What bodybuilding supplements should I take? Fitness for Life – Day 4

Here’s the only 5 supplements you need to know about. The most popular selling point for supplements is weight loss.

1. Protein Powder:

For me this is more of an optional thing then it is a requirement but can serve to be extremely useful. In my case I need to consume around 180 grams of protein a day. Complete protein. The protein you find in vegetables, grains, fruits, etc are incomplete. They do not count!

If you are a vegan or vegetarian I highly recommend you take a Plant Based Protein Powder. If not Whey Protein is the go to protein powder. I take protein powder because it’s difficult to reach my required protein intake without the powder. The protein powder makes my life easy. If you have a hard time reaching your protein goals I highly recommend you take a protein powder shake or add it to your coffee or add it to your cereal. 

2. Protein bars:

In a similar explanation as to whey protein powders, protein bars make it easier to consume the minimum amount of protein required to hit your macro goal. The one thing you must be careful with when taking protein bars is that they have a higher amount of calories per serving since they also have fat and carbs in their makeup. They are convenient and most nowadays are delicious.

3. Pre-workout drinks:

One of the biggest markets in the industry are pre workouts. They are usually sold as this blood pumping extreme energy giving drinks that will take your workout to the next level. Don’t put too much value into this. If you feel very tired and maybe you train late at night after a hard day’s work, then go for it take a pre workout drink. A fat burner can also provide you with the same effect. 

I personally make my own “workout drink”. It’s not a pre workout or post workout. I create my own workout drink by adding the following ingredients 

4. Fat Burners

Fat burners are probably one of the top 3 categories for supplements. Everybody wants to burn fat and get lean. Most advertisers make it seem as if their fat burner is the ultimate answer to this enormous problem. It’s not. For most of them it’s a money grab. They don’t truly understand the overall process of losing weight and burning fat.

Fat burners without the right nutrition and training program are completely useless. If you can’t create a caloric deficit then you will never burn any fat. In that case are they still fat burners? 

Here’s the bottom line, fat burners only work when you are in a a caloric deficit. Otherwise you are throwing your money away. When you actually have your nutrition on point fat burners can only help you lose an extra pound of fat every 50-70 days. Even though 1 pound of fat may not seem like much it does make a big difference over a long period of time. In bodybuilding, 1 pound of fat is enormous!

Do I recommend a fat burner? Yes if you have your nutrition on point. A fat burner can also serve as an energy booster. If anything this is what I’d use a fat burner as. I personally take a fat burner for the mental clarity and extra energy boost they provide.

5. Omegas:

I highly believe in getting a significant portion of your calories from fats. Fats are more satiating and play major roles in our body hormonal balances. Omegas have been shown to be great for heart health and may have fat burning effects. Like multivitamins they compliment your overall nutrition plan. They are also relatively inexpensive and allow your body to function better. I recommend them.

Honorable Mention: Multivitamins

Many people out there don’t believe in vitamins because they believe that we can get everything we need from food sources. I’m not going to say this is false because it’s absolutely possible. You just need to eat a substantial amount of food especially with the poor quality of food we have today. There are so many vitamins and minerals that you need in specific quantities that it’s virtually impossible to get everything! This is where multivitamins come in. 

I highly suggest you compliment your nutrition program with multivitamins. You do not lose anything by taking them, they are relatively inexpensive, and can provide you with significant benefits. I even like to compare multivitamins to fat burners. When your body has all of it’s vitamins and microminerals in check your body will feel better, you’ll have more energy, more focus, which all in all will help you perform, burn more calories, and lose more weight.

My favorite brand from Amazon:

I also take Zinc Magenesium ZMA 30 – 60 minutes before bed:

Conclusion:

The six supplements discussed above are in my opinion all you need. Those are basically the only supplements I take. You can get these from my dotFit store. You get 20% off for signing up online for life and free shipping on a minimum amount of order as well as automatic monthly shipping.

Check out these articles for more information:

• • Fat burners

• • Multivitamins

• • Workout drinks

Congratulation, we are done with day 4. Make sure you order your supplements and incorporate them into your daily routine. Set a schedule and a pattern. One more day to go and you’ll be all set!

Click to go to: Day 3 / Day 5