It’s time to talk about gym supplements

This week The FitKitchen cracks some of the misconceptions of supplements and advises what products people should be consuming to aid their training.

It’s the age old question that is whispered throughout the changing rooms of the gym. “Hey, I’m after going on the protein…”. Gasps echo throughout, and everyone looks around as if this person has just said they’ve killed their mother.

Ok, a little dramatic. But you’d be surprised some of the stories that I have heard. Younger lads chugging protein shakes in the toilets; waking up in the middle of the night to drink a shake so you don’t go catabolic bro or just the ancient myth that creatine supplementation will unfortunately shrink your…manhood. I’ve seen and heard it all folks.

Where does this massive misunderstanding and lack of knowledge of these supplements actually come from? Perhaps its the multi-million dollar supplement companies pumping these ‘Fat Burner Supreme 6000’ products on to the shelves or social media fitness models taking their 17 ‘morning tablets’ that ‘guarantee’ to spike metabolism and shred the excess pounds. There is a lot of bullshit out there. I mean A LOT, but there are some supplements that are effective, and should be incorporated into a person’s life.

What actually are supplements?

Supplements are purchasable products that are usually made up of different by-products — proteins, stimulates and other dietary compounds to improve a specific function in the body or aspect of training.

They vary from protein powders, caffeine stimulants, fish oils to exothermic fat burners. One thing that isn't always taken into consideration… supplements are made to supplement the diet! Exactly what it says on the tin. The number one rule is that these products should be an addition to an already well-balanced and nutritious eating schedule made up of a wide variety of foods and micro-nutrients.

The supplement market is absolutely saturated with products. Everything and anything can be supplemented nowadays. Mass-Gainers with 2000+ calories a shake, pre-workouts that make you want to fight your grandmother and every assortment of vitamin and mineral under the sun. Some are very useful, others very useless. Below are the few that I would recommend…

Whey Protein Powder

This shouldn’t even be classified as a supplement. Whey is a by-product of the cheese manufacturing industry, that is dried and made into a powder format, mixed with flavorings and stabilizers to create the high protein powder. It is just a much a dairy product as a supplement.

It is possibly the most feared and talked about supplement there is. In fact, creatine is one of the most researched compounds on the market, and never has there been a case where adverse side effects were found. Creatine is actually made in the body, and is found in foods like red meats, eggs and fish.

To keep it short and sweet, creatine is used in the body to help produce ATP (adenosine triphosphate). This is the body’s natural energy source, so when creatine is supplemented correctly energy stores will increase giving you a greater power output in the gym, in return aiding the growth of new lean muscle tissue.

For anyone regularly training in the gym or on the pitch, creatine is one of the only supplements that I would recommend and that will have a benefit to your training and body composition. Its important to note that water consumption should be kept high and consistent, to prevent dehydration as creatine uses water in an action called ‘myofibril hydration’, where water is pulled into the skeletal muscles. On average, a male should be consuming 2–4L of water a day; female 1–3L of water daily.

Pre-Workouts

Pre-workouts have become increasingly popular over the last few years, with big name brands releasing these tubs of caffeinated stimulates to ramp you up before you hit a session. Most pre-workouts will contain the same ingredients, often in different dosages and varying flavors.

Caffeine is the main stimulant used. It boosts energy, enhances focus and is the reason I’m such a happy person in the mornings. From here a blend of other compounds can be included such as creatine (above), beta-alanine (can delay muscle fatigue), L-argine (nitric oxide production or ‘the pump’) or L’citrulline malate (an amino acid) to name as few. These come in different doses, sources and blends in each pre-workout, depending on the company.

Personally, I have never been a fan. Yes on some days a scoop (or two) is convenient to have and does get you hyped up to go and train, but people often become reliant on this ‘mental buzz’ and find it hard to train without it. Also the more you use these stimulants the less of an effect they have, so higher doses are needed (costing you more mula in the long run). A good cup of coffee and decent ‘loud’ playlist is my go-to choice, but I will use a pre- workout every now and then to change things up.

A better option is to buy the ingredients listed individually, and make your own ‘stimulant cocktail’. This will be a lot cheaper in the long run, and you will be able to cut out some of the needless ingredients that may be in these products. Beta-alanine, caffeine and citrulline malate are all good products to have (but definitely not essential) and can help with your performance in the gym; key thing is to not become dependent on them.

BCAA’s

Branched chained amino acids. Sounds sciencey, right? It’s pretty simple; these are the building blocks of protein compounds. Amino acid’s are used throughout the body to make up the proteins, which are used in lean tissue growth and repair, make up of hormones, enzymes and other important areas like cartilage, skin and blood. Three main ones that are used are leucine, isoleucine and valine.

When we are in a caloric deficit, i.e. our body is burning more energy than taking in, it will often result in muscle tissue being broken down and used an an energy source for the body. This unfortunately means that those peaking biceps or popping glutes may take a hit when deep in a dieting phase. This is where a BCAA supplement can be useful. Having this source of amino acid introduced to the body can prevent muscle breakdown in this catabolic state and stimulate protein synthesis — in other words, help you keep on to some of that well earned muscle tissue.

That’s the science (in very beginner terms), but again these products can be very over-priced and in my own opinion, are not worth the money for the minute effect that it will have. Honestly the average gym go-er will not find themselves in this deep, deprived state of dieting unless they are committing to a show or photo shoot. For the average-jo or casual lifter, its definitely not a key supplement that will be needed and more than likely will only lighten the load in you wallet.

I will say however: if you are someone who struggles to drink enough water, BCAA’s are great to flavor water whilst giving you that slight health benefit.

Multi-Vitamins and Fish Oils

One of the only ‘supplements’ I would recommend for everyone to take. Multi-vitamins often covered a range of vitamins, mineral and nutritional elements.

If you are a person like myself, and have a fond relationship with vegetables, then these won’t be as important, but if you struggle to get your 5 a day, then taking a multi-vitamin is a great way of insuring you will not be deficient in any of the vitamin or mineral groups. Being from Ireland, it can be very useful to take a vitamin D supplement also (this helps calcium absorption and helps with bone growth and health). UV rays from the sun trigger vitamin D synthesis, but being on the lovely green island, UV rays can be hard to come by!

Fish Oils are a second tablet I would recommend to take daily. Making sure that these healthy fats and omegas are part of our diet have huge benefits such as lower triglyceride count (blood fat which is bad) in our body, improve brain health, eye health and a whole host of other benefits in us. Eating a varied, balanced diet will cover most of the essential vitamin, minerals and elements that we need, but these supplements are very cheap to buy and act more as an insurance policy for our bodies.

So, what should I actually take?

At the end of the day, none of the above are essential. You could live your life to its fullest and never hear or mention any of the above. Most of the time it will come down to the individual. Are you a training athlete, pregnant mother, child with a certain deficiency or newbie in the gym? Each scenario calls for a different protocol. Assess what you actually need; what will bring benefit for the money attached and if possible, can this supplement be achieved in a different way through my diet.

Things like fat burners, thermo-blasters or any gimmick of such have no place on my shelf. I’ve tried them, and the effect in relation to the money is not worth it. To get a 1% advantage (that is most often a placebo or simple addition of caffeine in a hidden form) for the price attached is not worth it in my eyes, especially when the biggest factor will always come down to the your diet, consistency and patience related to it.

Hopefully you’re some bit wiser, and will know the supplement section a little better next time you’re faced with products pushed by topless models and fitness gurus, who are more interested in your money than your well-being!