My Second Year at The Gym

During my second year at the gym I started to take supplements just a multivitamin and protein powder at first.  Eventually I took protein, mass builders and fat burners all from the local vitamin shop.  But even then my body did not look the way I wanted I did not realize the importance of reading and understanding food labels. The protein I was taking made me gain weight but most of it was not lean muscle it was fat.  The protein powder had a ton of sugar.  I made the shake with peanut butter and milk (more sugar and carbs) plus my diet consisted of bread, rice and pasta.  Carbs turn into sugar the body stores excess sugar as fat (lipogenesis).

I decided to switch to a no sugar no carb whey protein product.  Only then did my body start improving and giving me better results.  I also tried creatine which did work but the problem is that once you get off it the muscle size decreases as creatine gives you water weight via increased cell volume.  Some people have the type of body that although they may take lots of supplements their body still will not respond some of it may be poor exercise form or diet but some of it is genetics.  Some supplements can be dangerous so be careful (they are not FDA regulated).  I remember a friend of mine taking ephedrine got a heart attack the sad part was that it didn't work for him he didn't lose the weight he wanted it did work for my bodybuilding friends though. Don't rely on drugs if you are not responding well to your routine or diet change it up don't quickly turn to pills and powders they will be of little help.  There are supplements that claim to increase lean muscle mass and strength but all you get is a placebo effect not worth $70+.

I got the body I wanted when I got more experience and better eating habits all of this was done without any supplements.  I saw a lot of guys spending their whole paycheck on supplements.   Designer proteins, creatine can run you up to $60 each for a one month supply then you have to add the cost of the large increase in food consumption, the gym membership and other drugs that gym goers take; that is one expensive body.  Personally I don't think it is healthy to take a lot of supplements for long periods of time I have not taken any in over 6 yrs.

Final thought:
Aside from getting fit exercise improves neural connections in your brain and enhances memory and acquisition, according to a study published in Behavioral Neuroscience.  Another study found that regular aerobic exercise appears to increase the size of the hippocampus.