WHY USE A WEIGHT LIFTING SUPPLEMENT?

By: Aaron Anderton

What is the big deal about nutritional supplements for athletes? Is a sports nutrition supplement going to make that much of a difference? If you have ever asked yourself these questions, sit tight and be prepared to find the answer right here. The answer is an unequivocal “YES!” Let me tell you why.

The other day I was driving past a high school with my family. It was late afternoon and the athletic teams had just finished their practices. About 4 or 5 boys were walking nearby with their shirts off, and they were ripped! Not an ounce of fat on them, and they had some muscle also. My wife said to me, “I don’t remember the guys I went to school with, looking like that.” I told her that I knew some, but that she was right. There is no doubt that the athletes today look leaner and more muscular in general than they did 20 years ago. There is a reason for that too. The biggest reason for the improvement in the physiques of athletes over the last 20 years is the advancement in weight lifting supplements.

Some people like to say that training has changed dramatically as well, but let me tell you, it has not. Sure there are new innovations now and then, but most of the “New” ideas are just recycled workouts from the past. Now, I am not saying that training has not improved, because it has, but the biggest improvement in the training of athletes, is that training knowledge is more readily available.

Some others would have you believe that the improved physiques are due to steroids, but that also, is pure nonsense. Again, I know that some athletes use steroids, but a smaller percentage of athletes use them now, than used them in the 1970’s. Besides, when you look at the athletes from the seventies, even the ones who used steroids, the average athlete’s physique then cannot compare with the physique of the average athlete today.

The biggest reason for all of this is Weight Lifting Supplements. Protein shakes 20 years ago were low-quality, grainy and relatively hard to find. Nobody knew about creatine supplementation, fat burners, and quality meal replacement powders. Many nutritionists will tell you that you can get all of the nutrients you need from regular food, and they are right. The only problem is that it takes time and money to prepare the highest quality food into proper meals with the right balance of protein, carbohydrates, and fats. Many people have realized that taking a multi-vitamin is one way to make sure that they provide their bodies with all of the vitamins and minerals they need, just in case they don’t get it from whole foods. The same holds true for protein, carbohydrates and fats. We know that some forms of these are better than others, and sports nutrition supplements address this issue by providing us with the best forms available.

Protein powders and bars are available now that provide a person with the best, most useful forms of protein available in delicious flavors. You don’t have to cook or refrigerate them, and you can take them with you anywhere. Quick and easy. Can you believe that there are protein supplements now that provide a continuous release of protein into your bloodstream for 12 hours? That means that even while you sleep, your body will have an endless supply of building blocks to repair and build new muscle!

A meal replacement powder allows a person to consume a meal with all of the nutrients they need without all of the extra calories. This is fantastic for building and maintaining muscle mass while losing extra body fat. If you replace one or two whole food meals with a meal replacement powder, you will be consuming less calories, and providing your body with more nutrients than you would have gotten with the whole food. If you add a fat burner, you will dramatically improve those results. Many of the weight lifting supplements called fat burners, are made to concentrate on causing the body to not only burn more calories, but to take those calories from your fat deposits! Creatine supplementation was THE breakthrough of the 1990’s. The idea that you could force more energy into your muscles so that they could perform more work for longer periods of time was finally a reality. The next step was to add a form of carbohydrate such as dextrose to elevate your insulin levels when you consumed creatine, causing more of it to be absorbed into the muscles. Now we have new generation formulas of Creatine that increase the effectiveness of the supplement while eliminating the water retention and upset stomachs that some of the older versions caused. Creatine is definitely the top nutritional supplement for athletes interested in improved strength, speed and stamina!

Aaron Anderton has been lifting weights for over 20 years, competing in Bodybuilding, Powerlifting, Highland Games, and Strongman over the years. Aaron and his brother Sam own No Limits Physique which is a website devoted to weight lifting and it’s related sports. Loaded with information about training, nutrition and supplementation.