If I had a penny for every time someone asked me this question, I’d be a millionaire!
So you are exercising regularly, trying to keep promises to your body, and pushing the limits. Now you can adjust your routine and your diet for your fitness journey, but when you’re working triceps, someone can walk up to you at the gym and tell you how much longer your transformation will be without supplementation.
Then the list comes out: whey protein, multi-nutrients, creatine, BCAAs, etc. Somehow your conversion seems to depend on such things! But is it really so?
I started my fitness journey with a weight of 105 kg. I lost 75 kg. I am muscle 75 kg, 80 kg, up to 85 kg. My personal best was 93.7 kg, maintaining 18% body fat. I mention all of this so that everyone knows that I have seen weight gain.
I am an endomorph, which means I gain weight very quickly. We will discuss both endomorphs and ectomorphs below.
Now let’s understand the importance of supplements for non-professional athletes, which means all people who are not working professionally. I add this disclaimer because I speak for what I have done myself; professional bodybuilding is not one of them. Routine fitness is more my thing.
If supplements were essential, people would all have been obese before the advent of technology. Supplements speed up the fitness process. To elaborate on this, let’s say my friend and I did an intense bicep workout today. While he took whey protein and other supplements with his workouts, I stuck to normal food. Suppose both our bodies undergo the same muscle damage in the workout. While his body got protein right after a workout when it could be broken down and used very easily (whey protein mixed with a little water), my body got the usual heavy dinner that needed several hours to break down before it got any protein. Additionally, he got protein while I got a mix of carbs, protein, vitamins, fat, etc.
Now his biceps are recovering really fast and with lots of protein. However, mine recovered but with a delayed protein supply. But both muscles have been repaired equally for both strength and endurance gains.
This is one way of looking at it.
I used all the supplements during my weight loss, which was 2 years. But when I was packing muscle, I broke down. I didn’t have money for an expensive box of protein. So, I gave it all up.
I was 78 kg then and wanted to gain 12 kg. I started lifting heavy and eating like an elephant. I was literally eating everything I could grab and lifting like it was the last day of my life at any gym. In 3 months, I packed 8 kg. It felt amazing! I wouldn’t say there wasn’t fat, because there was. But it’s nothing a few weeks of intense cardio couldn’t pull off. The important thing was that the plan worked. I packed good-sized muscles, and I did it without supplements, in just 90 days!
I went on to touch 95 kg with the same workout and diet. After that, I reduced my fat percentage and brought my weight down to ~92 kg.
But then let’s also talk about someone who doesn’t gain weight so easily: the ectomorph. Here, the story is crystal clear: supplements don’t increase weight (you take 100 grams per day!). It’s diet. This is why they are called supplements because they complement your diet.
So the point is made that you don’t need supplements to stay fit or pack on muscle. Advertisements all around make it feel like a prerequisite for fitness, such as walking to the gym and holding a sipper with bright orange liquid is essential. Otherwise, you are not serious enough. This is a marketing ploy, and don’t pay any attention to it.
People who want to get fit just need to eat right, eat well, and work their ass off in the gym. Period.