Do you need supplements to gain muscle?

If you are the least bit interested in fitness (which I hope you are if you are reading this blog), I'm sure you have come across the bodybuilding or fitness magazines upon news stands. We see a huge muscular man with veins popping out everywhere and muscle striations that look like stretched out plastic wrap. Now some may find that disgusting and others dream of achieving that look someday (that's a whole other topic). But if you open one of these magazines the first 50 pages are just advertisements, and after that every other page has an advertisement as well.

99% of these advertisements do not offer training equipment, or fitness clothing, but something we call "supplements." The dictionary definition of supplement is: something that completes or enhances something else when added to it. The key words here are "complete" and "enhance", NOT "CREATE." Some people think that the key to gaining muscle is using supplements, and some even take achievement away from others by saying: "oh he uses creatine" or "he's on whey protein." But what these people don't realize, is that, you can take all the supplements in the world but if your diet and your training are not appropriate to build muscle supplements will get you nowhere. 

Most of the supplements bodybuilder's or fitness enthusiasts use are already nutrients that come from whole foods, the problem is that many times  an individuals diet might be lacking certain vitamins and minerals from the whole foods and this is why we add supplements. For example, I am not a huge fan of fish so I do not eat it often, I choose to take capsuled fish oils. Or I do not have the money, time to cook, and stomach to eat  3-4 lbs of meat a day to get my daily protein, so I use protein powders. I also have eliminated most milk from my diet, so I choose to supplement with calcium. Do I need these supplements to be able to go to the gym and gain muscle? NO. Will I maximize my potential, have a healthy body and do everything in my hands to have the best physique I can achieve without using any supplements? NO. 

See, supplements can help your performance in the gym both physically and mentally. They also help your body repair faster from the beatings you give it in the gym, and help your body stay healthy. Every individual should tailor their specific needs and examine their diet to see what nutrients they are lacking and what supplements they can take if they want to better their performance and physique. 

Remember, supplements should never be relied on to make you gain muscle, they should just help you along the way. Some people spend massive amounts of money on supplements that don't really make a huge difference and that are too advanced for the person to even get the full advantage from them. Some supplement stacks end up being even more expensive than a whole cycle of anabolic steroids! and I will guarantee you that these will get you 10X more results than the supplements (Disclaimer: I am not condoning or promoting the use of anabolic substances). Make sure, before you take a supplement to research it and know how this is going to benefit you and check for reviews from the product on the internet. 

Here are some tips to get the best deals on supplements:

-Shop online.

-Buy in bulk if you already know and like the product, you'll always get a better deal.

-Always look at the ingredients and the dosages, just because a supplement has a good ingredient doesn't mean the dosage is high enough to even affect you.

-Look at the ingredients and see if it would be cheaper to get the ingredients separately and make your own mix of a certain formula.

-NEVER BUY A SUPPLEMENT WITHOUT READING REVIEWS FIRST! Just because the guy at GNC and the ad in the magazine says they gained 20 lbs of muscle off this product does not mean it's true.

-Always rely on whole foods and your training to reach your goals of a perfect physique.

If you guys want me to write about a specific topic, experience or a specific supplement on this blog please let me know, your input and feedback is appreciated!