Review of some common, and not so common supplements
In this day and age, there are more supplements on the market than there are people to ingest all these magically enhanced, super engineered, biologically improved, and chemically re-structured pills. Yea right! Let me tell you what a supplement is, and why we need them or don’t need them. We won’t get in to much science here; I’m just going to explain what athletes actually benefit from, and what is actually bullshit.
Marketing is a powerful weapon. Millions of people see a commercial for the new magic pill or the new weight loss drink and they’re on it faster than a fat kid on chocolate cake. Why? Because the sales pitch is phenomenal Who wouldn’t want to lose 20 pounds in 10 days with only 20 minutes a day? No one, that’s who! Unfortunately for all of you, you are not living on a little place I like to call Earth. There is one magical thing out there that can make you attain any goal you want. That magical thing is called hard work and dedication. With that out of the way, let’s get into the supplements.
Supplements are defined as an addition to a current dietary program that may aid in the increase of optimizing one’s body. Understand? Supplements are not there to replace anything that you would do on a normal basis, and they are certainly not there to make things easier on you; if anything, they should make things harder for you in the sense that with supplements, you should be working harder since you are recovering quicker. Now I’m not going to list the supplements that the biggest bodybuilders endorse and the ones every time you ask a GNC dude about, he tells you “this is guaranteed to rip your muscles up!” I’m gonna list the main supplements critical to optimizing performance in power, speed, and strength for any athlete. By the way, in this article, I’m not going to list any brands of supplements, just what you need. Here they are:
Protein powder drinks
Most athletes do not receive enough protein in their diet. Since our body’s tissue is made from proteins, adequate levels of protein are required for optimal repair and recovery. There are lots of different shakes out there; whichever you choose, make sure it’s low in sugar.
Glutamine
Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the blood and also in the muscle tissue. The amino acid pool is 60% glutamine in skeletal muscle. Glutamine delivers muscle-enhancing nitrogen into the muscle cells. Glutamine aids in muscle growth, and helps to prevent muscle tissue breakdown.
Branched Chain Amino Acids(BCAAs)
BCAAs are essential amino acids in the blood and in the muscle tissue. They improve muscle growth and muscle recovery and healing. Taking BCAAs reduces muscle damage and greatly improves energy levels.
Creatine Monohydrate
I don’t need to explain the effects of Creatine. I’m confident 99% of our readers already know what it does, or have used it already. Most muscle-heads use Creatine to gain weight. They take 100 grams a day for 5 days and then 5-10 grams a day thereafter. All the weight they gain though is 60-70% water. What the hell is the point of that? Supplementing with Creatine for “real†athletes is much much different than the common guy knows. If working out properly, the loading phase of Creatine is unneccary. Depending on your goals, 1-5 grams of Creatine day should be plenty to increase the availability of Adenosine Tri-phosphate and reap the benefits. Be careful when using Creatine; you want to put on muscle slowly and gradually, so that you can keep 90% of your gains if you ever stop using it, which is why the loading phase is useless and senseless.
Flaxseed Oil
Flaxseed is on my top 3 favorite supplements list. It not only provides the essential fatty acids necessary for health, but it greatly helps in increasing stamina and endurance. Flaxseed oil decreases recovery times in between workouts, and has been proven to reduce soreness in recovery intervals. I personally take flaxseed oil in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening. I LOVE IT!
Multi-Vitamin
I’m not talking about that Centrum crap either. 100% RDA of vitamins and minerals is OK for the average man, but as athletes, we put our bodies through absolute hell. A true athlete will require anywhere between 10 and 20 times the average recommended daily allowance of vitamins and minerals. Shop around for a quality multi-vitamin with all the vitamins and minerals you can get.
That about does it for my list of magical supplements. I know you were probably expecting more, but why? Don’t worry about the idiot personal trainer that prescribes 79 different supplements, cause they all do the same shit. Worry about what your body can actually utilize and improve you as a whole. This is the greatest supplement list you will find in my opinion. It gives you everything you need to be at your peak, in and out of the gym. If you don’t believe me, just give it a whirl. Don’t waste time and money on those bottles that guarantee you 20 pounds in 2 months. Save your time, your health, and your money. Use the supplements that benefit you more and more with each time you take them. No need to overdo it. The human body is capable of amazing and incredible feats.
Those “magic” pills all the companies are trying to sell are trying to fool you into believing the body can’t get past a certain point without these pills. You get what you put in. If you want to be the best, train the best, eat the best, and supplement the best.
Good Luck!
September 30th, 2007 at 12:59 am
That’s a great overview of the most effective bodybuilding supplements. Supplementation is important, but as you mention the most critical factor is discipline and hard work.
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:20 am
The best supplements in the world could never substitute good natural wholesome nutrition found in home cooked meals. But exercise and keeping a good natural diet take hard work and because it is hard, it is so much easier to believe that all we need is our daily supplements. A good daily supplement can only complement good nutrition, not substitute it. So keeping in mind that supplements will complement the food we eat, we have a choice to take a hundred different supplements or one which contains a combination of nutrients. I prefer a complete health supplement like Ruby Reds containing a good mix of nutrients. http://www.newvitality.com/shop/ruby-reds.aspx
August 1st, 2008 at 2:14 am
I think simply:
If my nutrition is good, probably I don’t need supplements.
If my nutrition is poor, no supplements will help me.
Am I right?
February 3rd, 2010 at 5:16 pm
In response to Czes Kulvis… Due to the industrial revolution and the effects of pollution, making tons of man-made chemicals and other harmful products (even though they are deemed safe by governments) there is no way that you can get all of what your body needs from your diet. Look at the statistics: millions of people chronically ill, millions more children placed on drugs because of behavior issues and new diseases that were never an issue before. It’s time to look and see what’s causing this! Do you see it? We as a species have done this to ourselves.
On top of this problem, poor farming practices genetically modify our foods, pump antibiotics and hormones into meat sources, deplete the soil, etc. In order to give your body a chance to survive and heal from injury or disease the only real way to do this is supplement your body with vital nutrients it so desprately needs!
I think some of the most needed nutrients needed are trace minerals, vitamins, healthy fats (omega-3 fatty acids), etc. There are so many health problems that could be corrected or greatly helped if people really wanted to become healthier – the problem I see is that they like to mope around in their own self-pity and like the attention they receive from their sick-identity. We all have the opportunity to make better decisions regarding our health – will you be responsible for yours???