Supplements 101: They’re Called Supplements for a Reason

$35.6 billion…

That is what the supplement industry is worth right now. I don’t know about you, but you could give that to me with a few zeros left off the number, and I’d still be more than happy! But sadly, no one is giving this cash to me or you (at least not right now). So, how does this number pertain to you?

Well, hopefully, you’ve acted on some of the things you’re learning through this blog. Maybe you’ve created your fitness goals and implemented a few of the nutrition tools we’ve touched on thus far. As you do these things, one question may come to mind. In fact, I know it will. It always does. That’s why the industry is so lucrative. The question is, “what supplements do I need to reach my goals…?”

Just like goal setting, there are a few preliminary questions you need to answer before even thinking about using supplements.

Pre-Supplement Questions

1. Am I eating the proper quantity?

Say you have a weight loss goal and you’re not seeing the progress you want to. Well, if you are eating significantly more calories than you’re burning, it’ll be very difficult to lose any weight at all. So, before turning to fat burners, make sure that you’re eating a proper number of calories for your goal.

2. Am I eating in the proper timing?

You’re training for an upcoming 10k, but when it comes time to train, you constantly wrestle between 2 options: take a nap or go on this run.

You have little to no energy going into, and throughout, the workout. So, you figure you need some pre-workout. But wait… before you go out and spend $25 plus on the supplement, ask yourself, “How often am I eating throughout the day?”

And “Am I getting enough carbs around my workouts and throughout my day in general?”

If the answer to these questions don’t promote the performance you’re looking for, make changes to your meal timing before opting for the supplements.

3. Am I eating the most nutrient-rich food choices possible?

You head to the doctor’s office, and they begin to tell you about the dangers of high blood pressure, low iron levels, and poor bone density. They tell you that you’re not at risk of having poor levels on any of these metrics, but your eating and training habits may put you at risk long-term. Due to fear and a sense of urgency, you may investigate which supplements can help you keep these metrics in the healthy state that they are currently in. But don’t pull the trigger on those off the bat. Instead, ask yourself…

 “How often do I eat sodium-filled fast food each week?”

“How often am I eating red meat, leafy green vegetables, or fortified foods to increase my iron intake?”

“How many calcium-rich dairy source do I eat per day?”

Answer these questions and then adjust your eating habits accordingly before opting for the supplemental fixes.

There are several other fitness-related areas that you should reflect on before heading to GNC or Amazon to find your supplements.

4. How much, and how well, are you sleeping?

If the answer to the respective questions are less than 8 hours per night or “restlessly”, adjust your sleep routine before opting for magnesium or other supplemental sleep aids.

5. How often are you training?

Training too often can be just as, if not more, detrimental than not training enough. If you are always overly sore or feeling run-down, you may be overtraining. Evaluate your training program before looking for recovery supplements. On the other hand, if you are supposed to be training 4 times per week but only make 2 workouts, the answer to your lack of progress is not supplements. Its consistency.

6. Are you putting the appropriate amount of effort into your program to see results?

This one doesn’t require much explanation. You get out what you put in!

Now, after reading this post, you may think that we hate supplements. That’s not it at all. We believe that supplements are extremely beneficial when used appropriately. See, they have their name for a reason. They’re meant to supplement your typical diet, training program, sleep patterns, mobility work, etc. We don’t promote using them as a replacement for poor habits in the aforementioned areas. But once you have those life habits dialed in, there are several supplements that can help take your health and performance to another level.

In the next few posts, we’ll cover our list of the top 5 supplements. These are well-researched and well-proven to be effective (once again, when used appropriately). We’ll start with the one of the most popular supplements in the world… caffeine.

Perseguir la Mejoría!
- Craig