Supplements YOU need for the gym

You wake up in the morning, have a little extra time, decide to shoot down to GNC to check out some supplements. Maybe you saw someone taking a pre-workout or a protein in the locker room and it made you curious about some of it. You walk in to the GNC and your minds blow, so many different jugs of so many things! How do you decide what you want? I'm going to tell you some MAIN things you NEED and some things that you CAN get, but are also important to your fitness goals.

Protein- A lot of people I talk to don't take protein shakes after they work out, which is one thing that IS ESSENTIAL FOR TRAINING. People don't think so but I'm going to tell you why it is. After your workout your body needs nutrients to replenish itself after the hard work you just put it through. If it doesn't get these nutrients your body will start eating away at your proteins and once it runs out of those which won't take long it starts eating away at your muscles. That's why you see a lot of people do a bunch of cardio and have lose skin, that lose skin is FAT. That's what happens when your body starts eating away at itself, it takes all the proteins and muscles so it can keep going and survive and your left with all the fat. This ladies and gentleman is the most important thing you need after your workout. It is best to get this in no more than 20-30 minutes after you've finished your training. So you guys may ask "Mike why can't I just go home and eat chicken for protein" well its because you need a fast absorbing protein. Your muscles need those nutrients right away, and since whole foods like chicken are slow absorbing into your body you need a protein shake for it to absorb quick into your muscles. Also you DO want to get in a full meal no more than 1 hour-1 hour and a half after your training. Some sort of carb like an apple or banana with your protein shake would be key as well.

Bcaa's (Branch Chain Amino Acids)- Branch chain amino acids are used for a couple of reasons. Athletes use BCAA's to reduce muscle and protein breakdown during exercise, also to increase exercise performance. Branch chain amino acids are also used to treat ALS Lou Gehrigs disease, brain conditions due to liver disease, a movement disorder called tardive dyskinesia, a genetic disease called McArdles disease, a disease called spinocerebellar degeneration, and poor appetite in elderly kidney failure patients and cancer patients.  Some people use BCAA's to also prevent fatigue and give them more focus. The best time to get them in is WHILE your working out, so if you can get them in powder form and put a scoop in your water or Gatorade while your workout out thats ideal.

Glutamine- Glutamine is basically a building block for protein. It is the most abundant free amino acid in the body. Glutamine is produced in the muscles and distributed by the blood to the organs that need it. Studies have shown that glutamine helps increase metabolic rate while working out which is good for fat loss. It is good for people in the gym mainly because it speeds up recovery, which I think is important because recovery time is the most important when it comes to building lean muscle. 

There are a lot more things that you can take:

-Fish Oil- Lubricates the joints and helps with focus.

-Pre-Workout- Gives you energy, focus, and a good pump while your training.

-Creatine- Helps lubricate the joints and holds water in the muscles to help keep the body hydrated and to make you look bigger (which is why most people take it)

There are SO many supplements that you can take, some may be beneficial to you and some may not be. Remeber ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS research a supplement before you buy it. Don't go somewhere and listen to the rep when he says "yeah this is good" because half of the time they sell it because they get commission off it. Research what supplements will be good for YOUR goals and what brands are the best at the time you research, also everyone is always open to ask me any questions they have about any of the stuff they need. 

Mikey's Fitness TIP: Going to show a little hate which is kind of bad BUT I don't want to see everyone get ripped off. If it's possible go to a website like www.bodybuilding.com or www.supplementwarehouse.com to get your stuff. Places like GNC and Vitamin Shoppe really BOOST their prices. I have found that ordering online is the cheapest way to go. You can also see if your local GNC or Vitamin Shoppe do online price matching, some do some don't. Some do than add a lot of money for shipping when it'll only cost you maybe 2 bucks on a website.