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Which supplements for which sports?
First of all, let's completely brush past the notion that supplements are exclusively for bodybuilders, powerlifters and other gym-goers. If you exercise at all, or take part in any sport, then there are supplements that will definitely benefit your performance, your recovery and much more.
Instead of listing individual sports and reeling off an endless list of supplements... I thought it would be wise to try to categorise some aspects of various sports, which may be shared by many, and suggest some supplements relevant to that particular aspect, so you can see how these products can help you in your sport.
Get fit on a budget
You don’t have to spend a fortune to get fit. In fact, you don’t even have to spend a penny to start getting fitter and seeing an improvement in your physique.
Getting ‘fit’ is quite broad. Getting fit to one individual could be having their abs visible, whilst getting fit to another could be running a 10k. For me, getting fit is being happy with my physique whilst also not putting any strains on daily life. I enjoy my food, a drink and visiting places without having to think what my next meal must consist of or how many calories I’m burning. I think most people are like this.
Master your lean bulk
Everyone loves the idea of staying lean whilst they bulk, and although the principles of doing so are fairly simple, staying relatively lean whilst trying to add as much muscle as possible can become a struggle. A few slip ups here and there will add up quickly and before you know it you are losing visibility of your abs, those veins start to disappear, and you start to look a lot more watery. The result? You panic and immediately cut until you can see the lean gains again. The problem with this, however, is that you aren’t really going to be adding any significant muscle to your frame yoyoing like this.
Fix lower back pain
I'm sure that at some point in your life you have had lower back pain. If you haven’t, then unfortunately the data is against you; it's coming.
Lower back pain can be a serious problem and can be caused by many things. I remember when I was just getting into lifting injuring my lower back pretty badly. I was deadlifting and disregarded all form, I just wanted to slam on as many plates as possible and stand up tall with it. Well, I eventually stood up tall, but at the cost of me popping a disc because my back was so rounded. My hamstrings and glutes did no work, and my lower back paid for it. I couldn’t train properly for around 8 weeks. If you are anything like me, you love training. An injury like that can really take its toll on you mentally as well as physically.
These things could be impacting your recovery
You can be training as hard as you like but if you haven’t got your recovery in order, then the chances of you progressing at a decent pace are going to be significantly lowered. It can be extremely frustrating to be training hard day in day out and seeing no results. You may need to ask yourself if you are only focusing on one part of the puzzle; the training. If you have read any of my articles, I usually can’t help myself talking about the three pillars of fitness; training, nutrition and recovery. You need to be on top of all of them if you want to progress. Nutrition and recovery can overlap somewhat, and you’ll see that a little in some of the points below, but for the sake of this article I will try and keep them as separate as possible.
Understanding L-Citrulline
L-citrulline is a substance called a non-essential amino acid. Your kidneys change L-citrulline into another amino acid called L-arginine and a chemical called nitric oxide.
These compounds are important to your heart and blood vessel health. They may also boost your immune system.
When should you train?
As with most things in the fitness industry, everyone has their own opinion. Some people even seem to convince themselves that they have a degree in everything health and fitness related, if the argument gets heated enough.
There are a few things to cover off about when exactly you should train, with time being one of them.
Muscle building mistakes you are making
When you are in the pursuit of adding slabs of muscle to your frame, there’s no worse feeling than seeing no change in weight on the scale or lack of progress in the mirror. What are you to do? You’re still training hard and eating enough food for a small family, surely that’s the winning combo to muscle gain?
What actually is flexible dieting?
You have most likely heard of flexible dieting, or as its more commonly known, ‘ If It Fits Your Macros’ ( IIFYM).
It’s a touchy subject for a lot of people, especially in today's society where everyone seems to believe they are qualified to give nutritional advice if they are simply in shape. So please read this article with a pinch of salt and know that I am simply giving my explanation and opinion on IIFYM.
The misunderstanding of carbohydrates
You have all heard it, ‘carbs are the enemy’. This statement couldn’t be further from the truth and, I know, sometimes it is thrown around loosely and expected to be taken with a pinch of salt. However, they still seem to carry around a negative stigma, especially with weight loss diets. Carbs in a diet should never be the enemy. They are just as important, if not more important than the other two macronutrients, protein and fat. If there was going to be any saying, I guess it would be something along the lines of ‘calories are the enemy’. At least if your goal was weight loss, and that’s still a little misleading.