Supplements – Do We Really Need Them?

When most people think of working out, they think of buying tons of supplements to help them start.  Do you really need all those supplements when you start lifting?  Absolutely not.  Supplements at the end of the day are supplements, you need to focus more on your actual diet, nutrition and training rather than how much a supplement can help you.  There is no supplement that is necessary or vital to working out but there are some supplements that have been proven effective.

Whey Protein

Whey protein is absolutely the most common supplement around for a good reason.  If you buy the right brand you will get a great source of protein with minimal amounts of carbohydrates or fat.  Sometimes there are even protein options available without sugar as well.

• Convenience: It’s not easy for the average joe to get their daily one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight intake in pure food.  Whey protein is a quick and easy solution to getting in your protein quickly and efficiently.
• Fast Absorbing: Whey Protein is quickly absorbed into your body which makes it very effective when taken right after a workout.  You can just throw a scoop or two of whey into your shaker cup and have it handy after you’re done with your workout.
• Inexpensive:  Protein is usually one of the least inexpensive supplements you can get per serving.  Most of the time it’s extremely easy to get a 5lb tub for under $50.  Try ordering online because the prices are usually way lower.

Creatine

There is a lot of buzz around creatine because it has been proven to be an effective supplement that will increase your size and strength as well as add water weight.  There are plenty of ways to add creatine to your diet.  The easiest way is to add creatine monohydrate to your protein or you could buy supplements with creatine like jack3d.  Typically it is recommended that you take two 5 gram servings of creatine monohydrate; one before your workout and one after your workout.

There is also debate about whether or not you should load creatine, meaning take 20g throughout the day in 5 gram intervals to saturate the creatine within your body.  You can decide whether or not you want to go through the loading process which may or may not help the saturation process, but personally taking two 5 gram servings from day one has been effective for me personally.

Creatine cycling is also common because creatine is naturally produced in the body and hypothetically if you were to continually supplement your diet with creatine it would decrease the naturally produced creatine.  This of course is not proven but most people do cycle creatine as a precaution.  The typical cycle would be 4 weeks of creatine supplementations and two weeks without creatine supplementation.

For the best results with creatine, try to purchase a creatine monohydrate powder that is micronized and creapure.

Multi-Vitamin

A multi-vitamin is just for your overall body health because it is quite difficult to get your daily dose of vitamins in.  Having proper vitamin supplementation will allow you to be less prone to sickness from vitamin C and better quality of sleep from zinc etc.

Fish Oil

Fish oil has been a popular supplement for overall cardiovascular health with some added benefits as well.

• Promotes cardiovascular health and prevents against stroke or heart attack
• Promotes healthy joints by reducing inflammation
• Promotes fat metabolism

Any additional supplements are all up to personal preference.  You can take pre-workout supplements if you feel that they give you a good pump or ZMA if it gives you a good nights sleep.  But the supplements listed here are relatively important and extremely beneficial to your fitness goals.