Can I just buy my supplements anywhere?
What should I be taking to improve my performance and decrease recovery time?
The answer to the first question is NO! Not too long ago, the FDA pulled a handful of supplements off the shelves of GNC, Wal-Mart, Target, and Walgreens. You have to be careful because you don’t know what you are buying off the shelf from these places. EAS and Muscle milk were found to have elevated levels of heavy metals and some sports supplements were found to have meth-like compounds in them and were pulled from the market. A former FDA special agent wrote an article on this very subject and stated 3 main ways supplements end up on the market at a cheap price:
- Counterfeit and probably dangerous: people will copy labels and place them on a bottle.
- Useless expired products repackaged as new: companies sell their expired products to other companies and these companies repackage them and place a new expiration date on them.
- Stolen products released on black market without any quality control: often the stolen products are mixed together so you do not know what is what when you purchase them.
When purchasing supplements buy from reputable companies, make sure they are professional grade or pharmaceutical grade, they need to have 3rd party certification from either GMP or NSF, and lastly, if it is cheap, AVOID IT!!
So, which supplements would increase my performance and decrease recovery time?
1. A multi-vitamin
Although this one might sound like common sense (or not), many still do not use an effective multi-vitamin within their daily lives. One solid vitamin could boost hundreds of thousands of processes that occur in your body relating to mood, energy, strength, endurance, and recovery.
Many still view multivitamins as “un-important” when compared to any other supplement, but this could not be farther from the truth! An effective vitamin should be number one and that is why we recommend a 3rd party certified multivitamin.
2. Protein
Ask any bodybuilder what supplement they recommend most and protein will be near the top of that list, if not at the top. Protein supplements can be taken before, during, or post workout to boost one’s nitrogen balance in the positive direction which increases muscle recovery. Add more muscle to your body and your metabolism will increase too—meaning less fat on your body!
3. Creatine
The subject of much debate has now been backed up with solid evidence with hundreds of studies pointing to creatine being a very effective strength booster. What does that mean? Your performance will increase in muscle mass, fat burning, and you will finally break through those annoying plateaus!
4. Caffeine
Often found in pre-workout supplements, caffeine has become a solid staple in any fitness enthusiast supplement plan. Taking a cup of coffee everyday to the gym might not be the best choice but there are other sources such as capsules or powdered drinks. You will need at least 200mg of caffeine per serving to boost your intensity in the gym and therefore your muscle and fat burning capabilities.
5. Glutamine
This important amino acid is found naturally throughout the body but bodybuilders and athletes will need more than the average person. This supplement has shown to reduce muscle breakdown and boost recovery. By introducing your body with more glutamine than it is producing on its own, your body will likely take the extra glutamine rather than from your muscle stores—saving your hard-earned muscle!
You may also notice a reduction in recovery time allowing you to hit the gym faster than before, increasing the potential for faster results.
6. BCAA
It stands for Branched- Chain Amino Acid and you have probably seen this on many performance drinks that you take. They help to prevent the breakdown of muscles. They also help in endurance during intense exercise and play a large role in muscle recovery. You can take them before a workout to help increase performance or after a workout will help to speed the replacement of amino acids in your muscles. This will help speed recovery.
Schedule your Fitness/Lifestyle Assessment today to determine how you can improve your performance and recovery from whatever activity you are participating in. We have a specific movement assessment just for athletes on our Kinetisense program and we offer Reflexive Performance Reset testing and education to help you, help yourself and your performance this season.
Watching Video to learn more!