Supplementation is one of the biggest money making businesses out there.
Whether you are a trained athlete, a regular gym goer or your average Joe, there will always be a plethora of supplementation available to choose from. The problem is that all this supplementation is so easily accessible and most people have little to no knowledge about what they are purchasing.
Athletes are the biggest target market when it comes to the myriad of supplement brands out there. These brands appeal to the masses with false promises, excellent marketing strategies and the ever popular attractive imagery of being “better, stronger, faster” etc.
Of course, elite athletes put an incredible amount of stress on their body during their training periods and throughout competitions – these are the guys who need that little bit of an extra boost to their body to help recovery, help with an energy boost or even just a bit of help maintaining their performance condition.
However, supplements are considered an addition to an already healthy diet. Often supplements are introduced to help meet nutritional needs, improve nutrient deficiencies, enhance athletic performance or achieve personal fitness goals. But without a well-designed nutrition plan in place, supplementation is said to be rarely effective.
Very few supplements on the market today are backed by clinical research, meaning that a lot of what is being purchased, is actually doing absolutely nothing for you body. All you are actually doing, is paying for very expensive urine.
So, many of these supplements are guilty of robbing you of your energy. Unless you have actually tested those supplements on your body, you have no idea whether those are enhancing your body or weakening your body.
The end goal of course, is to invest in supplements that GIVE you energy, helping with the process of recovery, energy production, restful sleep and getting the right nutrients to the right organs & tissues at the right time.
So the two supplements one should be looking at are the “Ying” and “Yang” supplements. These are the names used in Chinese medicine that refer to the types of supplementation that put you in a deep state and ones that give you strength, power and energy.
Yang supplements are the supplements that give you that boost & provide that extra energy required for heavy training days or bouts of competition. Examples of these are B Vitamins, Creatine and Pre-Workout formulas that are targeted to strengthen you in a “yang” manner.
Ying supplements do the opposite. These supplements put you into a deep healing state and are vital when it comes to rest & recovery, which is where your body undergoes its adaptations to the training. Examples of these are magnesium, many herbs, herbal formulas and combinations such as zinc, magnesium and B6.
Without knowing more about what you are putting into your body, you could essentially be having the opposite effect as to what you intended. It’s important that one does their research before purchasing any form of supplementation and of course to test those supplements outside of competition season so as to understand the effects it is having on your body.
Let me know in the comments below, what your “go to” supplements are!
Recent Comments