Just wonder if/what people use? I go to the gym quite a bit and over the last few years it seems to me everyone is taking/drinking masses of supplements.

Am I now the odd one out on just water and hard work!!

The right supplements mean you get more gains in terms of muscle mass and fitness.

However you need to be smart about taking them or it will cost you a fortune!

They all look expensive to me. Surley there is very little advantage gain with them….

I can see where this is going.

Some people say that you dont need them, and that you can get all the protein you need from a normal diet. Others use them because its a convenient way to get them straight after you work out.

Both are right in my opinion and its up to you whether you want to use them.

FWIW I have do take extra protein in powder which I drink straight after a gym session.

I use them purely for convenience, and have always gone with the maxi-muscle range as the chocolate is the least foul tasting in a water mix. Not the cleanest protein on the planet … but its not the most expensive either … and I’ve never had “wind issues” on it.

Mornings, makes a nice addition to a blend (frozen fruit, muesli, yogurt, half a banana, spoon of peanut butter and milk) in which case Vanilla is the least offensive.

The gym has recently installed a vending machine with a range of supplement drinks, and hence have actually started grabbing one of them post instead, less hassle.

I partake as I have always struggled to get weight on, hard gainer personified so its a calorie boost more than anything else.

crispo – Member
I can see where this is going.

Some people say that you dont need them, and that you can get all the protein you need from a normal diet. Others use them because its a convenient way to get them straight after you work out.

Both are right in my opinion and its up to you whether you want to use them.

Correct!

And try myprotien Recovery XS for biking, Hurrican XS for general stuff. All myprotien powders are a bit cheaper than most, and a lot cheaper than maximuscle.

When I hear “everyone’s doing it” that suggests to me they’ve all swallowed the same hype, not that it works. There are lots of gullible people everywhere.

If you like walking around looking as if you have an invisible TV (old CRT type) under each arm then regular gym strutting and preening workouts and protein shakes etc will surely help achieve that.

IMHO for being fitter and/or stronger it’s probably a waste of money. Most people can get enough protein in a normal diet if they eat real food. It’s not too difficult to eat more protein than you need, and too much is not really good for you. I can understand that some people value the convenience of powder but beyond that I don’t think it’s doing anything you can’t get anyway.

Beyond protein and vitamins I think things are considerably more expensive and one enters a potentially seedy world where anything goes. Best avoid, I’d say (but then I’m a BOF).

I think supplements are fine if you are not believing they are a substitute for actually training. Quite a few guys I have road raced with this season have been trying beta alanine, with mixed but generally positive reported results. It’s odd but their use of it doesn’t appear to have effected my performence against them despite them reporting how ‘strong’ they felt. But it does seem oddly contagious; I tend to start the season slowly, and wondered if loading on the stuff in the last 6 weeks of my winter training may help my start next year?!?!!