Supplement Purchasing Guide

As a health-conscious male, you likely look to fitness magazines for information and inspiration. Unfortunately, the pictures in those publications have been digitally manipulated and enhanced, and the men that appear in them usually have massive supplement companies backing them and, therefore, they have their pick as to what to take.

You know that supplements aren't cheap. And unless you have loads of cash to spare, you aren't going to take everything you possibly can to create the body of your dreams.

The good news is that supplements aren’t absolutely necessary.

 True, they can help take you that last mile, but for the most part, getting on a good diet program combined with training will get you 95% of the results you want. After that, you only need one or two supplements to finish the job. In short, you can come pretty close to looking your best without breaking the bank.

Remember that you still have to put forth the effort in the gym, no matter which supplements you’re taking. Creatine, for example, only works because it allows you to work out harder. If you just take it, but don’t work harder, nothing will happen.

The items on our supplement purchasing guide are ranked in order of most to least important and helpful. The more money you have to spend on supplements, the further down you can go on the list. Keep in mind that even if you only purchase the top one or two, you can still get great results with your physical training and appearance.

Note: Consult with a doctor before taking any of the supplements on our supplement purchasing guide.

supplement purchasing guide

Protein powder

Take a gym rat who isn't meeting his protein needs and give him a supplement to get him to where he should be, and the difference will be phenomenal. If there is one thing you really must get if you hope to experience muscular gains, it's your protein. Shoot for 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight per day (higher if you are eating fewer calories).

As a secondary advantage, some protein powders are specially formulated to be fast- or slow-acting to help you get the most of your intake. You'll want to find an isolate or concentrate protein to take right around your workout (since this will be absorbed the quickest) and a casein protein to take before bed.

Essential fatty acids

Two things that make up the cornerstones of any diet are protein and essential fatty acids. Once you have those covered, it becomes a matter of shifting around carbohydrate and fat calories to match your needs. Fish oil has been associated not only with improving insulin sensitivity, increasing the use of fuel for energy and helping to prevent muscle loss, but it also offers a vast number of other health benefits. These benefits include a reduced cancer risk and decreased body inflammation. As the second item on our supplement purchasing guide, you should shoot to take in 6 grams of essential fatty acids per day.

Our best value on this supplement purchasing guide…

Multivitamins

Since life gets busy and you’re not always able to eat exactly how you should, having a good multivitamin to back you up is a wise move. If you consume a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, this may be less necessary; however, if you don't, it's likely a good investment. In our opinion, multivitamins offer the best value for your overall health among the products listed in this supplement purchasing guide.

Meal-replacement products

Meal-replacement products are becoming more and more popular as everyone is looking for convenience in this day and age. Keep in mind that many meal-replacement products are filled with saturated fat and simple sugar carbohydrates -- you really need to read the label before purchasing them.

Also, real food is always better (if for nothing else than the fiber). Try to limit your meal-replacement options for times when it's either that, nothing or McDonald’s.

Thermogenics

With everyone looking for the fastest way to get lean, thermogenic sales are off the charts. Promising to boost your metabolism, decrease hunger and give you energy you never thought you had, supplement companies are coming out with new products left, right and center.

While some of thermogenic products will definitely help reduce hunger and provide energy, they’re not really going to “burn fat.” The “fat-burning” properties they offer come from the indirect fact that with the energy they provide, you will be able to work out more, and since they reduce your appetite, you will eat less. Working out more and eating less -- who would have ever thought that would promote fat loss? Thermogenics are still following the basic protocol of eating less and moving more.

If you think that you can take a “fat-burning” product, sit on the couch and stuff your face with junk food just because ”the fat burner is ramping up your metabolism,” you're in for a shocking discovery.

Thermogenic supplements can be a good product to purchase for some people, but stay with reality in terms of what they actually do. Further, if you have any type of heart conditions, you really need to be careful when starting these, as they can be problematic for certain individuals.

The rest

The rest of the products you might consider are often tailored to different goals. There are nitrous oxides, carb blockers, growth hormone boosters, individual amino acid products, and so on, which are just highly marketed products from supplement companies that use cover models who have put in a lot of hard work.

For some people, these supplements may give a good placebo effect -- men take them and think that they’re working and, therefore, double theirefforts in the gym. Others might actually see a small increase in performance, particularly if their diet isn't up to par. But, for the most part, supplements are just not necessary unless you want your medicine cabinet to start to resemble a pharmacy.

Your money would be much better spent on some solid food sources and maybe a session or two with a personal trainer to ensure that you’re working out correctly.

we want to pump… you up

So, after taking a good look at this supplement purchasing guide, evaluate your budget, your goals and find out what will work for you. Remember, muscle building is a relatively slow process and most men can typically expect to gain one to two pounds of muscle per month; any supplement that promises otherwise is making a false claim.

If you want the muscle mass to stick, you'll have to be patient. There’s no way around this.