Many people ask me time and time again which supplements they should be taking to help them reach their bodybuilding goals.
After speaking with them, I realize often times that all the supplements in the world wouldn't help this person because they are under the assumption that just by taking supplements, they will totally transform their bodies into huge, ripped, muscular ones.
Supplements are exactly that, they are supposed to supplement your well-balanced diet and your hard work in the gym. They are not a substitute for them.
Training and Eating
In fact, if you do not train correctly or eat a well-balanced diet, supplements are a total waste of money. Supplements must be used correctly to be effective.
You cannot be haphazard in your approach to taking them, missing days here and there or cutting down the amount taken to make it last longer. Supplements must be taken on your off days from training just as well as when you are working out.
It is on your off days that your body is recovering from strenuous workouts and needs the proper nutrition to support muscle growth. There is a place for supplements in just about everyone's routines. The correct supplements will assist you if you are unable to take in the nutrients that are required by your body that you normally get from ingesting whole food sources.
Undoubtedly using the correct supplement will give you an edge in your fat loss and muscle building efforts. I say correct because there are literally more supplements on the market that do not work than those that do.
If I sound skeptical, it's because I am. I have just seen too many examples of products that are hyped as the next best thing but just fail to deliver any results.
Benefits and Value
Undoubtedly there are supplements that offer an array of benefits and value. Buying a supplement because you saw an ad in a magazine that offered amazing results is kind of like buying into one of these get-rich quick schemes.
If it were that great of a product, wouldn't everyone be taking it? Wouldn't the effective word-of-mouth advertising by people drastically reduce the need for these companies to spend $10,000 per ad in a magazine? Ads are produced to do one thing and one thing only. To sell a product.
You can literally sell anything if you advertise it enough. Just watch the current slew of infomercials on TV. It's ridiculous that these companies are padding their wallets at the expense of vulnerable people who are misled and misinformed and are looking for the right direction.
Again, supplements are not magic. They are not truly needed to get into fabulous shape. However, the right ones can help you get there and stay in better shape if taken correctly. I have benefited from a few specific supplements that I have listed below.
All-in-one supplements that contain the latest and greatest ingredients are not worth their weight either. They usually contain such trace amounts of the key ingredients that any effect is doubtful.
Also, try not to take too many supplements at one time.
Many compete for absorption against each other. If you take many supplements at the same time, you will not know which ones work and which ones do not. If you take 5 supplements are only 1 or 2 is truly giving you any gains, how are you supposed to know which ones to stick with and which ones to can?
Stick With Well-known Brands
Stick with reputable, well-known brands that have been around for a while. The scum companies usually get chased out by consumers, reputable competing companies, or sometimes by the FDA (AB belts for example). Twinlab, AST Sports Science, Nature's Best, Met-Rx, Sportpharma, Lee Labrada, EAS, Avant Labs, Syntrax, and Optimum Nutrition are just a few of the brands that have been around for a while and do not have overwhelmingly bad publicity.
Believe me, I have purchased and used supplements as much as the next guy, but to make good and steady gains you must pay more attention to your training routine than your supplement budget.
If you are training correctly and want to add some valuable supplements to the list, I think you would be well off sticking with protein ( whey, milk, egg, or some combination of those) meal replacements, creatine, glutamine, and a quality multi-vitamin and mineral.
I am sure that many of the testosterone boosters offer some value, I just have not used them enough to give an educated opinion on them. It's unfortunate that the majority of people I talk to are under the assumption that there choice of supplements are the most important thing to focus on in their bodybuilding efforts. Supplements should be exactly that, something to supplement your hard and consistent work in the gym.
Want a written game plan to pack on lean muscle and lose body fat? "12 Simple Steps to Get Huge and Shredded" is that plan. Visit my site for more information.