FAQ- Supplements
This page will go over some of the frequently asked questions that I get about supplements. If you have a specific question not listed here please post it on the forum.
What is a supplement?
A supplement is something you take in order to ‘supplement’ your diet with. You may be missing certain vitamins, minerals, amino acids, protein, and taking a supplement will help fill that nutritional void.
Do I need supplement(s)?
Absolutely! There are 3 I recommend for everybody which I get into in the next FAQ, but it is virtually impossible for a person to get all of the nutrients that they need daily just through diet alone. We need to consume 13 vitamins, 70 minerals and trace minerals, 12 amino acids, and 3 essential fatty acids daily. The average diet does not even come close to supply this, especially when most people eat processed crap and very few fruits and vegetables.
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What supplements do you recommend?
The 3 supplements I recommend are a multi-vitamin/mineral supplement, a essential fatty acid (EFA) supplement, a vitamin D supplement.
With the vitamin it needs to be whole foods based other wise you are just throwing money away with synthetic brands. The EFA is basically fish oil.
The 2 that I recommend come from our partners Prograde Nutrition. The vitamin/mineral supplement is call VGF 25+. It comes in both men’s, women’s and children’s formula (chewable).
The EFA supplement is called EFA Icon. It is krill based oil rather then fish, so you won’t get any of those unwanted fish burps (nasty). Plus the benefits are even greater then regular fish oil.
I started taking both in April 2008 and within 2-weeks noticed a huge change in both the way I felt and performed.
Vitamin D is one of the biggest deficiencies we face. If you live in the United States and were to draw a line from San Francisco to Virginia Beach, VA, everybody that lives north of that line does not get enough sunlight during the winter months. The majority of people are deficient in it and don’t even know it. It’s best to get tested, but if not just know that the more north you live, or the darker your skin, then the more you are going to need it.
Please make sure you are taking a vitamin D supplement that includes vitamin K2 as well. As use a liquid vitamin for it and take it 2-3 times a day.
What is Prograde Nutrition?
Prograde Nutrition was started by two fitness professionals. Jim Labadie and Ryan Lee, who were fed up with the traditional nutritional products for their clients.
Before Prograde, there were essentially two choices for fitness professionals.
– “Vitamin” stores with pushy sales people selling products people don’t need
– Cheap supplements with poor quality ingredients
Jim and Ryan wanted to do something very simple…
Create the highest-quality nutritional supplements for their clients at reasonable prices – without hard-sell.
So the first thing they did was recruit world-class nutritionist Jayson Hunter (who Yun Strength and Fitness Systems has partnered with) to head up research and development. Then gave Jayson free reign to create the perfect supplements that work.
No fluff and no confusing, unnecessary “stacks.” Just the basics that will give their clients results – period!
Then Jim and Ryan did something unheard of.
To make sure there were no unqualified people recommending their products to people who don’t need it (just to make a buck), they took a big risk.
They decided only qualified health and fitness professionals could recommend Prograde products. That’s it.
So if you want only the highest quality nutritional supplements that really work – then you have found the right place in Prograde Nutrition.
Some supplements are really cheap and others are expensive for the exact same product. Why is that?
It’s not the same product. The ingredients in the supplement is what makes it effective. There are no regulatory organizations that govern over the supplement industry so they can pretty much do what they want, and make outlandish claims.
If something is really cheap there is a reason why. You get what you pay for applies towards supplements as well as many other things. Always read the ingredients. And do your own research. Make sure there is a money back guarantee if the product doesn’t work.
I’ve tried supplements before and it didn’t work? Why not?
Before I answer that please understand that supplements are not a magic pill. If your diet sucks, the supplement will too. Even if the supplement has worked for millions of other people.
You cannot eat crap all day and then take a supplement and expect magical things to happen to your body.
Some people think that if they workout but not change there diet they’ll have their dream body in no time…. NO! That’s not how it works– the same thing with supplements.
They supplement your diet, they don’t replace it.
So if your diet sucks, then fix that first before buying any supplement. And I guarantee you will notice a change in how you feel for the better.
Another reason supplements might not have worked for you is you didn’t give it enough time. For instance glucosamine/MSM supplements that support and help joint and ligament health can take up to 6 months before you start noticing anything.
What other supplements do you recommend?
Here is a video I made of the supplements that I recommend: (This video will be updated soon)
I stand by all of Prograde Nutrition’s products. My favorite other then the vitamin and EFA is their post-workout recovery shake Workout. You need to be eating or drinking something after your bootcamp or online workouts. Post-workout nutrition is the second most important meal of the day.
For a casein protein I use Optimum Nutrition brand protein. Since the video I have changed to a natural casein from Musclefeast.com to get away from the added sugar at night.
For whey protein I use Natural Whey from musclefeast.com. Natural is the best, it mixes with everything with no added flavors or sugars or artificial sweeteners.
If you cannot consume dairy based supplements (whey or casein protein) I recommend Sun Warrior Supplements. They are vegan based company.
I also use pure egg protein. Which is a dried egg white protein powder from sportprotein.com.
Other brands of Essential Fatty Acids that I have heard were also good are Udo’s Essential Oils and Nordic Naturals.
I do not recommend soy protein powders. I do not recommend soy in the diet unless it is fermented like tempeh or miso, and then I only recommend it in extreme moderation. Otherwise I would say completely eliminate soy from the diet.
What about fat burners or weight loss pills?
I’m not a fan. If it is 100% natural, with all natural ingredients then I would say ‘yes’, the one my clients use and get the best results from is Prograde Metabolism. Although I have not used this supplement, the ingredients are all natural.
Losing fat and weight comes down to a simplified formula- Eat a wholesome, nutritious diet, workout hard, and get plenty of rest and sleep. So if you are not doing this don’t think about getting one of these.
Meal Programs
I’m sure you have seen the commercials or at least heard of and maybe even tried one of the more popular brands like Weight Watchers, NutriSystem, Jenny Craig, Medifast, etc….. A lot of their food contains carb fillers that are processed and taste like junk. We want more natural whole foods.
As of right now we only recommend one type of meal program. And that program is the Personal Trainer Food. Personal Trainer Food was created by a former personal trainer for personal trainers. All the food is is a protein and vegetable. The food comes from a farm that also delivers to a farmers market. You can check out the Meal Movement here.
There is a webinar I created about it as well. You can register for the Personal Trainer Food Webinar here.
