As soon as a beginner starts exercising, they look for advice and among the information they come across the word supplements and so they start thinking about what supplements to take and when.
What supplements should a beginner take? The answer is very simple.
However, let's first discuss the situation and goals of the exerciser.
Beginner
In the beginning, most people typically want to lose weight, i.e., shed fat. And then there's a smaller group of beginners who are young, thin men, and they want to gain muscle. Both can be achieved without supplements, and especially in the beginning, if you have a good training plan, the body responds well, and thus change comes easily, quickly, and is significant.
Supplement and Performance
A supplement is an addition, not a foundation for sport or fitness lifestyle. The basis for good results for every person, and especially an athlete, is a combination of three things: training, regeneration, and diet. With a supplement, you can supplement one third of this combination or fix what you neglected in your diet.
Training
Quality training will ensure a good training plan, which a trainer can prepare for you. A quality trainer evaluates progress and gradually adjusts the training to your needs. At the same time, the trainer will teach you various exercises and, during personal training, will ensure that you perform the exercise technique correctly, thus protecting you from problems such as overload, injury, and other issues that are common among beginners. It is therefore good to find a personal trainer, at least for the beginning.
Regeneration
Regeneration is divided into active and passive.
The main passive regeneration is sleep. Without enough quality sleep, the body will not be able to handle training in the long term, let alone achieve muscle gain. Massage, sauna, whirlpool, and others are often used as passive regeneration.
Active regeneration then is stretching or engaging in another physical activity at a moderate pace for a short period, for example, a walk.
Diet
Movement requires energy, and regeneration also requires energy. For building new cells, building blocks, typically proteins, are also needed. An athlete obtains all of this from what they eat, i.e., from their diet.
Without a quality diet, which a nutritionist (ideally a sports nutritionist) can put together for you, training loses its meaning. And again, without a quality diet, you won't even be able to train regularly. It is therefore important to study what food contains and how to eat. For beginners who didn't pay attention in biology, it's ideal to have a personal nutritionist who can provide them with this essential information during personal consultations.
Effect of supplements
The reason why supplements are taken is that they support either performance or regeneration, and consequently, the exerciser can perform better and regenerate faster and more effectively. Some supplements contain components that are necessary for the body, but are minimal in a normal diet. Supplements are taken orally, which suggests that they are essentially also food.
When to start taking supplements?
As you've probably understood, if you don't master the three basic pillars: training, diet, regeneration, and don't have them tailored to your needs, then there's no point in dealing with anything else. Moreover, some supplements can be replaced by quality food. Therefore, if you are a beginner, don't worry about supplements at all! Focus on training and diet. If you want to make rapid progress, pay for a personal trainer and nutritionist who will advise you in the beginning, demonstrate and teach exercises, and design a diet and explain nutrition. You can find such specialists on our portal of fitness advisors.
Why is everyone talking about supplements?
It is important to realize that the production and distribution of supplements is very simple and therefore cheap. It mainly involves common raw materials packaged in a durable box. The product can be protected by a brand and brand awareness can be built, and thanks to marketing, the product can be pushed to customers. There is a minimum of human time needed to work with the customer, and time is expensive. After all, the basic bodybuilding food is rice, and no one has yet made a big change in cooking rice.
Doing business in fitness supplements is very simple and, thanks to low costs, profitable. And that's precisely why marketing everywhere pushes information about taking supplements and not about Asian restaurants that cook rice.
Lesson
From all this, it follows that until you master even the basics of the three-pronged approach: training, diet, rest, thinking about supplements is a pointless waste of energy and money.
First and foremost, learn to exercise correctly, perfect your diet, and dedicate enough time to rest and avoid unnecessary stress (typically stress today).
If you want to speed up your progress in the beginning, it pays to invest in a fitness advisor who can advise you on your diet or training.