We get it, you're new to the gym and you want results fast. Whether you're trying to lose weight or gain muscle theres a supplement on the shelf that promises they can get you results fast. They even have fancy studies plastered on the side of the bottle from some university from Middle America claiming that their research backs it up. And to top it off these supplements are super expensive. Heres the thing, the supplement industry isn't regulated by the FDA and they can put what ever they want on their label. Which can either lead to you getting ripped off or even put in danger as recent history has shown with the pre workout Jack3d. Like we’ve mentioned before the GYMCADDY™ Team is made up of multiple members, some are even certified trainers in the NYC area. Over the years we've tested multiple supplements. Whenever we get a new client we always give them a recommended supplements list. Today we’ll breakdown what safe supplements you should use and which ones we feel are a great value that will help you get REAL results.
As trainers we always get asked “should I buy supplements”, “is creatine safe”, “should I take protein”, “whats the best protein powder”, and “whats the best creatine”. And as trainers we are more than happy to answer those questions! First lets start with everyone’s favorite, Protein Powder. We want to make it perfectly clear that protein powder is not some magical elixir that will magically help you gain muscle. If you don't put in the time at the gym, eat right and get enough sleep you won't gain muscle. It also isn't a meal replacement! And finally, if you don't track your calories appropriately you will gain the wrong kind of weight. Protein Powder is only to be used to help you reach your daily requirements of protein needed to satiate your needs. You can in theory consume all of your needed protein through natural sources like beans and lean meats, but it is impractical due to cost and its time consuming. Remember, building muscle depends on your workout routine and overall nutrition. If you're trying to lose weight we recommend you replace your normal meal 2 scoops of protein in water and a healthy carb source like a banana or some strawberries.
Now, what should you look for in a protein powder to know its good. We recommend you look at the ingredients label and the first thing you want to see listed in “Whey Isolate”. If your protein powder lists “Whey Blend” or anything else in that variation chances are its a subpar product. And secondly you want to look at the price. If you're paying more than $60 (or anything else in that range) for 5 pounds you're over paying.
Finally, is Protein Powder is safe to consume? Whey Protein Powder is made from whey which is a liquid byproduct from making cheese. When making cheese milk is put through a process where it's separated, the curds will ultimately become the cheese we consume and the liquid left over goes through a series of filtration to become the whey protein powder we take. So yes, Whey Protein Powder is perfectly safe to take.
Next, lets move on to creatine. We went into detail on creatine in our GYMCADDY Explains Creatine Article. To speed things up, yes we recommend you take creatine. It is indeed safe, it does help with recovery after your workouts and increases your endurance while you're at the gym. But hold on a second, before you go out and buy the creatine with the longest name on the store shelf, we advise that you really only need to take the simplest form of creatine called creatine monohydrate. Creatine Monohydrate is naturally found in foods like lean meats and bean. It gets the job done and its much cheaper than the other advertised products on the market.
And thats pretty much all you need. If you want to take an omega-3 fatty acid supplement for joint health by all means go ahead. GYMCADDY™ recommends all gym goers really just need to take Protein Powder to help meet their daily protein intake goals and Creatine Monohydrate to help with recovery and improve endurance for the best results. These supplements taken correctly will help you achieve your fitness goals and save you money.
How Do I Take These Supplements?
It doesn't matter when you take your protein powder. Contrary to popular belief you don't HAVE to take your protein shake within 30 minutes of working out. Thats just a very popular saying that people believe is true. You also don't have to devote your life to eating high amounts of protein to see results. Just as long as by the end of the day you meet your marco needs you'll be fine. We will posting an article on how to calculate and count marcos soon. But if you're completely new to the gym and trying to lose weight then we recommend you replace your normal lunch with 2 scoops of protein powered in water and a 2 bananas. If you're new to the gym and trying to gain muscle because you're on the skinny side then we would like you to have 2 protein scoops in water with 2 bananas between lunch and dinner.
Creatine is super easy to take. All you have to do is take 5 grams of creatine monohydrate once a day with a meal. You can either mix it with water or add it to your protein shake. Also there is a chance that a few readers has heard about a creatine saturation/loading phase. If you haven't thats fine don't worry about it. But if you have we would like to let you know that its uanessacry.
And to make your life a little easier here are some recommended brands we recommend you use that GYMCADDY has tested. First off we always recommend you stick to chocolate flavored protein. Other more exotic flavors might not taste good, will get tiring after awhile or will have a metallic after taste. If you're looking for the best tasting protein powder then MTS Machine Whey Takes the cake. You can pick it up at tigerfitness.com or at amazon. Optimum Nutrition is also a great option and they also have an inexpensive creatine monohydrate option. (links provided below) Check them out and rest assured these are the only supplements you need.