I used to love reading the old Bill Starr articles in the muscle rags back in the day.
Bill is the author of The Strongest Shall Survive: Strength Training for Football and a legendary strength coach.
He used to write article about how people would come I his office and ask questions about what they should do or what they should eat to perform better.
I never thought I would be in the same position when I was a kid. But, this happens all day.
People ask me questions in the office, on the gym floor, via email and on the Instagrams.
Today, I am channeling my Bill Starr and giving you the answer to the question “what supplements should I take”; or more specifically, “what’s the magic bullet” ?
This might be the number one question I get asked at the gym, particularly when consulting with new clients.
You’re not going to like my answer.
Let’s look at the what people are asking about first: supplements.
A supplement can be loosely defined as to add something extra in order to improve something or make it better.
Nutritional Supplements are a multi-million, possibly multi-billion-dollar industry. The industry is designed to separate you from your money with the promise of GAINZ.
They are supplements to an already adequate diet (meal plan).
They are not what you need to take to get jacked or strong. Chances are most will do little to nothing.
If you are counting on a pill or a powder, you are going to get butt hurt when it does nothing.
One of my favorite top secret supplements.
You see, getting strong, adding muscle, losing fat, becoming more awesome takes more than the newest or the latest magic bullet.
- It takes work, dedication, planning, training, sacrifice and some education.
- It takes an adequate, or a surplus amount of high quality fuel (food).
- It takes proper hydration. More later.
So, the magic bullet you will take for the best results no matter what your goals are is proper nutrition once your training is in order.
I will break it down like this:
In order to lose fat you must consume less calories that you burn.
In order to build muscle you must consume more calories than you burn.
It is as simple as that.
There is no magic bullet.
Now with that said, I can go on for another 1000 words on what to eat and when. I am not going to though. Instead, let’s talk about your fuel.
Food is fuel.
Sure it’s tasty and delicious if you prep it right, but in the end it’s fuel.
In order to get the gainz you want, you need to get enough high quality protein to build muscle.
You need to eat enough high quality carbs for your goals.
You also need high quality fats.
More top secret supplements here.
It’s really that simple, looking to a pill or powder for result is the territory of the 17-year-old flat brimmed kid doing 5000 sets of biceps and wondering why he is not huge.
This is not you, the EliteFTS reader. You are smart enough to seek out the answers.
You are smart enough to not get hoodwinked by slick advertising weasels selling you magic bullets.
OK Murph, we get it, you’re not too keen on supplements.
Right.
Are there any supplements that you should be taking?
Well, this is not the most popular answer and I am sure that someone who follows the supplement industry closely will disagree with me, but my answer is not really for most people.
In this country, most us eat a shitty diet. Yeah I know most of the readers here probably eat a lot better than 90% of the USA, but we still are eating things that we shouldn’t more than we should.
Unless your diet is 100% on point, meaning that you are getting the correct macro profile for you, most supplements will do little to nothing for your progress.
Anyone who has been around the industry for a while has seen a lot of the same things come and go over they years. We also see the latest must have to gain slabs of rippling beef supplement fly off the shelves of stores with no gainz in sight after a few months.
Anyone remember Andro?
- They couldn’t keep it in stock.
- It didn’t do anything.
- Everyone had to have it.
What about Myostatin Blockers?
They come out all the time with pictures of the bull that is f*ing jacked.
They sell a ton of it and then it goes away.
If it worked we would all be 550 pound shredded beasts who squat 1500 pounds for reps.
People have a short memory.
What about the supplement companies that tell you their whey protein is 337% more effective than standard whey?
Let’s do some arithmetic, not math. This is 2nd grade arithmetic.
If you have a really good diet that is on point and you use a standard name brand whey supplement and the extra protein allows you to build an extra 2 pounds of beef per month, by adding in the one that is 337% more effective, you would gain 674 pounds of muscle this month.
Don’t believe the hype kids.
There is no magic bullet.
Just hard work and proper nutrition.
So what should you take?
Well, I don’t hate supplements, I just think that most are 100% unnecessary and do not work as advertised; if they work at all.
The number one supplement that you should be taking is water. Studies have shown over the years that up to 75% of the US population is under hydrated.
That’s a problem. If you aren’t hydrated your body doesn’t work properly. I’m not talking about getting gainz. I’m talking about proper functioning of the body.
Drink early and often.
Now onto the rest.
Here is short list of worthwhile supplements that you can add in once you have your macros established and are hitting them consistently.
A high quality multi vitamin/mineral isn’t a bad idea.
Neither is some extra Vitamin D if you live in a winter season part of the country.
Next on the list is a high quality protein powder.
USA sourced, grass fed whey protein in a tub.
For us meatheads looking to get in 1 gram of more of protein per pound of bodyweight a protein powder is a godsend.
It’s not the staple of your diet, but a shake a day goes a long way.
Look for a brand that is manufactured and sourced in the USA, or a country with strict standards like New Zealand. Avoid Chinese sourced and manufactured stuff like the plague or you might get it.
BCAA’s
Sure, go ahead. Or not.
Leucine is a biggie here, if you take extra BCAA’s make sure Leucine is the most abundant.
Pre Workout
Not a fan. Sure, when I was younger I took all of them, at once. It was pretty awesome to get all jacked up and attack weights. Now I am more concerned with my heart exploding from some unknown ingredient, my liver shutting down or contracting hepatitis.
If my liver is going to shut down it’s going to be from Whiskey not pre-workout.
If you need to get jacked up to train, grab a black coffee with a shot of espresso.
I’m sure there are more supplements that do something, but you don’t need them.
- Be smart.
- Train hard.
- Eat right.
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