Supplements, supplements, supplements. You know the passion runs deep for the gym when you walk into somebody’s kitchen and you see the supplements tucked into the corner of the countertop. But what are they? No, they aren’t drugs and no they aren’t steroids.

Supplements are used in a diet to make sure you’re receiving all the vitamins and nutrients you require to stay healthy and reach your fitness goals. They’re called supplements because they supplement the nutrients you don’t get in your everyday diet.

So When Should You Start Taking Supplements?

There are certain performance-enhancing supplements like creatine that you don’t typically get from any food source except for red meat, but it’s not a sufficient amount like it is in powder form anyway. Never mind the fact it’s not ideal to eat anything heavy right before a gym session anyway. What you should focus on first way before you worry about supplements is your diet because the nutrients are of higher quality when they come from regular food.

Only after you build a well-rounded diet should you look at which nutrients you need more of. For example, eating your protein is always going to be better than having a protein shake but when you’re looking to build muscle, eating that much protein on a daily basis isn’t realistic anymore so that’s when you should start having protein shakes.

What Can You and Can’t You Supplement?

Nutrients are split up into “macronutrients” aka “macros” and “micronutrients”. Your macros are protein, fat, and carbohydrates and your micronutrients are vitamins and minerals, both very essential to your health.

The good thing about micronutrients is that you can supplement almost anything so if you have any deficiencies you have options. Vegetables are where most vitamins and minerals come from but if you aren’t a big veggie fan this is great news for you, still, you should eat as many vegetables as possible.

Macros on the other hand are different because you can’t really supplement carbs and there aren’t that many types of fat you’re looking for so that part’s simple. Protein is the biggest area of your diet you can supplement because not only can you supplement the overall amount of protein you get but also which proteins and amino acids you’re getting.

For more information on macronutrients click here!

What Does your Average Lifter’s Supplement Stack Look Like?

Just so we’re clear when you use supplements, the combination that you use is your “stack”. The supplements you choose to use align with your fitness goals so depending on what you’re looking for your stack may look a little different compared to someone else’s.

Pre-Workout

Pre-workout isn’t for everybody but at some point or another you’ll choose to use it and it might just become a regular thing for you because we people that use it, swear by it. You can opt for either “stim” or “non-stim” which means it will or will not come with stimulants like caffeine. This might sound weird because if you know anything about pre-workout it’s made to sound like a shockwave of adrenaline, this isn’t always the case. There are also a bunch of electrolytes and other nutrients in pre-workout that still make it worth it so if stimulants aren’t your thing you should still give it a shot.

Click here for my favourite pre-workout!

Post-Workout (Protein Powder)

This is everyone’s favourite part but it can get a little more complicated because it’s not all about looking for the best flavour. Protein is broken down into amino acids and there are certain amino acids were looking for to optimally build muscle and create protein synthesis needed to rebuild muscle. Pretty much essential unless you’re an avid cook and actually enjoy making food.

Click here for the 3 best whey protein powders!

Multivitamins

You can’t really go wrong with adding some extra vitamins to your diet and so a lot of people choose to take multivitamins so they don’t miss anything they need. If you know of any deficiencies you have you can also go for vitamins that target that and stack multivitamins on top.

Conclusion

Supplements may seem a little questionable at first but once you’re settled into your exercise routine it’s definitely worth looking into. They can make the difference between you adding 5lbs or 10lbs in the next 5 months, isn’t that appealing? Experiment with what works and what doesn’t work for you and after a while you’ll have the perfect stack custom-made just for you!