One of the first questions I get when a client, family member or friend begins a new training routine is, “What supplements should I get?”
I can’t blame them. The fitness industry has totally brainwashed people into thinking we can buy our way to the body, strength, or health destination we have always dreamed of. Additionally, most people, especially the ones who hate eating healthy and exercising want a quick fix a panacea. They want the results and they want them three weeks, months, or years ago. To put it into perspective and have a more realistic view of things, how long did it take us to get to our current status of wellness or if it’s applicable-unwellness? It’s important to understand that it will take consistent dedication to hard work physically, mentally, and nutritionally to accomplish the new fitness goal and it will not happen overnight. The dedication is to the process, not the goal.
GET DIALED FIRST.
I don’t allow myself to start playing with supplements unless I have everything else about my nutrition dialed in. I have finally gotten to the point where I understand I cannot control what my clients do, so I can’t say the same for them. But my advice is always the same. You have not earned the right to enjoy the supplement world if the bulk of your diet is still processed foods with no regard for how much proteins, carbohydrates and fats you are consuming. You have not earned the right to enjoy supplementation if you’re still smoking or consuming alcohol multiple times a week. And you have not earned the right to supplementation if you’re following shit exercise programming from some YouTuber or some Instagram influencer. Don’t get me wrong, there are a few good ones out there, but they are rare. Much like personal trainers or any other profession there are good and bad. Admittedly the fitness industry does a terrible job giving good quality information. That’s why I am doing what I am doing and starting this blog to inform everyone I can reach.
Before you start thinking about supplements and not only wasting your money but also having no real concept of what they are doing for you or to you, my advice is to get dialed. Start eating healthy, whole foods. Start drinking more water. Get better quality sleep. Find a great trainer and use that supplement money to hire them and design an effective, personalized program and show you proper form. Once all of that is dialed-and that can take months, sometimes years to accomplish-then you can start playing with supplements for fun. For fun? Yes. For fun. What does that mean?
SUPPLEMENTS ARE NOT NECESSARY.
If you are SO dialed that you’re starting to look at supplementation, then you’re splitting hairs at that point anyway. If you’re currently eating like shit and moving like shit, can you imagine the enormous impact eating well and moving well would have on your health and performance? If you’re dialed and now you introduce a protein powder, yea that can help. It can help if you have found that it’s tough to hit your protein intake goal that you have established for yourself and a protein shake gives you that boost in your numbers. It also helps because it’s really convenient and readily available when you’re in a rush to get to work after the gym. But I’m guessing you don’t even know what you want your protein goal to be anyway. Or why you should have one? Or how to figure out what it should be. You need to start your journey before you start thinking about what brand protein powder you’re going to consume.
SURELY, I NEED PREWORKOUT THOUGH, RIGHT?
No.
Preworkout is an expensive stimulant with a bunch of other chemicals in it to ensure that you feel like it’s working. Supplement companies have realized that if they make you feel hot and wired you will believe it’s working and you will keep spending money on it (especially with their one size fits all scoopers they put in those half filled tubs of brightly colored fairy dust). Many times, the use of preworkout simply offers the user a ritual to get the mindset they need to go into their workout. If it’s the stimulant you’re looking for, drink a cup of coffee and keep things natural and healthy. If it’s the ritual you need, you should be taking the time to prime muscles for the workout anyway. Ritualize that. Use a ritual preworkout song. If you’re just plain exhausted before your workout and you actually need a real kick in the pants then you need a better sleep and hydration routine. Which should be a big part of your getting dialed.
I’M NOT ANTI-SUPPLEMENT.
I utilize supplements on an almost daily basis. However, I’ve gotten to a point in my journey where I know what protein numbers I want to hit at a given time. I also know where I need to split hairs to gain an extra fifteen pounds on my deadlift. It has taken me decades of learning and growing to get to this point and even now my supplements are extremely limited to just the simple things. There are many benefits to supplements but they are not a replacement for discovering what a healthy way of life is for you.
Starting or restarting a new health journey and beginning that journey with “what supplements should I get?” is like ignoring the iceberg that is your current health issues or looming health issues and arranging the deckchairs on the sinking titanic. Reroute your course first. The iceberg is coming. Then we can rearrange the chairs when you get dialed.