Sports Supplements

Despite the impressive marketing claims by sports supplement vendors and pro bodybuilders who are sponsored by them, most sports supplements sold to bodybuilders simply do not work. The only effects they have on you are the placebo effect (a positive effect based solely on the power of suggestion) and the financial effect (you are basically sponsoring the sport when you buy supplements, which is of course a good thing). The only sports supplements of which I believe that they may have real beneficial effects for bodybuilders are those discussed below.

Protein Powder

Protein is without any doubt the most important nutrient for building muscle mass. I personally consider protein powder as a normal food product rather than a food supplement because it is derived from natural products such as milk or eggs (water, butter, olive oil, and sugar are also not considered food supplements).

Eat at least 1 gram of animal protein for each pound of your body weight (1 kg = 2.2 pounds). The best protein powders are made from milk (whey and casein), or eggs. Whey proteins are digested by the body within approx 2 hours, egg white proteins within approx 4 hours, and casein proteins within approx 7 hours. Milk protein exists for about 20% of whey and 80% of casein, and is therefore an ideal source of fast and slowly absorbing amino acids. According to my personal experience all types and brands of protein powder are equally effective, but I prefer the ones from MyProtein.

There also exists milk protein powder that is very low in lactose, very interesting for lactose intolerant people (usually produced from whey protein by ion exchange or filtration). For those of you who have problems with digesting proteins, I recommend you to use low molecular weight whey proteins, which are partially predigested by enzymes into small polypeptides.

Amino Acids

Proteins are broken down into amino acids during digestion. If you eat enough protein, there is no need to take additional amino acids. Amino acids are rather expensive and have totally no additional value. In the past amino acids have been popular, but in the mean time most bodybuilders have figured out that they are not worth the money. I don't believe that taking BCAA's (branched chain amino acids), arginine, glutamine, or any other amino acid just before, during, or just after your workout will accelerate muscle growth significantly.

Creatine

Creatine naturally occurs in the muscles and plays an important role in the energy supply during exercise. The main sources of creatine in your diet are meat and fish. Since the amount of creatine in meat and fish is very low (about 5 g per kg), and since most of us don't eat big quantities of it, supplementation of creatine may be worth considering.

In contrast to most other sport supplements, creatine supplementation definitely has real noticeable effects on your body if taken long enough in large enough quantities. Some of these effects are definitely interesting for bodybuilders. The main beneficial effects of creatine supplementation are:

• Your muscles will absorb extra water, which makes them bigger and harder, and you can experience as a result an increase in bodyweight of up to 3%.
• The levels of creatine phosphate in your muscles increase, resulting in more energy during your workouts. You can do more reps with the same weight.
• You will be stronger and thus being able to lift heavier weights for the same number of reps.
• You will feel a more solid pump in your muscles during your workout.
• You will experience increased stability of the joints, lowering the risk of injuries.

As a result of the above listed effects you should be able to increase the overall intensity of your workouts, which in turn could theoretically result in faster muscle growth.

Creatine is however not a magical product. It also has some drawbacks:

• All the beneficial effects disappear completely a couple of weeks after stopping creatine supplementation.
• Some people's digestive system gets upset by creatine supplementation, resulting in diarrhoea and insufficient absorption of the creatine supplement by the body.
• There are some concerns about possible negative side effects of long term use of large dosages of creatine on for example the kidneys and liver.
• The pump in your muscles can become so pronounced that it can actually become inconvenient during some endurance exercises or physical labor.

Although the 5 beneficial effects that I listed above are in my opinion factually true, so far I didn't see any prove yet that creatine supplementation does really speed up actual muscle growth or can push actual muscle mass to higher levels that could not have been reached without creatine supplementation (I use here the term "actual muscle" for not confusing it with the extra water that is temporary absorbed by the muscles during creatine supplementation).

When I first tried creatine supplementation I was 25 years old, and full grown in terms of muscle mass. Creatine supplementation has never been able to help me increase my actual muscle mass beyond that level. During creatine supplementation I experience a body weight increase of about 6 pounds, fuller and harder muscles, up to 15% strength and energy increase, a powerful pump and a significant increase in joint stability. Especially the latter effect I like very much because it really helps me to prevent tendon injuries.

I get the best effects with a loading phase of 2 weeks with 16 grams of pure creatine monohydrate powder per day, followed by a maintenance dose of 8 grams per day. All brands of creatine monohydrate are equal. You might consider choosing extra fine milled creatine monohydrate to facilitate its absorption, however, for me it doesn't make any difference. I take my creatine powder 2 or 3 times per day, and take it with plain water, juice or milk.

Although I don't think that creatine supplementation has any permanent long term beneficial effects, its short term effects are certainly quite spectacular. I recommend everybody to try it out at least once to see whether you like it. I prefer the creatine from MyProtein.

Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamins and minerals are essential nutrients for a good health. However, if you follow a normal healthy diet, especially if you regularly include some fresh fruit and vegetables, your body will have plenty of all vitamins and minerals. The importance of vitamin supplementation is extremely hyped up by the heath care industry, and they are the favorite placebos prescribed by physicians. I do not recommend anybody to use additional vitamin or mineral supplements unless medical examinations clearly demonstrates a shortage (e.g. some people may have a shortage in iron). Extra vitamins or minerals will certainly not increase muscle growth or body fat reduction.

Ephedrine, Caffeine, and Aspirin

Ephedrine (or its natural equivalent ephedra) together with caffeine and sometimes aspirin has proven to be really helpful in burning body fat, and has therefore often been used in sports supplements (so-called fat burners). Ephedrine is however a dangerous drug and prohibited by most anti-doping organizations. Ephedrine (or its natural equivalent ephedra or ma huang) should never be used by true natural bodybuilders.

Prohormones

Prohormones are often sold as sports supplements. I don't know very much about them because I think that all supplements that have the word "hormone" in their name should not be used by true natural bodybuilders. According to many sources, however, some prohormones do really stimulate muscle growth. Prohormones are converted into real hormones (usually testosterone or anabolic steroids) by the body, and can have a minimal hormonal effect by themselves. In some countries (including the US) they are no longer legally available and they definitely should never be used by a true natural bodybuilder.

Hormone Boosters

All kinds of hormone boosters are currently on the market as alternatives for hormonal doping with testosterone, anabolic steroids, growth hormone etc. These supplements are supposed to increase your natural levels of these hormones in a safe and legal manner. Honestly, I don't know very much about these products, but I doubt very much that any of these products can really significantly increase your natural hormone levels. In each case, in my opinion all substances that don't occur in a normal healthy daily diet, especially when they are supposed to manipulate your hormone levels, should not be used by true natural bodybuilders. I also believe that from a health perspective, it is not wise to disturb your natural hormonal balance.

Glucosamine and Chondroitin

Several studies have shown that glucosamine and chondroitin may have beneficial effects for the health of your joints. They are claimed to help relieve joint ache, treat osteoarthritis, and improve the health of your cartilage. Although I have never tried them myself, I believe it may be worthwhile trying them to prevent or treat joint injuries.

Conclusion

The only sport supplement that I believe is really beneficial to all bodybuilders is protein powder, because protein is really an essential nutrient for muscle growth. However, as explained above, I consider protein powder as a food product rather than a supplement.

The only other sport supplement that true natural bodybuilders could benefit from is creatine. However, I do not think that creatine supplementation has any long term beneficial effects.

I believe that all other sports supplements currently on the market have no significant benefit for bodybuilders, do not work at all, or should not be part of true natural bodybuilding.

Note that it is well possible to eliminate the need for sports supplements completely, simply by eating large enough quantities of meat and/or fish. By eating about 3 lbs of meat and/or fish per day you fully cover your daily needs of quality protein and creatine, eliminating the need for any additional supplementation. Eating such high amounts of meat or fish can, however, have a few disadvantages: meat and fish can contain lots of saturated fats and cholesterol, they can be rather costly, and take lots of time for cooking and eating.

I prefer to buy my supplements at MyProtein.