Bodybuilding: Supplements
By Michael Russell

Look through any bodybuilding or fitness magazine and you will be absolutely inundated with advertisements for products that promise everything from muscle gains, fat loss, getting ripped and getting energized. This tends to leave the average person who wants to work out to improve his or her physique to look good and feel better in a bit of a dilemma regarding what supplements to use.

First of all suffice it to say that the people who are benefiting the most from the supplement industry are the owners of the various supplement companies. Individuals are extremely body conscious in this day and age. Savvy marketers take advantage of this trend and cater to the quick fix mentality that characterizes our modern society.

No supplement is going to radically change your physique. There is no substitute for a consistent, persistent and intelligent training and diet routine. Even steroid use, which is definitely not being advocated or even discussed here, will have minimal results without the above. So before you even start worrying about what fat burner may be effective, get some months of serious training and dieting under your belt. Yes, you heard that right, not weeks but months.

Unless you have money to burn and not many of us do, keep your supplement use very conservative and smart. Many of these "new and miraculous" products are very expensive and, for the most part, very ineffective. Supplements are just that, an addition to your usual diet. You will achieve the best results by eating whole food meals whenever possible. Always choose a nutritious whole food meal as opposed to ingesting some type of supplement.

The first thing you should consider taking is a daily vitamin/mineral supplement. This will ensure that your body has all the essential nutrients it needs to be healthy. Combine this with vitamin C at a dosage of 1-3,000 mg. per day as an anti-oxidant. This provides an excellent base to start from for an active person.

The next product very worth looking into is whey protein for its high biological value and easy absorption. Whey protein is especially effective immediately following a workout when your muscles are fatigued and starving for nutrition. Whey isolate is the best as it is the purest and highest in protein content. Whey protein is also great first thing in the morning.

There are also many terrific protein bars and meal replacement bars on the market today that contain whey protein. These are useful for our busy lifestyles because it is so easy to throw a high quality whey protein bar into your backpack, purse, or briefcase and eat that instead of some fatty fast food. They come in a variety of flavours and you can be sure to find a few that you will find delicious. And one protein bar is usually much less expensive than a meal at a fast food joint. A great idea is to buy them by the box so you have them readily available.

Much has been written about creatine. Most studies seem to support the fact that creatine can assist athletes in their quest to build and maintain lean, muscular physiques. Creatine is one of the sources of energy that your body relies on when performing anaerobic (or resistance) training. The theory is that if your muscles have more creatine available to be utilized, they will be able to do more work. This translates into lifting more and heavier weights which, in turn, can lead to bigger muscles.

Creatine also seems to have the effect of adding volume to your muscle cells which makes your muscles appear bigger. If you have already been training and following a healthy diet, you may want to consider trying creatine. Many people have achieved great results with this supplement at dosages of 3-5 mg. per day. Creatine monohydrate or micronized creatine are probably the best forms to use. A good idea is to put it in your post-workout whey protein shake.

Glutamine is an amino acid that has been implicated in tissue repair and thus can aid in workout recovery. When you train with weights, your muscle tissue is put under strain and suffers very tiny tears that need to be repaired. Many athletes have found that supplementing their diets with glutamine allows them to accelerate this process and make faster gains. Try adding 5 mg. to your post-workout shake.

As far as any other supplements are concerned, it is highly recommended that you establish an effective routine following the guidelines above before you dabble in anything else. Another thing to keep in mind is that some of these "exotic" supplements will work for some people and not others. Huge results can be realized in physique training by simply training hard and eating right.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Body Building

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