Supplements

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I used to get asked a far bit from people at the gym, as well as some clients, on my thoughts on taking supplements. Which are the best ones to take, is it even worth them doing any of them. My answer normally is “save your money and eat the right foods” Honestly I think most supplements are a waste of money. Don’t get me wrong, business’s have to make money at the end of the day, but you need to look at what your goals are and if these will actually help you, also double check what’s in them as supplement companies aren’t regulated and don’t have to really say what’s in their products.

I’m not saying supplement companies are evil in any way; I cannot stress how important it is for an individual to do their own research in to them, don’t listen to friends, gym goers, articles or even me. What’s right for one person could be wrong for another, unless they point you in the right direction to get answers. These would be independent research papers.

Take creatine for example. It’s already in the foods we eat, such as meats and fish, our body can actually make it as part of our energy system when we lift weights or do High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). So is it worth taking? Personally I used to take creatine 30 minutes before a workout only if I felt tired. There isn’t really a study that will tell you that you should or shouldn’t take it. This is because everyone has a different response with it. Just typing “studies with creatine” in Google scholar and it cames up with 12,300,000 results, now there’s no excuse. The down side of using creatine is that your body could possibly stop making it which could mean you’d have to be on it long term. The tubs do have cycle suggestions on them, though if you do want to take it, 30 minutes before would still yield positive results.

Whey protein powders ‘confuse’ me. Here you have a product that’s designed to help you build and maintain muscle (it helps with repair not so much the size element of it). Yet it has soya in it, which has been shown to potentially amplify oestrogen production in both men and woman. The more oestrogen in your body the less testosterone you’ll have to help produce muscle. There are actually a few that don’t have soya in them; it does take a little time to look for one and which tastes nice too. Some not all may contain some added sugar, or sweetener. I only mention sweetener because some people might not deal well with it and it potentially contribute to weight gain. I’ll sometimes add a little protein powder to either a homemade dessert or smoothes to increase my protein intake a little but this isn’t really necessary.

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Testosterone boosters. There are quite a few on the market, and the price tags on these are stupidly high. If your 18+ and don’t have a low-test count why would you even bother? If you do happen to have low testosterone go see your doctor and they’ll help you

Pre-workout is another funny one. You’ll pay anything from £20-£60 pounds for a good pre-workout. The main ingredient is caffeine Why not pay £2 (or so) for a double espresso or make a coffee before you head out to the gym, this will pretty much do the same thing for you, minus the sugar/sweetener.

There are so many more on the market, again these products main reason for being on the market is so that you part with your cash to buy things that more times than not don’t’ work as well as they claim.

All these ‘extra’ boost/effects from supplements you can actually get from eating real food. Powders and bars are processed food, lets not kid ourselves here. Most protein bars have as much sugar as a standard chocolate bar per 100g. Nothing can replace whole foods, if you’re eating the right things and only then do you feel the need for a ‘boost’ you go for a decent supplement. In Tim Ferris’s ‘4 hour body’ he talks about a fat loss and testosterone stack which is nothing more than taking a few vitamin tablets, if that interests you go give that a read, it’ll be a little cheaper than buying the actual supplements for those jobs. I would recommend speaking to your doctor before you take anything.

This is only my opinion, I’m not saying buy or don’t. It’s up to you what you fundamentally do with your body. Some of you might have had great success using supplements or found some really good ones. That’s great share. Just do yourself a favour and take a little time to look into them and always double check with your doctor to make sure it is safe for you to take any of them.