If you’ve just started with fitness, chances are you’ll come across fitness supplements. Creatine, protein shakes, weight gainers, testosterone boosters, fat burners, and much more, from different brands and manufacturers. We want to take you into the world of fitness supplements. Because what does each supplement entail exactly and what can it mean for you as a beginner athlete? We’ve compiled our top 3 for each type of supplement. This way, you can start using fitness supplements correctly.
Types of Fitness Supplements
In general, supplements can be divided into several groups, each with its own objective. These supplements can be categorized into the following 3 objectives:
- Strength
- Recovery
- Weight loss
The supplements we will discuss in this article are related to these 3 objectives. Additionally, we want to emphasize that all supplements currently available in the Netherlands or via the internet are approved by the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, and therefore are not illegal or prohibited. We do not discuss steroids or other banned substances.
Do Fitness Supplements Work?
The first question we want to address is whether fitness supplements actually deliver on their promises. The answer is “NOT ALWAYS.” Many of the supplements have effects, but often these effects are not scientifically proven, they can vary from person to person, and their effectiveness depends on conditions such as training, diet, and rest. However, in general, we can say that some supplements work.
Creatine
One of the most researched fitness supplements is undoubtedly creatine. Creatine serves many functions, but put simply, it provides more energy to the muscles, allowing you to train heavier. This is mainly noticeable in people who have been training for a while and reach a ‘plateau.’ Creatine can help break this ‘plateau.’ The effect is not enormous; you won’t gain tens of kilos, but with creatine, you can manage to complete the last few repetitions of a set that you couldn’t otherwise. Therefore, creatine falls under the category of “strength supplements.”
Protein Shakes
Besides creatine, protein shakes are very popular fitness supplements. Proteins are the building blocks of our body and consist of multiple amino acids. When you engage in a lot of fitness or strength training, it’s important to increase the amount of protein in your diet to provide the right nutrients to your muscles. If you can’t get enough protein from food, protein shakes are an excellent supplement. This makes protein shakes an excellent recovery supplement. After all, muscles grow during rest, not in the gym.
Multivitamins
Not only do you need to get more protein from your diet, but also your vitamins and minerals. If you can’t get this from your daily diet, you can use fitness supplements in the form of multivitamins. These multivitamins can contribute to more energy and better recovery. This makes multivitamins a perfect recovery supplement.
Fat Burners
In addition to supplements for strength and recovery, there are also fitness supplements that can aid in weight loss. The so-called fat burners can contribute to weight loss by increasing metabolism. Your metabolism is your metabolism, and when you take a fat burner, your body burns more energy, allowing you to lose weight. Another function of fat burners is that they can suppress hunger. This makes you eat less and also lose weight. However, we must warn against the use of fat burners, as this can be quite intense for inexperienced athletes. Never exceed the recommended amount.
Weight Gainers
A fitness supplement that does the opposite of a fat burner is a weight gainer. Not everyone wants to lose weight with fitness. Many athletes want to gain weight, and people with the ectomorph body type may struggle with this. For those people, weight gainers are an excellent fitness supplement. Most weight gainers consist of whey protein and carbohydrates. Often amino acids such as glutamine are added to prevent muscle breakdown. A weight gainer is typically a recovery supplement.
