There is plenty of information available on the internet about working out and supplements. Some of the pieces of information are contradictory, while others are flat out lies. Some pieces of information are also difficult to understand.

In short, the information available online about workout supplements like the best alternative to steroids can be confusing especially to amateur gym-goers and athletes. This blog post tries to clear some of that confusion up.

By the end of it, you should know the real truth about working out and supplements. This should enable you to easily decide whether or not to take them.

Supplements work if taken correctly

This is the first thing you need to know as a rookie athlete or gym goer: supplements work. So do not be discouraged by stories of failure you may see on blogs or social media post. Because for every story of failure, you can find ten or more stories of success.

So supplements do work and can be brilliant for amateur athletes. They can boost your strength, agility, and performance significantly. But there is a caveat: you have to take them correctly for them to work.

How do you do this?

Check fact three below for information.

Workout supplements are not steroids

As an athlete, it is natural that you want to avoid steroids or similar dangerous stuff. After all, they will get you banned from competitive sports. However, you also have to understand that working out and supplements are very different from steroids.

While supplements are made of natural ingredients such as BCAAs, carbs, glutamine, essential amino acid, and whey protein, steroids are simply biologically active chemicals/ hormones.

Considering that supplements are mostly natural, they do not normally cause side effects. Steroids, on the other hand, mimic natural hormones and can, therefore, cause severe and sometimes embarrassing side effects.

So you can take workout supplements because they are not steroids; hence they are neither banned from sports nor dangerous to use.

Fitness supplements are not magical pills

This needs to be said over and over again. You cannot just take supplements and expect to gain power, speed, endurance, strength, agility, or muscles overnight.

The reason why is because supplements are just that; supplements. They are supplementation of the nutrients/ ingredients you need more in your diet.

The only way you can benefit fully from working out and supplements is by doing four things: taking the right amount of supplements; training hard like a maniac; eating a well-balanced diet; staying hydrated throughout the day; and getting enough rest.

Focusing on just one of the four things will prevent you from enjoying the maximum benefits of the supplement you are taking.

Contrary to some widely held beliefs, workout supplements are very legal. Nobody cares whether you take them or not in the Western World and pretty much in the rest of the world.

Workout supplements are also considered legal in sports. Even if you have a look at the list of banned substances by WADA (the World Anti-Doping Agency), which is a part of the IOC (International Olympic Committee), you are unlikely to find supplements banned there.

Why? Because supplements are natural and do not provide you with a very significant or unnatural advantage over the athletes who do not take them.

Taking supplements is unlikely to make you sick

This fact should be pretty clear to most people but unfortunately, it is not.

Many people fear supplements. And when you ask them why they will tell you about the side effects of steroids. As you now know, workout supplements are not steroids. Thus, they cannot cause side effects linked to steroid use.

Moreover, working out and supplements are natural like food. So your body will just break them down like the food you eat every day. No headaches, no nothing.

Besides, many big supplement brands nowadays make their products from organic, non-GMO, and lactose-free ingredients. So they are safe even for those who are hyper allergenic.

Both male and female athletes can take workout supplements

There is a long-held belief or assumption that only men can take workout supplements. This may have been true in the past but not now.

In the past, the supplements were made with all manner of ingredients including steroids and hormones that could be harmful to both men and women. However, things are no different.

Supplements in the Western World are now generally made by professionals in approved facilities. So they are less likely to be contaminated or to cause dangerous side effects.

Moreover, there are now many workout supplements specifically made for women. They boost performance, strength, and endurance naturally without resulting in masculine features or severe side effects.

Not all workout supplements are the same

As an athlete, you have to be very careful about the supplement brands you are buying. For instance, a protein from brand X may not be the same as protein from brand Y or Z.

This may be pretty obvious to some of you from the fact that the ingredient lists for both products may be different. However, what you should be more concerned about is what is not disclosed.

Some brands put prohibited substances in their supplements and do not disclose the ingredient on the labels. Others do not provide the benefits they claim to provide because they simply do not have the ingredients they claim to have.

So only buy or use working out and supplements from renowned brands, only. Why? Because popular brands make are effective and are less likely to contain undisclosed ingredients.

Final Word

Supplements are a great addition to your diet if you are working out. Regular gym-goers and athletes can use them to boost performance naturally. However, you must note that some of them are better than others.

The real good brands are safe, natural, effective, and are perfect for use by sportsmen and women. So don’t hold yourself back if you are interested. Try the right supplements today. You won’t regret it.