Hello, Soul Lifters!
In today's fitness world, you often see and hear a lot of people basically bragging about the supplements they are using.
You see it all over Instagram when fitness models pose sensuously by their awkwardly placed supplement products, you get YouTube vloggers fake admiring the supplements that they are conveniently sponsored by, and I even constantly hear people in the gym telling whoever will listen to them about the pre-workout they took and blah blah blahhhhh "oh my god Bro I'm so pumped right nowwww".
So! Since workout supplements are basically harassing us everywhere, most people who start their fitness journey can't help but think and believe that they HAVE to take all these supplements too! WRONG!
You do not NEED to take ANY supplements!!!! However, you might just want to. Here's why...........
Let's start with a good old fashion definition of the word "supplement" from our glorious dictionary:
"Supplement - Noun
1) Something added to complete a thing, supply a deficiency, or reinforce or extend a whole." - Dictionary.com :)
I'm going to break this sentence down:
"Something ADDED" ----> Something being added is NOT needed. If you add anything, for example, more cream to your coffee, that is purely a decision you made on your own and NOT a requirement. Did you NEED that extra cream? No, you just wanted it and then went for it. SAME GOES WITH SUPPLEMENTS. You don't NEED it, you just might want it.
"Something added to complete a thing, SUPPLY A DEFICIENCY" ----> Ok, so this is where it's appropriate to possibly consider taking a PROTEIN supplement. Why? Well, because there are some folks who are vegan/vegetarians and might have a protein deficiency due to their decision to not eat meat and etc. However, not everyone is protein deficient or even NEED an extra source of protein. If you are already consistent with consuming a protein source with all of your daily meals, then you do not really NEED to take a Protein supplement because you are already getting the protein your body needs through your current diet. Therefore, you do not NEED a Protein supplement, you just might want it.
"Something added to complete a thing, supply a deficiency, or REINFORCE" ---> Reinforce basically means to strengthen something. Supplements such as Pre-workout come to mind here which, in my honest and experienced opinion, is the most UNNECESSARY supplement out there. Getting stronger and increasing strength comes from being consistent with your workouts. Taking a Pre-workout will NOT make you stronger in the gym because a Pre-workout is just a stimulant... LIKE COFFEE. It's just something that gives your body a feeling of wanting to run a marathon -- but that doesn't mean it made you stronger. A Pre-workout will make you feel pumped at first but will then wear off and exhaust you... LIKE COFFEE. However, the ONLY time I would find it appropriate to consider a Pre-workout is if you may be tired from a long day and might need a little motivation from the stimulants in a Pre-workout to get your workout started. So a Pre-workout is NOT necessary to enhance your performance or increase your strength but it can give you stimulants to increase your heart rate and give you a little pump. Therefore, you do not NEED a Pre-workout supplement, you might just want it.
PHEW!!!!! So once again, you do not need to take any kind of supplement UNLESS YOU WANT TO. I recommend looking into some typically used supplements (Protein, Pre-workout, Creatine, BCAA's etc), research their purpose, and really think about whether that's something you need/want.
There is NO point in running to a GNC and blowing all your hard earned money on something you don't really need.
Just thought I'd do you a favor and let ya know!
