Nutritional Supplements for Bodybuilding

Advantages of Vitamin & Protein Supplements

When I first started seriously lifting weights I thought supplements were a waste of time and money. And, to some degree, I was right! However, as I learned more and experimented with my body I realised there was much to be gained from using vitamin and protein supplements.Bodybuilding SupplementsI have used heavy weight training for many years in order to improve other aspects of my life such as my martial arts and soccer training. So, even if you just weight train or bodybuild part time, you should be using a supplement of some kind to help support your natural diet.One factor we can take into consideration is that every single professional bodybuilder uses supplements of different kinds. And, all of them are huge! So, lets take a bit of a leaf out of their book.

High Protein, Healthy Diet is King

Let me start by saying that no matter how good your supplement is, if you have a rubbish diet your progress is going to be rubbish. It is so important to have a diet filled with high quality, natural proteins and other vitamins and minerals. Try to decrease the amount of man made food you eat each day and replace it with fruits, vegatables, milk, eggs and meats. Your health and your muscle gains will thank you later.

Protein Powder Supplements

There are so many different protein powders out there and many of them are way over priced. However, they can be important for the athelete/bodybuilder so it is worth taking the time to find the good ones and research the proper way to take them.

Advantages of Protein Powder:
1)You can get a high protein, low calorie meal which is good for fat loss

2)It is fast in terms of preparation time

3)It tastes like junk food

Disadvantages of Protein Powder:
1)It is heated during production so the protein molecules are not in tact. Many pure health professionals believe that damaged amino acids (heat changes their shape) are not as good as fresh proteins

2)You miss out on other nutrient that you would otherwise get from natural foods

3)It is expensive

Fat Loss Supplements

Most of the time fat loss supplements are a waste of time and money. They are full of junk you dont need and they can give you stomach irratation and leave you with an unhealthy appetite. For the most part, fat loss supplements are just appetite suppressions and just stop you wanting to eat as much. It could be said that this is counterproductive to losing fat as it slows down your metabolism! Again, I will leave the details for a future dedicated post.

Vitamin Supplements

Vitamin supplements, as I have said many times before, are a MUST for anyone who trains at all. With the modern world of take away, fast food and over produced junk snacks we are getting less and less vitamins and minerals from our daily meals. Everyone should be taking a good multi vitamin each day.