Fitness 360: Ashley Horner, Fitness Forward: Supplements

Diets are often confused with elaborate torture devices. But when diets are executed correctly, life is actually made easier by strict adherence to a plan.

Ashley Horner's plan is grounded almost solely in whole foods, but sometimes she needs a little extra to get her through her workouts (remember, she trains 6 days per week, often twice per day: weightlifting and cardio!).

Ashley Horner fitness 360
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It's important to take supplements, but it's more important to take the right ones for you.

Existing supplement stacks may contain more or less of what you need for your specific goals. Ashley suggests the basics, especially for beginners.

Take daily multivitamins, fish oils and protein shakes (blended with ice, bananas and peanut butter!) to begin with.

"I don't think it's important for someone just starting out to be taking all the supplements out there," Horner said. "It can get a bit overwhelming and confusing if you're not used to it, especially if you're new to the gym, new to the healthy lifestyle. What's more important at that point in a person's workout program is just that they get their multivitamin, get their iron …"

She starts taking a fat burner 4 weeks before her competitions. And she always takes something after her workouts, so she can recover and hit it again each evening.

"I'm not a huge supplement taker," Horner said. "I do however at times enjoy taking a pre-workout for those days when you need that little bit extra push to get yourself going.

"It gets my blood going, helps me stay a little bit more focused and I can be a little more driven longer and I do actually have a good workout on those days."

Ashley's Supplement Philosophy

"I think supplements can really aid someone's training when the timing is right. For a beginner, I don't always think it's necessary to get into a lot of supplements at first, except for your basics: fish oil, multi-vitamins and whey protein."

"I am not sponsored by Cellucor; I just really like their products!"

Ashley's Supplement Stack