Sports nutrition for dummies: how to take and choose

Today #TrainerAnswers one of the most popular questions – how to choose sports nutrition for your goals. World Class elite trainer Anton Kotov is once again an expert in this topic.

Some time ago people could do without protein, amino acids, fat burners and other similar products. Now almost every trainer can boast of a whole arsenal of supplements that occupy an honorable place in the daily diet. Here we have L-carnitine, which is consumed before training for active fat burning, and BCAAs, which nourish muscles after training, and a complex of vitamins and minerals that ensure normal functioning and more active recovery.

I will try to review the main categories of supplements that are now on the market and briefly give my opinion on their effectiveness in achieving the result – the figure of your dreams. Whether to take it or not is everyone’s choice.

For weight loss

What only people will not do to make our body lose weight. Since we are talking about correct, ecological weight loss, it will consist in reducing the fat component, without any loss of muscle mass. It is worth noting that often during training, the body weight may not change at all, which panics the fair sex, because it is they who are more often focused on the readings of scales. “I’ve been practicing for two months, and not a gram of weight loss! What to do?!” In this case, first of all, it is necessary to analyze the body composition – if you have reduced the percentage of fat, while increasing muscle mass, and body volume began to decrease, then this is a positive trend and you are on the right track!

Don’t feel bad if your body weight doesn’t change. What matters is how you feel and how you feel at a particular weight.

However, if it is crucial for you that the scales show the cherished number, then it is necessary to revise the daily diet.

Speaking of weight loss supplements, it is worth mentioning L-carnitine, which is involved in the process of fat utilization. According to some reports, the main effect is observed due to the fact that L-carnitine helps to increase energy, as a result of which people are willing to exercise longer and more efficiently, using more energy.

Can supplements help you in the process of getting rid of extra pounds? This fact is worth questioning, as it is difficult to assess the actual effect of a particular product. That being said, many supplements work on the placebo effect. I highly recommend consulting a doctor about the feasibility and possibility of using any such products.

For gaining muscle mass

When it comes to gaining muscle mass, it’s a completely different story. In order for your body to create any structures, including protein structures, which are the basis of muscle, you need a proper training process, a proper recovery regime and a positive or at least maintaining energy balance. That is, you must consume more calories than you consume in a day, or at least the same amount. To determine your calorie expenditure for the day, there are now an infinite number of gadgets on the market. The most prominent example is fitness trackers. It is worth saying that some of them allow you to estimate this indicator quite accurately.

In addition, in order to gain muscle mass, it is necessary for the diet to be made with due regard to the correct proportions of macronutrients, in particular, it must contain the proper amount of protein, which is emphasized by manufacturers of sports supplements, offering the consumer all sorts of variations – amino acids (these are the components of protein chains, from which muscles are built), BCAA (the same amino acids, but here there are three main ones that participate in protein synthesis – leucine, isoleucine, valine), protein (this word literally translates as “protein”, which can be represented by different variations, such as whey, egg, complex). Taking these supplements is appropriate if you have a low protein content in your diet. It is important to note that if your diet provides a positive or supportive energy balance, it is likely to have enough protein to increase muscle volume.

The human body is structured the same way it was a couple hundred years ago, which means it is deficient in vitamins with a regular diet.

Creatine often appears among the supplements for muscle growth. It should be noted that creatine participates in the energy supply of muscles, increasing strength, which is important in strength training aimed at gaining muscle mass, and according to some studies it enhances cognitive functions of the brain. To summarize, creatine increases performance by improving energy supply during exercise.

Briefly about post-workout complexes. It goes without saying that after the exercise it is necessary to compensate for the expenditure of resources. For this purpose gainers are most often used – mixtures of easily digestible protein with a complex of carbohydrates. They should start the recovery process. Carbohydrates are used to replenish carbohydrate reserves used up during training, while proteins are used to build muscles. Just don’t forget that recovery is a long process, and it doesn’t end with an hour interval after training. That’s why you shouldn’t rely on the fact that you’ll drink a gainer and your muscles will start growing. Once again, the key will be an effective combination of proper workouts, daily regimen, and a pro-sufficient diet.

For recovery and maintenance

About vitamin complexes, which are designed to accelerate the recovery process, there is a constant debate. Is it necessary to consume them? How regularly should vitamin courses be taken during training?

Vitamins and minerals undoubtedly play an extremely important role in the functioning of our body. At the same time, there are opinions that our body does not need their additional intake, unless such a doctor has prescribed. By the way, according to some insurance companies, taking vitamin complexes can even reduce life expectancy. I don’t know if this is true or not, but I see the logic in the following. Many people explain the need to take additional vitamin and mineral complexes as a result of technological progress. Why? This hypothesis is based on the fact that over the last century, the human motor activity has sharply decreased due to the invention of modern means of transportation, as well as household conveniences. For example, in the XIX century, in order to provide themselves with water, people had to go with a bucket to the well, and then this bucket to bring home. Or in order to heat a stove for cooking, it was necessary to first prepare a supply of firewood.

Nowadays, with decreased motor activity, the body requires less caloric intake to maintain vital activity. And as a consequence we get less vitamins and minerals. This is where supplement manufacturers come to the rescue! After all, the human body is organized in the same way as it was a couple hundred years ago, which means that the vitamins it receives with the usual diet are not enough.

However, in all these arguments there is one nuance. Throughout the existence of mankind, our body has survived due to the fact that it has an extremely important feature – the ability to adapt to any changes in the environment. So, in my opinion, if our motor activity changes, our body can adapt to that as well. That is why taking additional vitamin and mineral complexes becomes optional.

Vitamins should be prescribed by a doctor in case of certain abnormalities resulting from lifestyle.

Summarizing

Man is so organized – perhaps also because of laziness, which, as we know, is the engine of progress – that he will always look for the shortest, at the same time super-efficient method that will allow you to achieve the goal as quickly as possible. And often this is reduced to the choice of a magic pill, powder, secret methodology of weight loss, which will allow you to get the desired in an instant. However, this does not take into account the obvious fact. Success is always the result of hard work, discipline, perseverance and regular actions that must be repeated day after day. Do not rely on sports nutrition as a panacea, thanks to which achieving results will be as easy as two times two.

I would like to add that I achieved my best form when I completely gave up taking sports supplements, and based on my experience, knowledge and skills, I set a goal, made an algorithm and started moving. Everything is possible, the main thing is to have motivation, organization and desire to achieve the desired results.