Supplements Made Simple.

The supplement industry is HUGE both in the UK and worldwide, with many companies trying to part you from your money with a huge variety of products which may or may not actually help with your training. I'm going to make it super simple for you and break this down in the few that you should actually consider (not necessarily buy immediately), and which one's you should avoid as a waste of time and money. INVEST Protein Powder In fitness terms, for me a good quality protein powder is the definition of a supplement. Having a higher protein diet can have many benefits for someone who regularly lifts weights in the gym including helping your build and preserve lean muscle, recover adequately between sessions and create feeling of satiety long after meals. A regular recommendation for how much protein someone who regularly lifts should consume each day is somewhere between 1.5-2g per kg of bodyweight... which for many can seem a lot. And with protein often coming from foods with a perceived high cost (lean cuts of meat), or not easily being found in some increasingly popular nutritional approaches (vegan/vegetarian) there can be a few barriers to getting enough protein in your diet. So supplementing with a protein powder can be a great way to make a quick change in your diet alongside working to increase your protein intake from whole foods. One serving a day (around 25-30g) is plenty for most people. Here is a great Whey Protein, or a Vegan Alternative that I highly recommend with 5% off if you use the code IWOOD05 at checkout. For transparency, I do not currently take a protein supplement as I get enough protein from my daily meals, but I have regularly use the vegan option above (the salted caramel is incredible). Creatine Monohydrate Next up on the list of useful supplements is creatine monohydrate. It's the most tested and proven supplement out there in terms of improving performance in the gym without getting you on any WADA Anti-Doping lists. It's also CRAZY cheap, easy to find and only needed in really small amounts. It's benefits to lifters are increased strength and power output during resistance training resulting in increases in lean muscle mass... basically it helps with the whole reason we lift weights in the first place. Don't get drawn into the marketing... creatine monohydrate may be the cheapest version but it's also the most effective so invest your money there. You also don't need to do the whole loading protocol you may have read about. Just take 5g per day every day and you'll be golden. You can be 5% of this creatine supplement using the code IWOOD05, or use this one that I am currently using myself because it's so damn cheap and so am I. That's It... There is no need for anyone to take any other supplement alongside their training unless they have a specific diagnosed need. If you're a regular person lifting regular weights with no other health or performance issues, just running with those two will serve you great and save you a ton of money which could be better spent on things which will actually improve your physiqu and performance (like top quality programming and coaching from someone like me). AVOID Pretty Much Everything Else... Like I said, there may be use for some supplements if you have a specific need. Things like Vitamin D if you have a deficiency or don't get much sunlight, Fish Oils if you're low in Omega 3's, Electrolytes if you train really hard and sweat a ton... but these are all specific needs. Things that genuinely don't work for regular people lifting regular weights include:

• Fat Loss Teas

• Ketones

• Natural Testosterone Boosters

• BCAA's

• Glutamine

• Collagen

For the simple reason that they are not clearly proven to work (I use www.examine.com as a really reliable and up to date source of information, I'd recommend checking it out). It's all just marketing and manipulation of research data to try and get you to spend money on something that is overpriced for the benefits that it doesn't give you.