We need to get one thing straight:
DO NOT rely on supplements to get you results. All they do is help you see the benefits from your training. Without the intense, focused, purposeful training, supplements are useless.
With that said, supplements are awesome. I love them. Why? Because they make life easier. They give us the nutrients we need quickly, effectively, and they supply us with a lot of nutrients that we won’t normally have access to – or enough access to – when left to eating simply whole foods.
Here’s one thing you have to understand: athletes train harder, more often, and longer, than average people. Athletes are not physically average people, thus, they can’t rely on “average” nutrition.
When and Why Athletes Need Supplements
There are specific times when supplements become most effective. That is, when they’re of greatest benefit.
1. When we’re in a rush.
It’s hard to always have healthy meals at hand. A shake is always a healthy, effective remedy for a lack of time.
This ensures we’re getting the right macronutrients, even if we don’t have 30-40 minutes to prepare the right meal.
2. Upon rising and before bed (to naturally raise Testosterone Levels – Drug Free).
This is when testosterone-boosting supplements are most effective. The testosterone-boosting supplements I’m going to tell you about in tomorrow’s article are all natural. They’re things you’re probably taking already to maintain proper health, just not at the right dosage.
3. Pre and Post Workout.
Supplements help us recover. We can start that recovery process before we even begin training, with a good pre-workout supplement. Post workout is time to spike our insulin, and carry our protein to the muscles we’ve worked during our training.
This is maybe the most important time to use supplements.
But we’ll cover what to take in tomorrow’s article as well.
Other than these 3 situations, fill your diet with whole, quality, and ideally organic food sources.
The Importance of Quality
There is one fact about the supplement industry that most like to sweep under the rug:
It’s almost completely unregulated.
That is, a lot of the contents, or quality of contents, that supplement companies use don’t have to be put on the label.
It’s also hard to tell what is good and what is bad.
That’s why I only use supplements that I’ve researched thoroughly, but also who’s owners I know and respect. The supplement companies I trust, are owned and operated by people I trust.
I won’t buy stuff from a nameless corporation. There’s just too much room for error. I strongly suggest you do the same…
… I’ll give you some examples in tomorrow’s article.
Tomorrow:
What Supplements We Need to Improve Athleticism (probably not what you think)