I live in Columbus and recently made the yearly journey to the Arnold Expo. It is something that I do, without fail, almost each and every year. After leaving the Expo this year, I found myself asking just what does the Arnold Expo exemplify; what does it portray?
After doing a thorough sweep of the expo area, one can't help but notice that the vast majority of the booths are supplement companies. What are these companies selling you ask? Well, it's typically the same stuff just in different packaging - protein powders, thermogenics, various combinations of amino acids, and meal-replacement drinks and bars. As a science-based person who values objectivity, I couldn't help but feel like I was in the midst of the biggest group of scammers known to man.
Research has proven - over and over - that the majority of supplements, whether it's vitamins/minerals, protein powders, amino acids, etc., do absolutely nothing to improve performance or muscle size in humans. Just because you have a friend who said that he feels different or has gotten better "pumps" while taking something, does not automatically equate to something that is effective.
There is something known as the placebo effect and many, many people fall prey to this. If you're an individual and you've just spent $100 of your hard-earned money on some supplement, you're already making the assumption that it is going to work. One hundred dollars is a lot of money to spend on something, therefore you've already made the assumption that the supplement is going to be worthwhile - otherwise you would never have purchased it. So now you're taking a supplement that you're convinced is going to work and, more than likely, you're going to train a little harder and get a little more sleep. Do all of the extra steps that you may not normally due to ensure that you see the gains that this supplement is going to give you. Sound familiar?
Many times the trainee trains harder (which is the stimulus for muscle growth and adaptations) and this explains the results that he/she gets.
Think about it: if there was some special supplement that one could take that could noticeably increase muscle growth, strength, or lower body fat, don't you think the scientific community would stand up and take notice?
The one supplement that has stood the test of time and been thoroughly scrutinized is creatine monohydrate. While effective, it's not a wonder supplement. For anyone seeking additional size and strength, I recommend sensible doses of creatine monohydrate.
There are a handful of other supplements out there that are always on the fringe of legality. Pro hormones fall into this category. Do they work? Perhaps, but do you really want to be playing around with your hormonal system? The hormonal system is very, very complicated and your body has safeguards in place so that if the levels of one hormone become elevated, then other hormones will become altered as well. Ask yourself if you really want to screw up your own perfectly functioning body in an effort to add another two or three pounds of muscle. Additionally, ask yourself what happens when you stop taking that supplement. If the increase in muscle is because or hormonal manipulation, then once you stop taking that supplement/pro-hormone, then your gains will disappear as well. Lastly, many of these pro-hormones have been banned from being sold.
The research that is out there has clearly shown that the average American gets an excess amount of protein in their diet every day, yet the average trainee thinks that they need to overdose on expensive protein powders. There are several studies out there but they all show that between 60 to 90 grams A DAY for the average male trainee is adequate.
Muscle is largely water (in upwards of 70%) and the rest being fat and protein. Using the supplement company's logic, one should be gulping down gallons and gallons of water, right? Taking in additional protein does nothing for you and it simply gets stored as body fat. Poorly designed studies funded by supplement companies don't count as valid research. It counts as junk science that is designed to deceive you.
How much muscle are you adding on a weekly basis? If you're like most trainees, I would venture to say that you're gaining negligible to zero muscle on a weekly basis. Does it really make sense that one would need to ingest mega-doses of protein to merely maintain or to build very small amounts of muscle? Question what you read in the magazines for they will deceive you. They've been doing it for forty years. They won't be changing anytime soon.
If you doubt much of what I say, then just try to find research showing that ingesting protein levels above the RDA has any benefit. Like I said before, poorly conducted, flawed research conducted by TwinLab or Weider does not count. There is science and then there is pseudoscience. One must be aware of the distinction.
One more thing: look at the pictures of the weight lifters and bodybuilders back in the 1940's and 1950's. This was an era where supplements were non-existant. Don't forget that muscle-buidling drugs were not yet around either. The muscularity that these men displayed has to be seen to be believed. Great genetics, yes; protein supplements and drugs; no. As a matter of fact, anyone who trained in those days hardly ever read an article about nutrition. They simply ate three square meals a day and then trained. Simple as that.
The main issue that one misses in the supplement picture is this: it is not the supplement that is going to cause growth; an item added to one's diet is not going to cause an adaptive response like this. It is only high-intensity training that will stimulate growth sufficiently. Instead of wasting another $100 dollars on the latest supplement put out by some company, you should re-evaluate your training. Are you training hard enough so that you're stimulating muscle growth?
If you think that you are indeed training hard enough then are you getting enough rest in between workouts? Going in and blitzing a muscle with 5 or 10 sets and then doing it again in two or three days is overkill. Your muscles have to be stimulated and then given rest for the adaptations to occur.
Instead of looking to expensive supplements that have no scientific basis, instead look to your training and see what can be done to improve it. Are you doing 5 sets? If so, why? If you're doing 5, then why not 6? If 6, then why not 8? I will tell you, without any hesitation, that if you're doing multiple sets then you're not training as hard as you think you are. Don't deceive yourself: if you do a single set to failure then you will not be capable of doing another set. The research is out there - a single set taken to failure is just as beneficial as doing multiple sets. I would argue that it's superior because a single set takes less time and produces less wear-and-tear than multiple sets. I'll address that at a later time.
Don't forget how prevalent drug use is in the world of health and fitness. Just because a top athlete promotes something does not mean that it works (drug use and genetics are the primary reason that they are where they're at). Many athletes are paid for their endorsements. Don't assume that something works just because Mr. Olympia or some guy in a MuscleTech add says it does. Honesty and integrity are sorely missing in the world of health and fitness. Remember that.
After making the rounds at the Arnold Expo I couldn't help but feel that the industry as whole is completely rotten. When looking for training advice you're told that more is better and that if your current routine doesn't work...well, wait for the newest Muscular Development article and that will surely give you amazing results. When asking for nutritional advice you're barraged with tons of ads trying to sell you the latest whey protein and thermogenics. Common sense and decency has all but left the world of health and fitness.
People always ask why I don't sample the many supplements that the vendors are handing out. This answer is very simple: the amount of contaminants, carcinogens, and illegal drugs that are found in these supplements is shocking (http://www.supplementgenius.com/2009/09/15/top-25-worst-supplement-scams-2009/). Of course not all supplements companies have impurities but you would be shocked to find that many do. Lead, thyroid medication, anabolic steroids, anti-depressants are just a few that are routinely found in supplements. Wonder why the DEA has been raiding supplement company after supplement company lately? I certainly don't trust any of the fly-by-night companies that inhabit the Arnold Classic to watch out for my safety.
Aside from the unscrupulous vendors at the Arnold Expo (primarily talking about the supplement vendors) you're left with people walking around half-naked in 30 degree weather. One is left wondering what kind of self-esteem issue some of these people have where they force themselves to walk around uncomfortably for the sake of being able to show off body parts. I won't even begin to talk about the women who walk around looking like strippers. How proud their parents must be.
What could be something that epitomizes health and fitness has degenerated into a freak-show populated with she-males and men with so much muscle that they appear to be ready to drop dead at any moment - and they sometimes do. Thank God for the normal people that walk around the Expo, for if it wasn't for them it would truly look like a carnival side-show in there.
What does the Arnold Expo epitomize? Illegal Drug use. Cosmetic surgery. Pseudo-science. Charlatans. Unhealthy activities. Did I leave anything off?
