Supplements: a non-bullshit guide on which ones you need

The supplement industry is one of the biggest in the world. You can take supplements almost every day. Pre, post and during a workout you have to sip this. In the morning and evening, you have to pop that pill. You have to take it exact 30 minutes before your workout or before bed and in this way people lose their senses and money thanks to the supplement industry. They also promise things that aren’t possible when you’re natural. They do ads with guys who put roids in their oatmeal and HGH in their coffee, they all claim that their gains are due to these supplements but we all know that this is a big pile of bullshit.

I already did a post on why you should stop reading fitness magazines and sites but I started to use supplements again recently. I’m well educated this time so I know which one really “work” and which ones are extreme bullshit. Let me make one thing clear: test boosters are bullshit. Men would stack such a supplement in their homes if one of these would work.

I expose my inner geek and give you the real science behind the supplements and why you should take or don’t take them.

The short answer is simple: you don’t need any supplements. You need to make sure that you work out hard, eat healthy, sleep enough and after that, you can think about taking supplements. Most people don’t work out at all, they don’t eat healthily and sleep is an unknown word. They prefer to be social media zombies instead of going to bed.

Supplements: To take or not to take? It’s a hard question

The most popular supplements are pretty easy to guess: whey protein, creatine monohydrate, mass gainers, BCAA’s, fat burners, a multivitamin, and test boosters

Whey protein

This is probably one of the most sold and misused supplements there is. There is no anabolic window, I repeat there is no anabolic window at all. So you don’t need whey protein you ask? No, you don’t need it. You can get jacked from just eating healthy without supplements. However, you can make pretty tasty recipes with whey protein and it’s an easy way to get more protein out of your diet. So it’s useful if you’re sure that you’re deficient in protein.

Go for brands that are GNC facilitated, NOW foods is an example of a quality whey protein. Optimum whey protein is another one that I can recommend. Just don’t buy one of the cheaper versions. They’re full of sugar and contain less protein than the label claims.

Mass gainers

I call these the most unhealthy supplements on the market. They work there’s no doubt about that but it’s better to eat a little bit more. Mass gainers make most people sick or give them stomach problems. Mass gainers are not healthy at all and they are full but full of sugar. Most mass gainers fail in lab tests when it comes to protein. Mostly there’s a lot less protein in a scoop than labeled on the bag.

So, in reality, you take in more sugar and less protein all to gain mass. The mass you gain is mostly fat since it’s a calorie overkill (about 1500 per shake). So what do you do? Can you still consume a mass gainer? Of course, you can make one yourself.

You need:

• Whey protein
• 2 bananas
• 50 grams of oats
• 2 tablespoons of peanut butter or almond butter
• Olive oil

Throw it in a blender with some ice and some water and you’ve got a quality mass gainer.

Creatine monohydrate

This is the most studied supplement in the world but it lowers testosterone levels. Yes, you’ve read it correctly, it lowers testosterone by increasing your SBHG. So can I use creatine or not? I don’t see why not but I don’t get why people use it. It loads your muscles up with water, you gain a bit more strength and weight but you lose it again.

It’s better to change your training but that’s just my opinion. I could do chin-ups with almost 40 kg’s extra weight and I didn’t take a supplement back then.

What about the other forms of creatine?

They’re all bullshit to charge you some extra money. Creatine monohydrate is the only form that works, the other may have a placebo effect but that’s it. I got this info from a scientist that works for a supplement company. I choose my resources wisely.

Buy this creatine if you want a quality one.

Multivitamin

These are classified as expensive urine. Most of them contain not enough vitamins and you can get all these vitamins and minerals from your food. A multivitamin can help when you’re deficient in some vitamins or minerals or don’t eat enough veggies but there’s a solution for this.

Do like me and get on the juice. That’s right I juice a shit ton of vegetables and I feel great. I also add some fruit to add some extra taste. Joe Rogan has a great smoothie which he consumes right in the morning.

This is a supplement that I wouldn’t recommend because your body just doesn’t benefit from it.  Once again, you just bought expensive urine.

ZMA

ZMA contains zinc, magnesium and vitamin B6 and can be great but it can also be a waste of money. It’s a great supplement when you’re deficient in zinc but otherwise, it’s a waste of money. It’s better to buy magnesium oil (read here why) and drink the tea that Tim Ferris recommends. I use his tea and it knocks me out.

The tea contains:

• Tea flavor that you like (I pick a fruit flavor)
• Tablespoon of honey
• One or two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar

I choose the fruit flavor because it neutralizes the flavor of the apple cider vinegar. I drink it about one hour before bed and it knocks me out. It’s a tough opponent to face but I sleep like a bear. So I suggest you take your bloodwork and see what it gives. I use the magnesium oil pretty often, to be honest…

Defiantly supplement with zinc if you’ve got a deficiency, this is no joke and bad for your hormonal health. I still supplement with zinc twice a year just to be sure that I don’t get in a deficiency.

Fat burners

I call this the most overprized and bullshit supplement there is. This is a pre-workout. I contain mostly caffeine and green tea extract with some other fancy substances. They all claim to burn a ton of fat but in reality, they don’t do anything. It all comes down to dieting.

I sold supplements and a couple once asked me how effective fat burners came when it comes to fat burning. I told them that they were just as effective as drinking coffee and tea when it comes to fat burning. So they looked at me and asked if they could lose fat quickly by consuming coffee and green tea. So I repeated it that they were just as effective as drinking coffee and tea. Suddenly they got it.

Diet and natural testosterone production are the key to a low body fat percentage. It would be foolish to believe otherwise. I’m the living proof.

I also know a scientist who helps several Belgian supplement companies and she uses these fat burners as a pre-workout. Bodybuilders use clenbuterol but want to make you believe that their results are due to fat burners.

They are also pretty unhealthy in the long run.

CLA

CLA contains multiple types of isomers but they counteract with each other. The c12 isomer is the one that should work but it’s dangerous for your health. The t11 isomer counteracts the negative effects but also the positive one. We can conclude that it doesn’t work.

Protein bars

Most protein bars are just as healthy as a regular snickers bar. They are full of palm oil, soy (lowers testosterone) and tons of artificial crap. Some even put gelatin protein in their bars. Most protein fans will cheer when they see one but this is a marketing scam. It’s a lot cheaper than whey protein and that’s why they use it. There’s just one problem and that’s the fact that gelatin protein is insufficient when it comes to muscle building and muscle repair. That’s a total bummer that will hunt you the whole summer.

Two brands have quality protein bars. Quest bars taste great but are also one of the most quality bars on the market. They don’t pay me to say this, I just took a look at their label. Reflex Nutrition is another brand that has some quality protein bars. They aren’t that tasty as the Quest bars but they’re a lot healthier than all the rest of the competition. Protein bars are really expensive and I would only advise you to buy them if you haven’t got a tight budget.

But you can make protein bars at home. I even have 2 recipes since one contains gluten.

The gluten protein bar

ingredients:

• 3 cups of oats
• 1/2 cup of peanut butter
• 1 cup of coconut milk
• 4 scoops of Protein Powder
• A few pinches of cinnamon.

Preparation:

Throw everything in a large container and mix it till the batter is consistent. Place it in a glass container. Place the glass container, covered with aluminum, in a refrigerator. Wait a few hours, cut it into 8 pieces and enjoy.

The gluten-free protein bar

ingredients:

• 3 bananas
• 1/2 cup of peanut butter
• 1 cup of coconut milk
• 4 scoops of Protein Powder
• A few pinches of cinnamon.

Preparation:

Throw everything in a large container and mix it till the batter is consistent. Place it in a glass container. Place the glass container, covered with aluminum, in a refrigerator. Wait a few hours, cut it into 8 pieces and enjoy.

Sounds great, doesn’t it? Pretty cheap too. You can impress your friends with your “cooking skills”. It’s healthy and easy, there’s nothing more which you can ask for.

Meal replacement shakes

I noticed that these meal replacement shakes are getting more and more popular because people are craving a healthy breakfast. First of all, you don’t need breakfast and second of all these meal replacements are far from healthy. You neglect the fact that you need to add variety to your meals. It doesn’t count when you switch from strawberry to vanilla taste to add variety.

But there’s more besides the lack of nutrition and all the added artificial crap. You neglect your vegetables. Most people take meal replacements and a multivitamin together instead of eating healthy. Get your shit together and make some healthy meals. Old school bodybuilders laugh at these kinds of supplements and they’re right too. Some genius invented this to make easy money from lazy people. You can hate me all you want but deep down inside you know that I’m right.

Pre-workout

I hated these supplements, to be honest. You get an extreme itching face thanks to the beta-alanine but there another major downside. Ever been to the gym and stood at before closed doors? It sucks when you’ve got a pre-workout in your system. The same goes for the situation where you meet someone after you’ve gulped it down. You’re restless before you know it.

Drink my favorite homemade pre work out and get a good night’s sleep. You’ll never need a pre-workout if you get your 8 hours of sleep. Ditch the iPhone before you get an iPosture and a restless night. Your body and wallet will thank you. Besides coffee tastes great and a lot better than the average pre-workout.

Test boosters

The test boosters are pretty funny in my opinion because most of them don’t work and the most popular ones even contain a testosterone lowering herb. Tribulus Terrestris is one of the most popular herbs in these test boosters but it doesn’t work.

It only worked in rat studies but for some reason, it doesn’t work for people. Like I stated before it even has the opposite effect. It must suck to realize that you just spend money on a testosterone lowering supplement.

Recently I found out why they use Tribulus Terrestris so much. It will increase your libido but won’t increase your testosterone. Do you get why they still use it? Many people link the increase in libido to higher testosterone levels but it’s wrong.

BCAA’s or amino acids

Protein is a long chain of amino acids, your body breaks it down into multiple amino acids. So basically you’ll get all your BCAA’s from your food. I would only recommend them if you’re afraid to lose muscle when you’re training in a fasted state. I use them on the days that I’m sure I won’t be having a meal after my workout. This means that I train pretty late and don’t eat anymore because that will interrupt my sleeping pattern.

I recently noticed that BCAA’s high in leucine help me recover quicker than usual. I try to aim at a 6:1:1 ratio. This means that you’ve got 6 grams leucine, 1 gram of isoleucine and 1 gram of valine. Leucine is the king of amino acids and for once the bodybuilding sites were right this time.

You could also take pure leucine since the rest is less important.

The best advice that I can share concerning supplements

Many people will probably still have a ton of questions after reading this whole guide. You need to get your nutrition in check first and after that, you may consider taking supplements. Nutrition is one of the keys to recovery and muscle building. You will never get big when you’re taking tons of supplements in combination with a French fries and fast-food diet.

I didn’t take supplements for about a year and a half and now I’m incorporating them back into my life. Just whey protein because I still got a bag, amino acids, and some magnesium oil. The whey protein is only used when I’m low on protein.

In the end, you decide how much money you spend on the supplements but I can guarantee you for one 100% that you can invest your money in better stuff than supplements.

Well, that’s all folks.

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Till next time

Alex

 

 

 

 

 

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