Magic in a bottle.
Why is it that everyone who starts lifting weights and working out, from the absolute rank beginners to folks who haven’t picked up anything heavier than the remote in ten years, all want to start using supplements the very first day? What ever happened to going a month or two to establish a baseline of your own pure strength before adding anything to the mix? I have had a number of clients lately (both men and women) and while a couple had worked out a number of years ago the others have never been inside of a gym before and they all to a person wanted to know what supplements to buy and how to use them and one even asked me about the benefits of stacking. I can’t believe what magazine advertising is doing to people, and it doesn’t matter their ages either. The people I had ask about the supplements ranged in ages from 18 to 57 and as I said before were both men and women. What I say to all of my clients is to lift and workout for a while “au natural,” so that we can get a good baseline reading of their abilities and then after that we can start talking about adding supplements. Also, if they want to have me as their trainer they can use only certain supplements and ones that I believe in and have either used and know they work or someone whom I trust has used them and states that they work. I am amazed at the way people throw money away on supplements thinking that they are going to produce amazing results all by themselves. Some people believe that by taking supplements they are going to get steroid-like growth without them breaking a sweat and they believe if they take steroids the results will start happening overnight and without them pushing themselves to their limits. What I say to each of those people who ask me about supplements and steroids is to take a look at the DVD’s that each of the top named bodybuilding pros are selling, especially Ronnie Coleman’s and see how much effort he puts into his workouts and how much weight he moves. Supplements don’t do the lifting and neither do the steroids. The enormous amount of weight being moved is being moved by the person and the steroids and the supplements help them recover and assist their muscles in repairing themselves and growing day by day but you gotta do a lot of grunting if you want to do a lot of growing. Ever since Jack traded his cow for some magic beans people have been popping pills as a way to get everything from Arnold’s body to the anti aging effects of the Fountain of Youth. Ah, the impressionable mind and magic in a bottle, where will it all end?
August 10, 2007 at 5:50 pm
I agree whole heartedly. Forget the fads. My own blog today points out many of these misconceptions also.
Kudos to you btw. I read your profile and you are amazing and a inspiration.
August 10, 2007 at 5:58 pm
Awesome my friend..and i agree totally..its like everyone wants to take a pill or drink something to lose fat and do nothing else..its seems like our culture has gotten lazy and doesn’t want to work for anything anymore…what happend to the motto:
NO PAIN..NO GAIN
August 10, 2007 at 6:20 pm
Well Cap….you hit the nail on the head. In the past just two or three weeks alone I have had beginning people, both here and in my gym come to me asking my recommendations on which supplements should they take to "get big". I’ve subscribed to your theory in each case….much to the chagrin of the consumerism mentality of the powerful advertising industry. Nice blog.
August 10, 2007 at 6:45 pm
That’s why I recently stopped taking a supplement; I had recalled that when I was first lifting weights, some years back, I never took any supplements. That’s why I stopped; it wasn’t the supplement making me loose weight or add some muscle, it was myself alone. I whole heartly agree with your blog!
August 10, 2007 at 6:49 pm
Heh, I teach weight loss classes and you should see the look on people’s faces when i tell them the three secrets to wight loss.
1) Commitment
2) Hard Work
3) Discipline
Everyone wants the magic pill they can take at night and wake up thin in the morning. Sheesh!
Don
August 11, 2007 at 1:30 pm
Everybody listen up…the Captain has spoken! Captain Ahab I couldn’t agree with you more. I think most people would love to be just like PopEye each spinach and grow muscles like weeds instanteously! It takes hard work to gain a base…people try and use separation exercises first before building a base.
LeeBee
August 11, 2007 at 2:37 pm
Speaking from my own years of experience (you know, the ‘doing the wrong thing’ kind) taking supplements won’t work. It was only when I hired a personal trainer and started to actually move that I started seeing real weight loss. I do like the whey protein though and will keep using it
August 13, 2007 at 6:51 am
Sad, but right on. As long as humans posess laziness and lack of self-control the ‘magic in a bottle’ will keep luring many…….
August 13, 2007 at 4:22 pm
i agree i went six years before i started useing them and now i still dont admit to it cause i dont want anyone to thing any less then me. There alright but it insode what make person who they are