Thursday, January 29, 2009

Do you really have to buy all those supplements to grow muscle?

By Jon Cardozo

It's amazing how so many new trainees think that supplements are absolutely necessary to grow muscle. Before they've even figured out what kind of training program they're going to join, they're already heading to the health food store to stock up on the latest supplement fads.

This may be due to an unfortunate tendency in North American society to look for shortcuts and quick fixes in accomplishing any new goal, or it may in part be due to the daily bombardment of advertisements that we face on TV, radio, and yes, even the Internet. These ads often promise incredible results in improving our physique in various ways without any discipline or effort needed on our part. Could this possibly be a healthy way to achieve weight gain or any other important goal for that matter?

Though this may be received as a bold and controversial statement, I would assert that few if any supplements are really needed to accomplish muscle weight gain. I refer specifically to steroid alternatives and other supplements meant to enhance muscle growth without any further action from the consumer.

I'm not saying that you should never take any kind of supplements, since many supplements like vitamins and antioxidants are actually quite recommended. I'm talking about steroids alternatives or other products that are supposed to improve your muscle building program. They simply are not necessary.

Even if these products don't do any actual harm, they're unnecessary. They cost you money, and ultimately leave you feeling discouraged because you have wasted your time with these products.

Whether you believe it or not, the fundamentals of muscle building haven't changed. Progressive resistance training, which means gradually lifting heavier weights, along with increasing your calories is all it really takes. Oh yeah, you also need patience, commitment and discipline. Not the most glamorous words, but they're effective.

You don't need to consider questionable steroid alternatives, or even more reliable substances such as creatine, until you have practiced basic principles and achieved as much success as you can. You can then consider something like creatine to give you an extra little boost for advanced progress.

Learning to rely on supplements first can put a heavy load on your bank account and ingrain some pretty unhealthy habits like choosing quick fixes instead of learning discipline and commitment. - 16004

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