Supplements, in my opinion, are the most oversaturated niche in the whole fitness industry. Big companies that are quick to prey on those who have little understanding as well as those who constantly seek the the quick and easy way around things.
Fear not my friends, today I will shed some light on the world of supplements and share some of my thoughts and opinions developed over the last 8 years of coaching and training.
Today I’ll touch on whether they belong on the pedestal people seem to place them, what kinds of supplements will actually help maximize your progress. We will also see different categories we can place supplements in. Then we will draw some conclusions to help you best determine if they’re right for you.
Riding The High Horse
It’s sad to say but in this day in age with the rise of influential personalities on social media promoting what ever company pays them more money, a lot of people are led astray. Often times purchasing things that will provide pennies worth of progress to the general population.
To those who have been duped or felt the rising pressure to buy what your favourite persona is selling I’m here to tell you this. Supplements are not and never will be the end all be all in terms of driving progress and seeing results.
It’s easy to get caught up with all the insane physiques posted on social media and thinking that X supplement will get you there. The truth is, these people achieve their looks through consistent bouts of effort in prioritizing their nutrition, training and lifestyle before adding in supplements.
Supplements will always be just that, the cherry on top of the cake. Ways to fill in the cracks left in the foundation built by good nutritional habits, training regiments and lifestyle habits.
Categorizing
For the sake of this article, I’ll touch on a few that I deem most important, things that move the needle of progress and have the most utility in day to day life.
Starting off, we have Protein Supplements. Substituting an important macro nutrient, a protein supplement can be a great way to hit your daily food goals. The most common form of protein is Whey Protein, a byproduct of creating cheese. After that we have Whey Protein Isolate, a more refined version of whey, removing most of the lactose and fat from the product.
Next on the list is Creatine Monohydrate. One of the most researched supplements on the market and a great natural supplement for boosting performance. It provides extra hydration to the muscles and aids in producing ATP which is the energy currency of exercise. It’s hard to go wrong with different brands so I usually recommend one that is friendly to your wallet.
One of my favourite categories next will be Stimulants. A good chunk of the population ingest some form of stimulant daily, wether it be Coffee, Pre workout or Nootropic blend. Stimulants, when dosed properly can be a great tool to help shake off the cobwebs of a rough nights sleep or to boost performance during training. Just like most things in life, they’re only good in moderation, 9/10 most people are well off with just a coffee or espresso in the mornings.
At the end of the list we have what I like to call Health Maximizers. Unfortunately this seems to be the area where a lot of impulse purchasing and use happens with people. There are some under this category that can really help like Glutamine (gut health), Organ support (liver, kidney+) and Herbal Blends (stress, mood+). However, you must remember these only fill in the gaps of the foundation (proper habits) and often times people are better off working alongside practitioners who specialize in interpreting lab work to maximize the deployment and use of these supplements.
Reflection
After almost 10 years in the industry I’ve seen it all, people claiming this new pill will get you shredded in X amount of time or this new powder will help boost performance by Y amount. People driving by monetary values willing to push their desired brand upon those who don’t know any better.
After today I hope you now understand 3 keys when it comes to this niche of the fitness industry. 1, Good habits instilled from the 3 pillars of progress (nutrition, training, lifestyle) will create an amazing foundation to build off of. 2, The different categories the majority of supplements fall under and what they do. 3, Supplements are only needed to fill in the cracks of the foundation, nothing more.
As a coach, I often times recommend clients make their selections from the first three categories covered here today. I’ve seen some of the top competitors in the industry use anything from the top three to help compliment their training and performance and I myself, have worked my way into the upper echelons of performance never straying away from the basics. The basics being Protein, Creatine and a Stimulant.
So my friends, I hope this knowledge finds you and allows you to place your hard earned money where it really counts.
Until next time, Coach Palfrey
