" For the past 3 offseasons, all well above 300lbs, i would basically get over that 3bill mark and be crushed with debilitating "spasms" for lack of a better word. I wrote a bit about this in my log. For awhille it was just in my legs but it eventually spread up to upper body muscles too. Biceps, delts, etc. I basically couldnt make many "sudden" quick movements or else my muscle was spasm/cramp. Like in the shower if i wanted to wash the bottom of my feet, me curling my hamstring would BAM hit me so hard. Another example is i would sit down and the flex of my quads would send a ripple down them. I would pull my shorts up and watch the muscle flutter and fire uncontrollably. Personally, i knew it was either a severe electrolyte imbalance or something serious lol. Electrolyte packets were doing nothing. So talking with Justin, he suggested i make my own mix. Salt + No Salt (potassium chloride) into my daily water jug. Im probably drinking 210oz of water a day. And i was adding about 1/2 teaspoon of each into those. Plus my intra thats about 11ish grams of potassium right there, just supplemental. And that change alone made it allll disappear. No cramping. No spasms, nothing.

4. I do think my daily intake fluctuates a bit. On a high day, when carbs are above 1000g and im taking in over 100iu of insulin, my sodium is probably 20g and my potassium is around 15g+. Maybe sliiightly less on the rest of my workout days.

Again, i feel fine and have found no ill effects in the past month or so. I willll be getting bloodwork to take a look.

And @d4ve you are dead on. The way O'Machy talks and just explains himself bugs me a bit. Very Alex Kikel like where he, not sure if he intends it to, but makes it sound much more scientific than it needs to be. Just reply like a regular person for the love of god. I think he wants to sound intelligent. But I have been following him for years....i DID see that Heck is kinda working with him which DID make me feel better as he too is a massssive guy probably running lots of GH and insulin lol.

In your case it actually makes sense because your sodium intake is very high.

Adam is not completely wrong when he talks about the sodium to potassium ratio. The ratio he suggests, about 1 : 2 (sodium : potassium), can be fine for normal people who eat normal amounts of electrolytes.
So for example a normal person may eat around 2–3 g sodium and about 5–6 g potassium from food/sups. That ratio is totally fine and healthy.

The problem starts when we talk about very high intakes like many bodybuilders have.
If someone eats 10–20 g sodium and wants to keep the same 1 : 2 ratio, then potassium would go to 20–40 g per day. That is where it becomes dangerous.
Potassium directly affects the electrical activity of the heart and heart rhythm. If potassium in the blood becomes too high, it can cause serious arrhythmia and in extreme cases cardiac arrest. This is not theory. In medicine potassium overdose is one of the classic causes of sudden heart rhythm problems.

And honestly I think this is something many people in bodybuilding ignore. Some bodybuilders who died after competitions most likely had extremely high potassium, often because of potassium-sparing diuretics. Potassium can go very high and that can lead to sudden cardiac arrest.

So the problem is not the general idea. The problem is that people may misunderstand it and apply it to extreme intakes, which can be dangerous.

 

[hawkmoon]

I think this is a risky proposition, much more so for enhanced guys.
I'm no doctor, so I might be talking out of my arse, but I'm cautious with electrolytes that regulate sinus rhythm.

We can get a a "false" low potassium reading, say 3.6 mmol/L (low-normal) because it is reading serum only, not stored in muscle.
AAS and GH increase potassium storage in muscle tissue, so our bodies can be holding a lot more potassium than that test will reveal.

During training our muscles release potassium, which normally is excreted, but this can be dented by telimisartan, which a great deal of us are on.
Telmisartan blocks Angiotensin II, causing it to lower aldosterone, mitigating potassium dumping.

Also enough muscle damage, which I think many of us also experience could cause symptoms similar to "crush syndrome" or rhabdo, also dumping potassium into the system.

Lastly, we are storing so much potassium because of our cycles, drop form a big dose down to alight cruise or TRT and there coudl be a lot of Ka released.

If you are supplementing a lot at the same time any of the above happens if could be unpleasant.

 

[specter]

Just a big olé dont fuck this up, my dumb ass napped 5000mg potassium one time pre bed, that was not a good idea... my heart startet beating real fuckin funky and it took some time to get it back to normal ! (i thought i was takin 500mg)
Eddie Hall almost had a heart attack from to much potassium.

 

[tornquad201]

There’s a MMA conditioning coach “ Coach Cal “ that has always preached getting 9,000 mugs of Potassium a day