TL;DR: Buy some protein powder, drink two cups of coffee if you need a boost before training, take creatine for fuller looking muscles and more strength and muscle-endurance in the gym.
It’s a sketchy area within the fitness industry filled with snakeoil salesmen and monetary pitfalls; supplements. Every supplement promises these amazing results, but most are bogus. In this post I will be recommending 3 types of supplements that I have found to be effective in my 4 years of weightlifting.
1 Protein Powder
Ah, the classic. There’s a reason why this supplement is on the top of my list. It simply is the most straight to the point. Protein powder can be extremely beneficial when you need to squeeze those last couple of grams of protein in your day when you really don’t feel like cooking meat. There are a couple of different types of protein powder. I’ll keep it simple and stick to whey and casein. Whey is a fast releasing protein, whilst casein is a slow releasing protein. Science is still arguing which one is the best for muscle growth, but in my experience a mixture of both works best as whey seems to be more beneficial for protein synthesis and casein is great for muscle retention. In case you don’t have casein and whey laying around, just mix your whey with milk for similar effects.
2 Pre-workouts
Whoa there, don’t get this wrong. Don’t go out buying your favorite YouTubers pre-workout supplement, as it is probably shit. You don’t need their over-marketed, over-priced gunk. Pre-workouts can be just as simple as protein powder. I advise you to only take pre-workout when you really need it, as that is when you get the most bang for your buck. Feeling down, haven’t slept well, or just fatigued by a long day at work? Take some pre-workout and you will perform better in the gym. You might be wondering what pre-workout I find most beneficial. I will get to that now.
Caffeine
Found in nearly every American household in the form of coffee. Yep, that’s right. Coffee can be a great pre-workout. Caffeine is such a great pre-workout as it can boost strength and suppress the effects of fatigue. 1 Caffeine can also be supplemented in the form of a powder. Don’t go overboard with caffeine, as you most likely already have some sort of tolerance to it if you’re a daily coffee drinker. Caffeine is extremely susceptible to tolerance, but taking a 3-day break once in a while (read: 1 month) should reset your tolerance. If you decide to buy the caffeine powder, for the love of god, watch your fucking intake. It’s easy to go overboard when you can just throw 1000mg of caffeine in your shaker cup. Don’t do this. 4mg/2.2 lbs of your bodyweight is the maximum I would recommend. This means that a 225 lbs male shouldn’t go above 410 mg of caffeine before training.
3 Creatine
Creatine is a supplement that increases strength and muscle-endurance in the gym. Creatine will draw water into your muscle bellies, giving them a full look. Creatine can improve your performance in the gym, which will in turn allow you to load more volume on your muscle, which can lead to more muscle growth. It may just help you speed up the process of making gains by a tiny bit. Some people claim that you need to cycle creatine, but that’s bullshit. Just take 5g of creatine daily, drink plenty of water, and you’re golden. There are some studies claiming that some people don’t experience the benefits of creatine as they should, so don’t expect this to be a magic pill. As for which type of creatine to buy; just stick with monohydrate. It is the most researched and I have benefited most of it myself. Creatine is so fucking cheap, just try it out and see if you like the effects.
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Conclusion
You don’t NEED supplements. They might just give you that little extra help in the gym. Take protein powder to reach your daily protein goals, take pre-workout whenever you need a kick up your ass and get to the gym and finally, take creatine to increase strength and muscle-endurance in the gym, which may lead to more gains. And most importantly; supplements wont do jack-shit if you aren't eating right and lifting consistently. Put in the work.
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References
1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22349085
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