Gym newcomers and supplementing!
http://www.theheatfitness.co.uk/articlelive/articles/10/1/Gym-newcomers-and-supplementing/Page1.html
Simon Lovell
By Simon Lovell
Published on 05/13/2007
New to the gym? Maybe you should think twice before spending money on training supplements!
Gym newcomers mistakes with supplements
I can remember when I first starting training with weights. My experience at this I know, is not that dissimilar to most of those new to the gym environment. A plethora of machines at your disposal, the vision of that Arnold Schwazenegger poster and every other page of a fitness magazine the promise of 'massive biceps, bulging chest and abs to die for' if you buy the latest brand of 'new muscle building technology' protein!
Of course, supplements can play a big part in assisting our development, particularly with athletes, but for those venturing into the weight trainers domain for the first few months it's important to get a few things right as many can mis-use supplements.
The marketing behind supplements these days is bigger than ever, it's a huge money spinner, but it's easy to get carried away when actually you're training technique doesn't match your requirement for a specific supplement. Sure, muscle gains are improved with whey protein intake pre, during and post exercise, recovery times boosted with creatine supplementation, what about glutamine? How about throwing in a testosterone booster or two? Fish oils anyone? Multivitamins? Estrogen blockers? Hold on a second!
Before any of my clients get any supplement recommended to them, they first have to learn how to train correctly and eat properly. Until they've mastered a good diet and training technique I see no point in them wasting their money on supplements when chances are the body wont end up activating them or excess protein intake for example sits around the stomach as fat.
Imagine this scenario (which is the norm around gyms that have poor induction processes and people fail to take the advise of professionals). New gym member takes on their three month or yearly membership. It's probably either January (new years resolutions), the end of a relationship break up or the sun has come out (so the fear of not looking good in the sun) and out comes the gym membership. The sales guy rubs their hands together, gets his/her commission and our fictional body is launched head first into the weights around surrounded by other unsuspecting individuals. Too embarrassed to approach a personal trainer and using only the information provided on his induction (which was probably along the lines of "put your arms here, lift up and down, do about 15-20 reps, 3 sets and move onto this one over here!") it's now about survival, learning from the cards shown on the machines or copying the 'big guy' as he incorrectly swings a weight around like it's a bucket of water. His training session consists of (not his fault whatsoever!) a few bench presses (not working to fatigue), two sets of bicep curls and twenty ab crunches seen on some fitness DVD on TV. So true! He then showers, not that he needs to, and proceeds to take his second protein shake of the day having eaten a bacon sarnie in the morning, a meal replacement earlier and for his tea will be a curry. Oh not forgetting the four day loading phase of creatine prior to signup.
Unfortunately for our male/female in question, this routine is far from fictional and it's how supplement companies make a good percentage of their profits. Can you now see how with incorrect training the supplements being taken would not be worthwhile? Even if training technique is of a good standard, the bad nutritional practices adopted by those not educated leaves supplementation a lot to be desired. More positive results could be seen with eating correctly pre and post training, high protein intake via food sources and rest!
So what's the message here? If you're relatively new to the training scene and taking training supplements of any kind, step back for a second and ask yourself. Do I really know how to use these properly? Am I really training correctly to warrant their use? Could I actually do with someone reviewing my training pro gramme and assessing my usage of protein, creatine etc? It's really worth thinking about, you could end up saving a packet!
Of course, supplements can play a big part in assisting our development, particularly with athletes, but for those venturing into the weight trainers domain for the first few months it's important to get a few things right as many can mis-use supplements.
The marketing behind supplements these days is bigger than ever, it's a huge money spinner, but it's easy to get carried away when actually you're training technique doesn't match your requirement for a specific supplement. Sure, muscle gains are improved with whey protein intake pre, during and post exercise, recovery times boosted with creatine supplementation, what about glutamine? How about throwing in a testosterone booster or two? Fish oils anyone? Multivitamins? Estrogen blockers? Hold on a second!
Before any of my clients get any supplement recommended to them, they first have to learn how to train correctly and eat properly. Until they've mastered a good diet and training technique I see no point in them wasting their money on supplements when chances are the body wont end up activating them or excess protein intake for example sits around the stomach as fat.
Imagine this scenario (which is the norm around gyms that have poor induction processes and people fail to take the advise of professionals). New gym member takes on their three month or yearly membership. It's probably either January (new years resolutions), the end of a relationship break up or the sun has come out (so the fear of not looking good in the sun) and out comes the gym membership. The sales guy rubs their hands together, gets his/her commission and our fictional body is launched head first into the weights around surrounded by other unsuspecting individuals. Too embarrassed to approach a personal trainer and using only the information provided on his induction (which was probably along the lines of "put your arms here, lift up and down, do about 15-20 reps, 3 sets and move onto this one over here!") it's now about survival, learning from the cards shown on the machines or copying the 'big guy' as he incorrectly swings a weight around like it's a bucket of water. His training session consists of (not his fault whatsoever!) a few bench presses (not working to fatigue), two sets of bicep curls and twenty ab crunches seen on some fitness DVD on TV. So true! He then showers, not that he needs to, and proceeds to take his second protein shake of the day having eaten a bacon sarnie in the morning, a meal replacement earlier and for his tea will be a curry. Oh not forgetting the four day loading phase of creatine prior to signup.
Unfortunately for our male/female in question, this routine is far from fictional and it's how supplement companies make a good percentage of their profits. Can you now see how with incorrect training the supplements being taken would not be worthwhile? Even if training technique is of a good standard, the bad nutritional practices adopted by those not educated leaves supplementation a lot to be desired. More positive results could be seen with eating correctly pre and post training, high protein intake via food sources and rest!
So what's the message here? If you're relatively new to the training scene and taking training supplements of any kind, step back for a second and ask yourself. Do I really know how to use these properly? Am I really training correctly to warrant their use? Could I actually do with someone reviewing my training pro gramme and assessing my usage of protein, creatine etc? It's really worth thinking about, you could end up saving a packet!