Answer Fitness®: Practical Fitness Advice for Everyone

Bodybuilding Supplements: Do They Really Work? | Ask The Fitness Nerd

Do bodybuilding supplements really work, or are they just a waste of good money? The Fitness Nerd dissects body building supplements.

Dear Fitness Nerd,

I have a question: 

I’m 41 years old, and workout 5 days a week. I use a lot of bodybuilding supplements and spend a lot of money on them.

Unfortunately, I’m not gaining muscle like I want.

Currently, I take Masstech protein 2x a day. But I’ve also tried  Anabolic Pump, NoXplode, SuperPump 250, Universal Animal Stak, Size One, and Vitrix. But I don’t see many results.  Am I  doing something wrong? Can you help me on it? Thanks — Gleidson

Thanks for the question Gleidson.

I’m afraid that what you just discovered is probably discovered every day by countless bodybuilders and fitness buffs who are hoping to get an edge at the gym by downing expensive shakes, powders and pills.

Just browse the myriad of bodybuilding supplement discussion boards out there and you’ll find plenty of mixed opinions on whether supplements actually result in better performance at the gym. Some people swear by them, others shrug their shoulders and say all supplements give you is really expensive pee.

it’s often hard to sort out what really works, versus how many of the reported results are just the product of the placebo effect.   

While there are some supplements out that may be effective for helping more highly-conditioned trainees overcome plateaus, unfortunately, the majority of bodybuilding supplements and sports supplements marketed in fitness and bodybuilding magazines (and increasingly, online) are more sizzle than substance.

Bodybuilding Supplements: Big Demand, Big Promises … and Big Money

The first thing to realize is that bodybuilding supplements are a huge business.  

In 2007, sales of sports, diet and bodybuilding supplements — as well as energy/sports drinks and specialty diet foods —  topped $19.6 billion. That’s a lot of dough. So there is plenty of demand out there and lots of money to be had. With all that blood in the water, it’s bound to attract sharks, unfortunately.

The second thing to understand is that supplement manufacturers have figured out what nearly every other good direct marketer has discovered: That people want quick fixes. And they are capitalizing on that.

The idea that you can down a shaker of “clinically-formulated” protein powder, or the latest NOS booster and suddenly build that beach body or killer physique is very attractive. I mean, if it really worked, who wouldn’t do it?

And supplement manufacturers pull out all of the stops and use every clever trick in the book to make you really believe that they’ve cracked the code to “insane anabolic pumps” — whatever the hell that actually means.

Anatomy of a Bodybuilding Supplement Ad

There is a pretty standard formula to marketing bodybuilding and fitness supplements, whether those supplements promise to help you burn fat and get “ripped” or help you add pounds of lean mass fast.

Continue reading Bodybuilding Supplements: Do They Really Work? | Ask The Fitness Nerd…

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

The Fitbit: Pedometer on Steroids? | Exercise Equipment & Gadgets

Will the Fitbit change the way you look at diet and exercise and give the lowly pedometer a run for it’s money?

Watch out pedometer, you’re about to have some new competition from Fitbit.

It’s called the Fitbit Tracker and its inventors are hoping that it will change the way people view activity, exercise, diet and sleep.

FitBit is the brainchild of entrepreneurs Eric Friedman and James Park. The company recently debuted the Fitbit Tracker and supporting website at the TechCrunch 50 conference in San Francisco, a yearly event that allows entrepreneurs and start-ups to pitch their products to investors and the media. I caught wind of the FitBit through a colleague who attended the event.

The Fitbit: Better Than a Pedometer

Here’s how it works:

Like a pedometer, the Fitbit Tracker is a small wireless device  (about the size of a small pack of matches) that you can clip to your belt, pocket, pants, shirt, bra or wrist. The device uses motion sensing technology to precisely capture moment-to-moment physical activity across the day and night — things like steps taken, distance, exercise intensity, calories burned and sleep. The Fitbit Tracker then automatically transfers the data via a wireless connection to your home computer, where you can see a holistic view of your activity via a website.

While the Fitbit Tracker does all of the things that a traditional pedometer would do, it adds a new twist by also tracking your sleep — or lack thereof. This is an interesting concept, since a flurry of recent research has shown that sleep quantity and quality can have significant impact not only on your energy levels, but also your weight and life expectancy.  

The use of wireless to automatically connect your Fitbit Tracker to your computer and upload your activity information to the Fitbit website is particularly ingenious. 

One of the reasons many people don’t consistently keep track of their activity levels is because the process of recording that information is manual and tedious. Even if you’ve ditched the traditional paper exercise log or journal for an online health and fitness tracking site like TheDailyPlate.com, Diettv.com or FitDay, you still have to manually enter your information each day. And you are still tied to a paper log at the gym.

While the Fitbit Tracker won’t keep track of details like exercises performed, reps, sets and weight; it will help you more accurately record and track your calories-burned during these activities. And more importantly, it makes transferring this data to your tracking site a breeze.

Continue reading The Fitbit: Pedometer on Steroids? | Exercise Equipment & Gadgets…

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Free Printable Workout Log | Exercise & Training Logs

Use This Free Printable Workout Log To Keep Track of Your Exercise and Fitness Training & Progress in the Gym

Keeping a regular workout log or exercise log sheet is one of the best ways to make sure that you are constantly making progress toward your fitness and exercise goals in the gym.

Regardless of your goals or fitness experience, recording your workouts, cardio, and weight training in a daily exercise log can help you make sure that you are always moving forward in beating your last workout, as well as let you identify possible sticking points in your training before you hit a wall or plateau.

As I’ve mentioned before in previous articles, one of the seven habits of highly fit people is that they keep a log of their workouts and exercise to not only make sure they are always progressing, but also to hold themselves accountable. Writing down your daily exercise in a log makes you mindful of what you are doing and allows you to review your progress after each workout or training session. It also let’s you build on each subsequent workout, so that you are always pushing yourself a little harder each time you hit the gym.

Why I Created This Free Workout Log

There are a number of free printable workout and exercise logs available on the Internet, as well as some excellent exercise logs that can be purchased at your local bookstore. However, after taking a look at the dozens of free blank exercise log sheets available on the web, I generally found that they didn’t treat exercise holistically enough.

Most of the workout logs used the generic Exercise/Weight/Reps/Sets formatting, and didn’t take into account other key factors that you need to keep track of, including rest periods, pre-and-post workout nutrition, training and fitness goals, sleep, duration of exercise and mind-body factors. All of these variables can impact your training performance and progress, regardless of whether you are a beginner or an advanced bodybuilder.

I also found that the formatting and visual presentation of most free printable workout logs left something to be desired. Having kept regular exercise logs for nearly five years, I know first hand the usability factors that can impact how easy it is for a person to consistently and effectively keep an exercise or workout log in a busy gym environment. 

Continue reading Free Printable Workout Log | Exercise & Training Logs…

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Should I Count Calories? | Diet and Nutrition

Counting calories can help you identify weak links in your diet. Learn how and when to calorie count without going crazy.

Few topics generate more debate then whether counting calories is an effective strategy for long-term fat loss.

The anti-calorie counting camp says that obsessing on calories alone can cause people to ignore the nutritional composition of their diet, and continue to eat unhealthy even if they are eating fewer calories. They’ll also point out that counting calories accurately and consistently can be a tedious and time-consuming activity, and may actually de-motivate people to eat healthier.

The pro-calorie counting side, advocates will point out that without having a good idea of how many calories you are consuming each day, it can be difficult to lose fat and avoid hitting fat loss plateaus later on. And because most people underestimate how many calories they are actually eating, counting calories can help provide a reality check.

So what should you do? Count calories or not count calories?

Continue reading Should I Count Calories? | Diet and Nutrition…

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Six Great Reasons To Keep an Exercise Log

Keeping an exercise log can help you stay on track with your fitness and diet goals.  Learn the six reasons why you need one.

Making progress toward your health, diet and fitness goals isn’t easy … especially if you aren’t keeping track of that progress. One of the seven healthy habits of highly-fit people is that they keep a log of their exercise (and often, diet) in order to keep themselves accountable.

But are exercise logs really necessary? Can’t you just keep track of your workouts in your head?

Check out these six reasons for keeping an exercise log or journal and decide for yourself:

Reason #1: Exercise Logs Let You Measure Progression

One of the basic principles of weight training is progression.

During each additional workout you need to challenge yourself to overload the muscle a little more than the last workout.  Depending on your goals, this progressive overload will continuously strengthen the muscle, increase endurance, size or a combination of the three.

However, if you don’t know how much weight you used, the number of repetitions or how many sets of a given exercise you performed, it becomes very difficult to consistently overload the muscle and make progress.

By keeping detailed notes of your exercises, the order in which they were performed in, the weight used, repetitions, sets and rest periods, you’ll always know exactly what you did in your previous workout. This will help you make sure that your next workout is slightly different and slightly more challenging than the last.

Continue reading Six Great Reasons To Keep an Exercise Log…

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!