Most of my clients know that I’m not a big advocate of using supplements when it comes to building muscle, burning fat and improving optimal health. To be clear, I am a NOT referring to vitamins and minerals here. I’m a firm believer in adding these essential micronutrients to a client’s program. Especially if the client that I am working with has a particular deficiency in one vitamin or the other. The supplements that I’m referencing to are the ones that make empty promises such as “Rapid Muscle Gains”, and/or “Extreme Fat Loss”. Not only are these claims misleading and inaccurate, but they’re also blatant lies.

The Guinea Pig

As someone who has spent years testing, tasting and researching these so-called “Super Supplements” I can confidently tell you that 90% of the powders and pills out there these days are just pure garbage full of additives and fillers. And the 10% that are relatively decent and contain ingredients that actually offer some value, can be found in whole foods that cost a quarter of the price, and provide double the return in both quality and not to mention taste!

Yet, I can’t be the only one out there that knows these supplements are just pure crap, can I? Sometimes I wonder, as when I see someone walking out of their local GNC with a tub of weight gainer powder, or a new client asking me about the latest CLA stack on the market for burning fat, I become confused and perplexed.

Why don’t these people know the truth?

Why have they not done their own research on these self proclaimed magical powders and powerful pills?

Why do they continue to hand over their hard earned money for a bottle full of pixie dust and fairy tales?

Setting The Record Straight

I don’t like cheesy salesmen and I don’t like corrupt con artists. Unfortunately, the Supplement Industry is congested with both of these types of people. Fortunately most of them rarely last too long in this market. That is before they make a few quick bucks and get out while still on top though. Another thing I don’t like is when I hear of people getting ripped off. I don’t care how much money a person has or doesn’t have. If you are setting a higher price on a product or service, then you better ensure that the product or service you are selling is worth the price that you’re asking.

Are the supplements on the market priced fairly? HELL NO!!!! There’s a reason as to why the Supplement Industry is a MULTI BILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRY – It’s a legalized Drug Trade…….

The Placebo Effect

Albert Einstein is credited with once saying “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Regardless of whether or not Einstein did in fact say this is irrelevant. What is relevant is that when it comes to building muscle and losing fat, more and more people continue to do the exact same thing over and over again and rarely if ever achieve the results they actually want.

Why?

Because they keep doing the same old shit that hasn’t been working for them for as long as they’ve been doing it!

I think most of us who workout and exercise regularly have all been victims of at least one or two Supplement Scams in our day. I know I personally have spent thousands of dollars on supplements that did nothing for me, yet I continued to buy them time and time again, thinking that eventually they would work. And if they weren’t working to how I’d imagine they would work, I would usually just blame myself for my lack of results rather then realizing that in reality, I was just being dupped by effective marketing strategies and sensationalistic sales tactics.

The Contradictive Critic

Now as much as I’m not a believer in supplements and regardless of how unnecessary I deem them to be, I myself do like to add the occasional scoop of chocolate protein powder to my morning oatmeal or flavoured BCAA drops to my bottle of water throughout the day. But I don’t do this for the protein or the branch chain amino acids. I actually just do it for the flavour! I like to add some chocolate whey isolate to certain meals such as oatmeal and cream of rice, as it makes the meal more enjoyable for me. However I could easily get the same effect (just without the taste) from adding in a cup of egg whites to my morning breakfast. As for my BCAA drops? You try drinking 6-8 litres of just pure water a day. After the first litre it’s not that fun. Adding some calorie-free flavoured powders that have been sweetened with Stevia and a bit of sucralose won’t kill me (or at least I hope it doesn’t kill me).

Closing Statement

Here it is – I don’t have one. I will just leave you with this: Supplements do have their place. But in my opinion that place is behind food, behind training and most of all, behind a willingness of self motivation and determination to succeed with or without the assistance of performance enhancing drugs.

Yours in Good Health,

Nick Cosgrove
Forever Fit Performance