Walk into any ‘health’ shop, buy any fitness magazine or go into any gym and you are likely to be confronted by more pills and potions than Merlin.
Every one of them promises something life changing.
“Rapid fat loss”
“Metabolic Meltdown in 4 minutes”
“Explosive muscle gain”
“Workout destruction”
Like many things in fitness beyond hard work, consistency, great coaching and progressive overload few of them seem to ever actually deliver much.
Like many serious trainees and athletes, I’ve spent more than my fair share on products I’ve been led to believe may well be the one thing that was stopping me getting my “best results ever”.
I would say 80% of the stuff I’ve tried didn’t make much difference, but there are a very small, select list which have successfully been inducted into the Storm Force Fitness daily routine.
Others we have found to be effective, but not necessary on a daily basis.
Before getting into the what’s and why’s, let me state a few key things.
1) Unless 95% of your nutrition consists of lean protein, vegetables, good fats and well-timed carbohydrate consumption, forget the supplements. You’re trying to put out a forest fire with a watering can.
2) Sleep is the best thing most people don’t get enough of. Not a powder.
3) If you’re not drinking 2-3 litres of good quality water each day, you don’t need to spend money on extra’s
4) I am aware that cavemen were much healthier than us and had never even heard of Maximuscularfatburnextreme.
I too would like nothing better than to live in a world free of chemical pollution, where we could drink from rivers, eat game meat we had just caught which feeds on nothing but the land, get lots of sunlight, eat fruit and vegetables with extremely high vitamin and mineral content and not be exposed to the stresses of modern life.
Whilst there is much we can do to move back to this way of life, the brutal fact of life is that for most, it is virtually impossible.
So I personally feel, supplementation (NOT REPLACEMENT) of great food, is a necessary and productive way to live – just ensure you have done all you can to fulfil the first 3 points before relying on man-made products to make you look and feel better.
The next question is always, what can you AFFORD to use as supplementation.
First, you can afford more than you think once you eradicate:
- The two coffees from Starbucks. Other destructive coffee houses are available.
- The biscuit you got up-sold at the Starbucks counter.
- The £50 you spend on alcohol each weekend to get over the job you hate.
- The glass of wine you drink each night to help you relax.
- A variety of other crap you eat and drink to help get over stresses and strains which can be eliminated through simple lifestyle changes.
These can easily total £300-400 per month.
The supplements we recommend will total approximately £50-60 per month.
So yes, you can afford to get healthy!
It then becomes a question of priorities and this is the order I would suggest for ‘Average Joe’.
Combining all four as we do on the Turbo Transformation is VERY powerful and fast working!
Average Joe wants to feel better and drop loads of body fat.
Remember I am assuming Joe is now following the Storm Force Fitness nutrition plan at least 90-95% of the time before recommending these supplements.
Greens Drink
We recommend Green Life from Phil Richards Performance but other good versions are available depending where you live.
A good greens drink is a natural, high potency multi-vitamin giving you a complete range of vitamins and minerals, generally in the ratios in which they occur in nature – not randomly selected amounts put together in a ‘proprietary complex’ in a pill.
They are basically made up of highly nutritious grasses often blended with green vegetables such as spinach, celery and spirulina.
Many often come with a good prebiotic built in to aid digestion – another serious problem for most people.
Result: More energy, a better digestive system and reduced inflammation throughout the body. Also helps oxygenate the blood in people who spend too much time indoors. Most people begin to feel healthier and more energetic within days, having a snowball effect on their training which breeds better results, more commitment to the plan etc.
Remember – if you don’t get healthy, don’t expect to lose body fat fast or feel energetic enough to complete a tough training program to change your body composition.
Fish Oil
In the past, we would have eaten enough good quality fish to make such a product unnecessary.
Unfortunately, like most food, this isn’t the case any more.
Also, many people don’t realise that the essential fatty acids EPA and DHA which we take fish oils for, are ‘manufactured’ by the fish when they eat the algae found along river beds and in the sea. With the increase in farm-grown fish this doesn’t happen to nearly the same degree as the fish are often pipe fed with foods not typical of their natural diet.
Essential Fatty Acids do many wondrous things for the body including (but not limited to):
- Increased fat burning
- Reduced inflammation (aiding recovery from hard training)
- Improved brain and heart function
- Healthy joints
- Stronger immune system
4-6g of fish oil per day seems to be the effective range.
Result: All of the above are essential when embarking on a new lifestyle aimed at making you look, feel and move better.
We recommend Heart and Brain Oil from Phil Richards Performance because it contains high levels of EPA and DHA but also because of additional ingredients which provide antioxidants and support for the brain and cardiovascular system.
Again, note that we are still promoting the establishment of health before really delving into specific body composition supplements.
Probiotics
Recently, there have been more and more studies indicating that probiotics can increase the shedding of body fat from the abdominal area which is high on most people’s wish list.
The interesting thing is that this process actually involves the brain.
See, what you may not realise is that much of the ‘pot belly’ you see on many people is actually due to intra-abdominal fat deep within your body – not just that paunchy bit around your belly-button or your love handles.
Development of fat in this area has been found to be largely down to chronically elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol which reduces insulin sensitivity, known to lead to increased fat storage, particularly in the abdominal area.
You may also not be aware that there is a very close link between gut health and brain function due to a nerve which links the two.
So if your gut is in tatters due to abuse through poor nutritional habits, you can expect more stress and anxiety and the resultant hormone imbalances described above.
And this is why we recommend introducing a probiotic into your nutrition plan as part of your detox and restoration of your digestive system.
Don’t expect eating a ‘probiotic yoghurt’ to provide nearly the levels of the ‘good bacteria’ they promote. You need a good quality, high potency probiotic to restore your digestive system after years of abuse and stress!
Result: Improved digestion and assimilation of nutrients leading to better energy levels as well as reduced fat in the abdominal area due to hormone rebalancing.
NB Addressing your stress levels will also do wonders so take time to chill out!
Protein
A subject often debated and never really solved.
Some say we don’t need extra, some say we should not eat whey protein, some say we need protein 6-8 times per day, some say we can only utilise up to 120g per day anyway so what’s the point.
Honestly, I don’t think anyone really knows for sure and there are many individual circumstances and body type considerations to think about.
What I do know, is that those who take a post-workout protein supplement report much faster and full recovery without so much muscle soreness and those with great looking and performing bodies nearly always use protein supplementation so deduce what you will what from that.
I don’t intend to delve into the whey protein argument here other than to say, there are vegan sources of protein out there which can work well and you should not use a whey protein supplement if you are lactose intolerant.
Vegan sources do however tend to be much more expensive so that’s something else you need to factor in to your decision.
I believe the best ‘happy medium’ decision is to use a high quality, grass-fed, organic (if you can afford it) whey protein supplement.
30-40g post-workout mixed with some fruits high in antioxidants such as frozen blueberries will provide a great post-workout recovery drink and help accelerate your results by promoting muscle building faster after a tough session and ensuring your metabolic rate stays high for some time, aiding the fat loss process.
Look to find a protein supplement that doesn’t contain lots of sweeteners if you can (however this can result in truly rank tasting powders!).
DEFINITELY avoid any containing aspartame or acesulfame – these are damaging neurotoxins which nobody wants in their body!
Result: Increased lean muscle, higher metabolic rate, reduced body fat.
Other supplements
At Storm Force Fitness, we also recommend other supplements when deemed necessary.
Magnesium compounds and amino acids which promote relaxation and serotonin production – a great combination when sleep is a problem.
Certain amino acids are also great pre-workout to reduce muscle breakdown and increase intensity.
Iodine complexes can be a great way to reignite a sluggish thyroid.
Creatine is a great supplement for those engaging in intense weight training or sprint based sports.
Caffeine has its uses WHEN USED CORRECTLY.
But the four mentioned above are those we 100% believe in for restoring health fast and igniting the fat burning process all of our clients crave.
If it makes you feel better, look better and move better it can only be a good thing!
Just don’t get obsessed with new, exciting supplements which promise the world and come wrapped in lots of bright, fluorescent colours.
Stick with those which just get the job done safely and effectively.
