What about Supplements?!

Supplements are a highly debated topic in fitness.

Do they work?  Who should take them? When should someone take them?  Which ones should be used?  Which supplement companies are reliable?  

The questions go on and on.

Over the next couple articles, I am going to answer those questions for you.  It will be up to you to decide where to go from there.

Let me start out by giving you the overall answer before I go into the supportive details.  (I am writing this in reverse to make it easier to understand where I'm going with it, and you will get more out of it this way.)

Supplements only matter if you have the other components of fitness in place.  If your nutrition is appropriate and you are doing your workouts consistently (and they have the right programming), then supplements can be a tremendous help.  If you aren't following through on the nutrition and exercise, then it's not likely that a magic pill (supplement) is going to solve your fitness problem for you.

I usually look at supplements as the 10%.  The vast majority of your results are going to come from your exercise and eating, so focusing on the 10% doesn't make sense when the other 90% is being neglected.

Yes, some supplements do work and they are worth it.  The majority of them though, have not been proven to be very effective in-and-of themselves.  It may be a placebo effect that makes you THINK that they're working...and THAT is what gets you results.  Not that it's a bad thing to get results, but you may not need to be spending that kind of money to get what you're after if it's all in your mind in the first place.

To keep things simple, I tend to categorize supplements into three main groups:  MUST HAVES, NICE TO HAVES, ABSOLUTELY AVOIDS.

The MUST HAVES follow suit with the name and basically they refer to the ones that you absolutely need to take.  I only put two things in this category: multivitamins and doctor-prescribed supplements.

In 2002, JAMA (Journal of American Medical Assn.) reversed its position and determined that the average American needs AT LEAST ONE multivitamin a day, perhaps 2-3 (depending on your activity level and personal needs...like with athletes).  They declared that it's so difficult to get all the vitamins and minerals that we need through food alone anymore.

Also, your doctor knows the specifics of what's going on with your body (at least I hope!) and he may recognize that you need some additional like calcium, folic acid or specific antioxidants.  If your doctor recommends it then it can go in this category.


NICE TO HAVES are just that.  They may in fact be very helpful to you, but you could probably get away with not taking them and your results wouldn't be too dramatically hindered without them.

Certain ones I categorize as Nice to Haves are fitness fast foods (protein bars and shakes for example), calcium, antioxidants, fat burners, etc.  I take fitness fast foods because they are well balanced and they make life easier for me, not because they're necessarily any better than real, whole food sources are.

ABSOLUTELY AVOIDS are pretty self explanatory as well.  These are the products that you really want to stay away from whenever possible.  Many will argue about some of these (saying they aren't bad or that they're actually very good/effective), but whether it's from an ethical standpoint or a safety concern, these are products that you really don't need.  Items like anabolic steroids, any other hormone booster or precursors, blood doping agents or off-the-market products like ephedra.  You really will do best to bypass these types of products.


There are products that some people swear by and others say are hogwash (like creatine) because the studies are conflicting or no conclusive scientific evidence has been established about them.  This debate may go on and on for decades or centuries before anything is conclusively determined.

That's why I think that it's most important to focus on the primary activities that will get you results, and that's the food and physical training.  When those two things are in alignment, then whatever supplements you are taking or need will become obvious about how they benefit or don't benefit you, and that is where the real power (effectiveness) is.



Next time I'll be back with the follow up article to answer the last question: What supplement companies are reliable?

There's a lot of crappy product out there, and there are certain things you should look for in a supplement provider...and I am going to help you by sharing what I have found works best for me and my clients.  Stay tuned till then!

Train on,

Chad R. JohnsonPersonal Trainer (ACE-CPT)
Strength Coach (NSCA-CSCS)
Youth Fitness Specialist (IYCA-YFS)
Martial Arts Instructor (Taekwondo 3rd Degree)