THE SKINNY ON WORKOUT SUPPLEMENTS
If you’re investing time, energy, and money into the pursuit of better fitness and health, you obviously want to reap all the benefits. You want to lose weight. You want to look ripped. You want to be strong and live a high-quality life for a long time.
What you don’t want is to wait around forever for all that to happen. If there’s anything you can do to speed up the journey toward your goals, you’ll do it, right?
Many fitness-minded people add supplements to their diet and exercise regimen in an effort to change their bodies. Whether it’s protein powder for muscle growth, branched-chain amino acids to aid recovery, or highly caffeinated energy drinks, locker rooms and gym floors are littered with mixer bottles filled with different-colored liquids meant to enhance the effects of working out.
Are those supplements really helping? Are they worth taking at all?
The truth is, we don’t know. Probably not.
Workout supplements, unlike drugs, are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, so they can claim to have all sorts of neat effects on the body without actual proof. Therefore, spending a bunch of money on a cabinet full of supplements is a bit of a crapshoot. You might feel as if you’re reaping benefits in the short term, but you can’t rely on a supplement if your goal is long-term success.
With a truly healthy diet, exercise, and sleep regimen, supplements are really unnecessary. Any nutrients or benefits you seek in a pill or a powder, you can add to your diet through real food. A well-balanced diet should already provide the proper amount of protein, vitamins, and antioxidants, and thus, it should yield the proper amount of energy. Eating clean, paired with working out, can give you the lean, ripped body you desire. It just takes time and hard work.
If your diet is lacking, you’re already hindering your progress in the gym. Adding a supplement, which is probably laden with additives and extra calories, won’t make up for bad eating habits. If your recovery is lacking – you’re not stretching, hydrating, getting enough sleep – a supplement won’t make up for that, either.
In short, there are no shortcuts to real, lasting health and fitness.
As the best personal trainers in Philadelphia, The Summit Fitness Studio knows what a solid, comprehensive fitness plan looks like and can guide you toward your goals without relying on any gimmicks. For a top-notch personal trainer in Philadelphia, contact The Summit Fitness Studio today.