Supplement myths and common mistakes
Probably no athlete limits their diet to just one specialized food supplement. At the very least, they add an Omega-3 or an additional vitamin C capsule to their vitamin and mineral complex.
But how do you know what to use? What goes with what? Will it be too much? We have been receiving such questions every day for more than 10 years in our Muscleshop.lt store and on social media accounts. For this reason, we decided to describe the nutritional supplement sets of our clients, professional athletes.
Describe each product used and explain why it is used during that specific period.
To avoid the misconception that only professional athletes use supplements, musicians, actors, and ordinary customers of our store, people who "do sports for themselves", will also share their supplement sets.
In this first article, we want to introduce you to the context. First, each dietary supplement has its own purpose and each person must know why they are using one or another product. No dietary supplement can be used “just for fun”. Quite often, one or another dietary supplement is written off as not giving the desired results simply because it is used at the wrong time. It is just that during that period, with certain training or lifestyle, the body does not need one or another supplement. After all, an umbrella on a clear spring day does not fulfill its function and is not needed, but in rainy autumn it is irreplaceable. Or if the car is not moving, but fuel is poured into it, it will not be of much use, the fuel will simply run out of the tank onto the ground and that's it. It is the same with dietary supplements. In this introductory article, we will review the main mistakes in choosing dietary supplements.
One of the most common mistakes is
ignoring vitamins and minerals . Vitamins and minerals are essential for the normal functioning and development of the body. The human body absorbs vitamins and minerals from food, but modern lifestyle and eating habits create a vitamin and mineral deficit, which is why many sports and nutrition specialists first recommend vitamin and mineral complexes.
Incorrectly set sports goals. A very common tragic variation of supplements is a fat burner + mass gainer. This happens due to ignorance and the advertising communication of supplement manufacturers. You probably dreamed that you wanted to build lean muscle and burn fat at the same time. However, unfortunately, it is very difficult to achieve this through natural sports. In fact, a fat burner without proper nutrition is more of an energy booster than an assistant in burning unnecessary fat, just like a “gainer” is an increase in total body mass, not lean muscle. Of course, the aforementioned dietary supplements are described more beautifully in advertisements, but the reality is different. If you combine a “burner” and a “gainer”, you will simply have more energy and that’s it.
Testosterone boosters in adolescence. Testosterone is the main male hormone that determines a man's physical and sexual form. Self-confidence, energy and other qualities associated with masculinity also depend on testosterone levels. It is not surprising that young people, having read about testosterone-boosting supplements, rush to buy and use them. However, at a young age (16-25 years old), the amount of testosterone in the body is usually at the highest level throughout a man's life, of course there are exceptions: if a guy has used anabolic steroids and needs to raise his testosterone level, if he has gained weight due to little movement during adolescence and as a result his testosterone level has dropped below normal, if a person has endocrine disorders. With normal testosterone levels, using testosterone boosters is inappropriate, and sometimes dangerous. Therefore, testosterone boosters can give a noticeable result for men over 30 years old, and the most happy and good reviews are left by customers who are over 40 years old.
I'll repeat, it's not the supplements that are bad, but the bad choice of them, the bad combinations, or the bad time to take them. In the upcoming articles, we will discuss the sets of nutritional supplements for specific people. We will review what kind of sports loads they are used for, at what time of day, for what purpose, etc. Read, be interested, and strive for the best results.
-Ironvytas
