Are Sports Nutrition Supplements Really Necessary?

I was a high jumper. Actually, I was a basketball player, but I was doing high jump in the off-season, and I was ok at it. But running was something I didn't do. And now here I was at a major (state level) track meet and the coach said, "We need you to fill this slot. Would you run the 440 for us?" Sure, why not. One lap around; how hard could that be? Well, I did alright for half of the lap, actually kept up, but got blown away the last half. As I crawled across the finish line, all other competitors already long since finished and stretching out, I thought to myself, "I wonder if I could have planned a little better for this?"

One of the big keys to fitness is planning. A mediocre routine that is done consistently over time works much better than a successful routine that is done the last minute. I hadn't planned at all to run that race. Preparation and planning are crucial. The top athletes in their sports usually train for many, many years. So, what is the average person supposed to do when they want to get in shape? Are there any short cuts? Well, sort of.

Sports nutrition supplements are supplemental
I have had many clients come up and ask me about the latest sports nutrition supplement. And, yes, many of them work. But it should always be remembered that supplements are supplemental. Nothing contributes to a fitness/sports/workout routine like working out regularly and being continually conscious of your diet.

Sports nutrition supplements for weight loss
Remember, once again, supplements are supplemental. The key to losing weight is to burn off more than you are taking in, period. If you burn off more than you are taking in, you MUST lose weight. But should you take a supplement for it?

Weight loss supplements either speed the metabolism, or inhibit uptake of macro-nutrients, or a combination of the two. If something speeds your metabolism, it usually increases your heart rate. Working out does this naturally and progressively. Metabolism speeding supplements, or stimulant sports nutrtition supplements, increase your heart rate and blood pressure (thus your metabolism) agressively. Is your heart equipped to take that? And can anything be good that inhibits your macronutrient (carbohydrates, fats, protein) uptake? You are simply telling your body, no, don't absorb that? How can that be healthy?!

Without sports nutrition supplements, watching how much activity you are doing (e.g. how many calories you are burning) and changing cardiovascular activity (running, walking, cycling, elliptical) and resistance training activity (weight training) are sure fire ways to increase your metabolism. If you are terrible at cardio' or weights then maybe supplements can fill the gap. But sports nutrition supplements shouldn't be considered for weight loss until the complete depth of cardio', weight training and diet has been explored.

Sports nutrition supplements for muscle growth
Muscle building sports nutrition supplements typically do one of two things (or sometimes both): increase anabolism or reduce catabolism. Oh, great, he's using big words. Wait! Let me explain: anabolism is the development of muscles. Catabolism is the breaking down of muscles.

When a person lifts weights (does resistance training of any kind) the goal is to cause a stress that is greater than the muscle is used to. This stress (the actual act of it) causes catabolism. The body responds to catabolism (the tearing down of muscle tissue) by causing the muscle tissue to improve above and beyond what it was. To do this it goes through the anabolic process of using protein (amino-acids) to rebuild the muscle tissue above and beyond what it was.

As an extreme example, let me cover what anabolic steroids do as sports nutrition supplements. It has been said that steroids inhibit, or reduce, the amount of catabolism even more so than they anabolize. This may be so. But, it is quite certain that anabolic steroids increase testosterone, thereby allowing the body to respond better to the stress of weight training causing greater anabolic growth. In other words, the muscle cells when exposed to the extra testosterone process the protein more efficiently (more accurately, at a higher priority) and cause greater growth. As a sports nutrition supplement, steroids certainly work.

So, if any part of the muscle growing process is lacking, then perhaps a supplement can help. Well, are you saying that we should take steroids to add muscle?! Actually, it would work for that. But one thing that I haven't discussed is side effects, and testosterone is ripe with side effects. Any time the basic hormonal stability of the body is disrupted, there are side effects. And, to whatever extent the steroids are abused (I'm this big now, think how big I'd be if I took more!) the side effects are equally devastating (what is that growing there?!).

Do all sports nutrition supplements have side effects?
Well, yes. If I don't eat enough protein, and I suddenly start taking protein supplements, I'll have effects from that. If I take too much protein then my body will react to that as well. No, typically taking in too much protein won't cause debilitating side effects, but may change body regularity at the very least.

The more potent the supplement, the more drastic the side effect.

The next time you are out shopping for a sports nutrition supplement, keep in mind what it does and why you would take it. This should be obvious, but most purchases seem to gloss over this fact and have total faith in the products advertisements. Don't be taken in by pretty pictures; do your research. Be cautious. Most supplements work in one way or the other, but they may not work in just the way you want and the side effects may be more than you can handle.