There is hardly any other industry in which nutritional supplements are as widespread as in the fitness industry. Dietary supplements come in a wide variety of forms - powders for mixing are just as common as tablets and drops, while the extra portion of protein is also available in the form of appetizing snacks such as fitness bars or ice cream. But which supplements are actually useful? You can find out here which nutritional supplements you can sell in the gym.
What are nutritional supplements?
Nutritional supplements, or NEM for short, are, as the name suggests, a supplement to the actual food. This means that no one can build muscle or even lose weight just by taking a NEM. The basis should therefore always be a balanced, healthy, varied diet. Nevertheless, dietary supplements can be very useful.
The various NEMs can be divided into certain groups:
- Energy and carbohydrate concentrates
- Protein concentrates
- Performance enhancers and fat burners
- Vitamins
- Minerals and trace elements
- Glutamine
- BCAA
What effect do nutritional supplements have?
Energy and carbohydrate concentrates
Energy concentrates are also successful under the name "weight gainers". Mostly they are offered as powder for mixing or as energy bars. This dietary supplement is extremely high in calories, which means taking it only makes sense if a person has an extremely high total energy requirement per day and cannot cover this energy through their normal diet. The composition of the products is important: The energy contained should come primarily from carbohydrates . These are easily available to the body, the energy is available practically immediately after consumption, whereas fat as an energy carrier provides a slow increase in usable energy. Pure carbohydrate concentrates can replenish the body's glycogen stores after intense or very long endurance exercise . For mountaineers, long-distance runners or triathletes, the intake can be quite useful, but for everyday use in the gym, energy concentrates are rather unsuitable. 39% of all people who visit a gym state weight reduction as their primary goal - so high-calorie supplements are hardly attractive for this target group.
Protein concentrates
Protein concentrates are available in a wide variety of presentation forms. As powder and as bars they are well known, but now there are also yogurts, ice cream and other products that are enriched with proteins to serve as a superfood for athletes. Strength athletes actually have an increased protein requirement if the training goal is to build muscle, but no increased protein requirement can be determined for maintaining existing muscle mass. Endurance athletes also have an increased need for protein; during long periods of exertion, protein is metabolized as an energy source in addition to carbohydrates and fat .
Protein concentrates are in principle suitable for strength and endurance athletes, as well as for people who want to build muscle for the purpose of body shaping. Nevertheless, some caution is called for: Excess protein is metabolized by the body to urea, and in excessive quantities urea can strain the kidneys. Protein concentrates are also not recommended if you have a history of gout.
In any case, when taking artificial protein supplements, care should be taken to drink a sufficient amount of fluids; the additional fluid helps the body to eliminate harmful metabolic products through the urine.
Performance enhancer and fat burner
The advertised effect of most products that promise an increase in performance or even increased fat burning is not scientifically verifiable. Swallow a pill and become slim, beautiful and fit - of course a dream of many people, but reputable suppliers should act with caution here.
Creatine supplements are useful for strength athletes, because creatine delays muscle fatigue and thus more repetitions can be performed during training. This can lead to faster muscle growth.
All other legal, performance-enhancing supplements have no demonstrable effect, nor do weight-loss pills and drops. So, to avoid upsetting your members in the long run, the rule here is: Less is more. Use proven products. Your members should like to train with you, miracle cures without effect can damage the trust in your studio.
Vitamins
Vitamins are vital for the human organism. However, vitamin deficiency is rather rare in industrialized countries. Vitamin B12 is of interest to athletes. This vitamin belongs to the water-soluble vitamins and can only be supplied to the body from the outside. Athletes, as well as pregnant and nursing women, have an increased need for vitamin B12. The vitamin has a variety of tasks in the body and is involved in cell division and in the formation of erythrocytes , it also plays a role in energy production and in the formation of various cellular structures and the myelin sheaths of neurons, as well as in the formation of hormones and neurotransmitters. Most crucial for athletes is the role of vitamin B12 in the formation of erythrocytes, which are responsible for improved oxygen transport and thus performance.
Minerals and trace elements
Trace elements are needed by the body only in very small quantities, they include, for example, iron, iodine and zinc. Minerals include substances such as calcium and magnesium. Athletes have an increased need for these substances; in bodybuilding and weight training, magnesium and zinc in particular have proven to be useful supplements.
Magneisum influences protein metabolism and stimulates the burning of carbohydrates, it is instrumental in the formation of ATP, the energy carrier in the human body, which is needed for muscle contraction. For strength athletes, an amount of 500 mg of magnesium is recommended as a supplement.
Zinc has an antioxidant effect, it promotes wound healing and cell growth and also strengthens the immune system. Zinc can have a stimulating effect on testosterone levels, increasing them by up to 30%. However, small amounts of about 30 mg per day are quite sufficient.
Glutamine
Glutamine is an amino acid, the smallest building block of a protein. It belongs to the amino acids that the body can form itself, so it does not necessarily have to be supplied from the outside.
However, during stress and heavy physical strain, the body's need increases sharply, this need can then no longer be met by the body alone. Glutamine increases the cell volume and promotes the storage of glycogen, in addition, glutamine also promotes the release of growth hormones.
BCAA
BCAA stands for Branched Chain Amino Acids and is an abbreviation for the three amino acids L-Leucine, L-Isoleucine and L-Valine. These amino acids belong to the essential amino acids, which means that the body cannot produce them itself and they must be supplied from the outside.
BCAAs also play a role in glycogen storage in the cell, they also inhibit the breakdown of protein and help accelerate muscle regeneration. For athletes, supplementation via dietary supplements can therefore be useful.
Conclusion
There are thousands of different dietary supplement products on the market. In the gym, you should focus on class instead of mass and rather offer a few, high-quality products with a proven benefit for your members. Protein concentrates, amino acid supplements, creatine, vitamins, minerals and trace elements can have a positive effect on athletes.
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Editors fitnessmarkt.de (DG)
Image credit: AdobeStock_220093332_Shutter2U
Published on: 6 September 2019