Raul Rivera

Many young people feel that it takes more than weights to get the workout results they desire. Not so, says Alex Littlehales

At the local gym, I was going through a basic set of exercises that even the most beginning weight lifters would recognize. Then, strolling in like a flock of upright crickets, came four incredibly skinny teenagers, each holding a liquid-filled bottle of their own. Since they were the loud, obnoxious type of gym members, I couldn’t help but overhear them brag about the different types of supplements that filled their bottles. This included: Creatine, NO-Explode, BCAA’s, Mass Gainer, Whey Protein, and Casein Protein. First, they asked me how to do the simplest of gym exercises: the Bench Press. After each member put up embarrassing weight on the bench press, the flock left the gym before the gym radio finished its song.

The Problem: “Everybody wants to be famous, but nobody wants to put the work in”. The same logic applies here, today’s generation of adolescent weight lifters are looking at these supplements as an easy way out. Without knowing the fundamentals of proper weight training, teenagers by the waves are literally buying into all these supplements in hopes that they will magically make them stronger and more appealing to their friends. But at what cost?

The big problem I have with the sudden supplement craze is the sense of false advertising. These health companies are advertising their products as if the only way to become athletically advanced is to take their products. This, unfortunately, leads to a thought process that promotes the intake of supplements, rather than elbow grease and determination, to obtain muscles.  You can’t just take these products and magically expect to see results within week’s time. Especially if you don’t understand proper form and weight lifting technique, which was clearly lost on this particular group of boys.

Let me be the first to say: There is nothing wrong with taking these types of supplements. Creatine is a natural supplement found in the body that can increase weight and reps. NO-Explode can help relieve pre-workout grogginess. Whey and Casein Proteins are perfectly safe methods of building muscle without the fear of muscle plateau. Even Mass Gainers can help the stickiest of sticks build some solid muscle. Pro athletes often use these supplements to obtain peak levels of strength, stamina, and speed.

That being said, when taken without proper caution, these same products can potentially be damaging to your overall health as your body develops. Too much of the intra-workout protein supplement BCAA’s, can cause liver and kidney damage later on in life, due to their potent protein content. Pre-workouts can lead to an inability to naturally produce energy, as people become dependent on the supplements caffeine intake. In fact, several heart attack deaths have been linked to the overdose of simple pre-workouts such as NO-Explode and C4. Even the relatively safe, natural proteins such as whey have been linked to cases of growth plate deterioration, which in layman’s terms means unnecessary shortness.

The Solution: The solution to this gross epidemic can be answered by the simple acronym K.I.S.S: Keep it simple, stupid. Eat the food pyramid; it’s there for a reason! To drop weight, burn more calories than you ingest. To gain mass, eat more than your caloric intake while still adhering to the food pyramid. Eat five smaller meals a day, it’s better for the digestive system and keeps you from snacking. Drink chocolate milk before a workout, it has natural and simple sugars that your body can easily turn into energy, and it’s all natural. The body can only process 35 grams of protein per hour, so a simple high protein/ low carb meal is the perfect post workout food.

The era of hardworking gym aficionados like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone is apparently over. Instead it has been replaced by a wave of fitness ignorant hooligans who will ingest anything, if it even claims to create results. I will attempt to be at the forefront of the all-natural method of working out; I suggest you join me. Your 50-year-old body will someday thank me.