Hell yeah, I do protein!

I do carbs too…..and fats like a boss.

However, I only dabble in vitamins and minerals.

Yeah, see protein its a macronutrient and you need it for that thing called life, if your eating a hamburger…you’re doing protein I guess.

But I get what people mean and yes, I do use a protein supplement and a few other supplements for that matter.

Supplements can be of real benefit if and only IF you have your nutrition in check.

No supplements in the world, except those of a pharmaceutical nature, will do a whole lot for you if you’re living off food that comes from a drive up window or from a microwaveable box.

When breakfast consists of a coffee and Boston Creme doughnut, although delicious, you don’t need supplements you need a grown up diet.

If your nutrition is on point and you’re training hard chances are there are a few supplements that would help bridge some nutritional gaps and help your progress.

Notice I said “nutritional gaps” not chasms.

Everyday, consistent diet is vital, without that as a starting place I don’t care how much that Super Mega Muscle Gainer 2000 you suck down, it ain’t gonna do jack sh@t except make Bill Phillips some dude rich.

With that in mind, most of the stuff on the market won’t do very much for you even if things are on point.

*Beware, the following is total Bro-science, but in my experience seems to be accurate.

The vast majority of supplements will only give you a 1-3% improvement….

At Best.

And that’s WITH your diet, training and recovery being on point. 

*End of total conjecture bro-science.

That’s why many of the top bodybuilders, powerlifters, physique competitors take a pile-o-pills and powders everyday.

They are competing for that top spot where 1-3% can make a big difference in results.

 But I think some are actually worth it….we’re talking MED….minimal effective dose here.

Let’s focus on what’s going to give you the biggest bang for the buck. And just for the record if I haven’t used it I don’t talk about it.

Protein Powder:

The most basic of all “sports supplements”. (Other than water).

The truth is….

YOU NEED PROTEIN IN YOUR DIET TO LIVE.

But you might not need a protein supplement. In fact if you’re not training hard you can probably get more than enough in your diet without trying very hard.

A long-standing rule of thumb for people in training has been get 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight.

Quite honestly, that works really well.

When people get close to or above that mark they tend to either gain muscle or lean out (if their overall calories are reduced) at an accelerated rate.

Obviously, this only works if they were under the 1 gram per lb of body weight threshold beforehand.

Protein supplementation has lots of positives:

• Easy, convenient way to make sure you get your protein needs (try eating 5-6 chicken breasts in a day….EVERYday…….trust me, it gets old fast).
• Whey makes for a very good pre, during or post workout meal protein source.
• Whey protein supplementation seems to have a positive affect on immune system function.
• On a gram per gram basis protein powder can be (usually is unless you buy the super gucci stuff) far cheaper than solid food protein sources.
• Getting adequate protein may help keep obesity away.

BTW, that whole “too much protein destroys your kidneys” thing…yeah, that’s true, if you already have kidney issues.

Normal functioning, healthy kidneys have no issues processing “higher” protein intakes.

Creatine:

Let’s clear the air a little and bust some myths:

• Creatine is NOT a steroid (if you ever said this to someone and they looked at you like you’re an idiot, you deserved it)
• Creatine does NOT give you “roid” rage
• Creatine does NOT give you heart palpitations

What Creatine does:

Simply put it’s the most studied sports supplement EVER in the history of research in the field.

And it’s been found to be perfectly safe…and super effective for the vast majority of people.

Personally, i don’t use Creatine.

After several “experiments” with creatine I never noticed a difference.

While that’s uncommon, it’s not really all that rare.

About 15-30% of people studied are classified as non-responders, we either already have full stores naturally or we don’t (for whatever reason) take up extra Creatine in the muscle cells.

ZMA:

Know who this is?

That’s right!

It’s the bass player for Tower Of Power……really it is.

Well, was……. waaaaay back in the day, but still.

It’s also the guy who made the “Cream” and the “Clear”

From studying chemistry in his prison cell…for realzzzz.

Victor Conte not only made Barry Bonds a bobble headed, home run hitting, monster of Godzilla like proportions.

He also jammed out on the bass and came up with ZMA.

He found some research that athletes are notoriously deficient in Zinc and Magnesium and came up with the ZMA a combination or Zinc and Magnesium usually paired with a B6.

In theory ZMA supplementation should boost anabolic hormones like testosterone and insulin like growth factor-1 and decrease cortisol release.

These reactions together would make the signal to build muscle high while blunting the signal to destroy muscle resulting in more muscle and better recovery.

Here’s the thing with ZMA the research is pretty split. Some studies report a positive effect, others report none at all.

Personally, I use ZMA everyday, I think it works wonders.

The improved sleep alone is worth the price (about $15 a month).

You won’t fall asleep faster or stay asleep longer.

But the quality of your sleep goes way up. I liken it to adding an added hour to hour and a half a night.

Some highlights of Zinc supplementation include:

• Improved quality of sleep
• Increased muscle anabolism (building/ maintenance)
• Decreased catabolism (breakdown)
• Better immune function
• Improved insulin sensitivity

More on ZMA from Charles Poloquin here.

Vitamin D:

This is kinda the new supplement of the minute and it looks like the research backs it up.

Here’s the lowdown:

• Prevents bone fractures
• Increase in muscle strength
• Men deficient in Vitamin D are twice as likely to have a heart attack.
• Adequate levels may prevent stroke by helping to control arterial pressure.
• Low levels make increase risk of colon cancer.
• May help prevent type-1 diabetes.
• May lead to a decrease in overall mortality.

Taken together, these disparate studies on bone health, heart disease, cancer, immune function, and early death add up to a powerful conclusion: Many people do not get enough vitamin D to protect their bones and minimize risk of falling—and taking vitamin D supplements of 1,000 to 2,000 IU per day would be a safe way to do both. This alone is good reason to consider taking a vitamin D supplement of 1,000 to 2,000 IU per day, and there is a strong likelihood of other benefits, even if not yet proven. – Vitamin D and Health, Harvard

I take 3,000 IU’s a day (not saying you should, just that’s what I do).

It cost about $9 for a pretty big bottle which lasts a while, it lasts long enough that I have no clue how long it is….it’s definitely not a couple of weeks. In terms of price it’s a no-brainer.

Fish Oils:

This was most definitely the supplement of the last-minute because of it’s inflammation fighting capabilities.

Now folks are all like, “it’s no good and your heart will explode any way“.

Maybe the researchers conclusions are the overall correct conclusion but I’m guessing ….NO, for lots of reasons.

Primarily, umm LOTS of other research has shown a positive effect, and here’s some more.

Some of the associated benefits of fish oils are:

• Heart Disease prevention
• Decreases High Blood Pressure
• Decrease in chances of Stroke
• Reversal in artery hardening
• Help in weight loss
• Decrease in Muscle Soreness

While we’re not really sure if there is some type of magical compound in fish oil (although there may be) what we do know is that these are Omega-3 fatty acids and we don’t get enough of those in the typical American style (really crappy) diet.

The vast majority of the fatty acids consumed in the typical diet are Omega-6. We need both Omega-3 and Omega-6 so it’s   likely that Fish Oil supplementation is just improving and normalizing the ratio or Omega-3 to Omega-6, which is needed for proper functioning.

That’s it, those are what I think are the most worthwhile supplements on the market.

I know it’s not a lot…and they are not real exciting or sexy.

None of them are going to make you gain 30lbs of pure muscle in the next 30 days with only 20 minutes a week of exercise and of them will melt that last 40lbs of stubborn fat off your stomach before next weekend.

I know, that sucks….

Sorry……actually, that’s probably why they’ve been shown to be effective,

by science,

in a lab, you know,

real life ….not a magazine or TV commercial.

(and not even one of those 4 page ads or commercials  with the fake studies and the graphs and charts and models and stuff).