I am talking to you! You are being lied to every single day whether you know it or not. Everytime you walk by the newsstand, open a new fitness magazine or begin chatting with the local shoddy trainer you have a really good chance of hearing a fib or two. Well maybe that was a bit harsh. For the sake of karma, I will say that its mostly misguided, outdated or misunderstood information. However, every once in a while it’s blatant, obvious, nasty, freakin’ lies.
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I decided to write this article in lieu of a recent forum discussion I stumbled across about some new, innovative, cutting edge supplements that are about to be released. Keep in mind these supplements are legal and will likely do jack all to change your body composition but will surely burn a hole in your pocket.
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So why is the supplement industry booming if the goods are trash?
How This Works
Magazines and online publications, in most cases, exist for one reason: to educate or to voice the opinions and/or thoughts of the writer/contributors. Then we have certain publications that exist only to sell something. The magazines and outlets I am writing about today are middle of the road regarding these objectives.
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I am sure many of you have read a fitness or bodybuilding magazine during this lifetime or your last. If this rings true, you definitely know all about what I am about to spew forth. You open the front cover and you get a big fat ad staring right at you, usually with a big breasted blond in a bikini top that she borrowed from her kid sister. She usually has some kind of candy bar in her hand or a tub of powder strategically placed in a suggestive area(to grab the attention of the very visual male population).
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You turn a few more pages of ads to locate the table of contents. This usually takes me two or three tries to find it. Finally I can read some articles! Now as you are perusing the(usual) sub par content you have to sift through some more ads in order to get to the bulk of the reading material. Be careful, some of the ads actually look like content but are one huge ad for the newest, and most researched(lie) product to boost your muscle gains by 357.87695%
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Next thing you know the new stuff is released and all the 16-17 year old newbs run to the local supplement shop and drop 100 big ones on useless junk. Sales literally pour in and people make tons of money selling snake oil.
About The Lies
Without hating on the supplement companies too much I think we can all generally agree that most are made to sell. Ever take a second to think of why the same product is not on the shelf for a substantial period of time? It’s simple; they don’t work, therefore people stop buying. The companies have to return to the lab, move some ingredients around, create some really biased studies and/or cherry pick bits and pieces from current studies on a product to prove it “works” and start all over again.
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Then they have to create an entire BS campaign about how it helped Johnny Longnose burn 40lbs of fat and add 40lbs of muscle in 13 days. I guess they aren’t really lying when they place the small font at the very bottom of the page that reads: results not typical, we are full of sh*t.
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The only supplements that have weathered the test of time is creatine, protein, EFA’s ephedrine and other stimulants like caffeine and yohimbe. Heck, protein powder and EFA’s don’t really count since they’re just food, anyway.
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Another reason the supplements sell so well is because the products are being pimped by the grotesque mass monsters who claim they only use NO2(cubed) or whatever supplement is in their hands for the ad. Wouldn’t you really like to know what they are supplementing with!
Message For The Beginners
I know you are seeking that holy grail to get on the fast track from skinny to buff. I understand your needs and wants, believe me. You must first realize that you don’t need a special product or magic potion to reach your goals. You first need knowledge and then some common sense.
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Knowledge – this can be acquired through the study of books(not fancy fitness/bodybuilding magazines) as well as some online resources as well. I suggest you start with Alan Aragon, Lyle McDonald, Tom Venuto, Martin Berkhan and stay away from the typical bodybuilding type crap. It’s not to say that some of the information out there isn’t credible but most of the legit bodybuilding information out there is not going to be suited for beginners anyhow.
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A few more guys I highly admire: Skyler Tanner and Ryan Zielonka. Both of them are great writers and are daily reads of mine. Check their out blogs; they both offer a plethora of information that is both genuine and practical.
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Common Sense – Good sense regarding training and dieting usually comes with a little experience. Having good sense is knowing when to make the right decision when presented with an opportunity to spend your 50 bucks on this bottle of fat loss pills or spend it on quality food. Another example is being able to decide if you should workout or stay in when you are sick. Using your common sense is basically just making sure you remain objective at all costs. No funny business.
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There you have it. Remember you are being lied to everyday, however you have the right to choose who you listen to. What do you think?
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Hey JC,
Great stuff, man. This topic doesn’t get nearly enough uncensored press, but it’s so fundamentally important. I like the way you laid things out for folks who are prone to falling victim to bullshit. And, unfortunately, they make up the majority.
thanks for chiming in Alan.
Glad you enjoyed this piece. I used to be one of those one of those prone to falling for the hype. I remember strolling into the local supplement store looking at all the new fancy stuff on the shelves. I just knew it would make me jacked like Ronnie and Jay. lol!
I hope others reading along heed my words and take a look at what the supplement industry really is all about.
You made the comment “stay objective.” I think I’m going to make a whole blog post about what it is (mind-independent truths) and what it isn’t (worms put in your ear by marketing types). Good stuff.
cool, Skyler. I am looking forward to it!
Whenever I buy a magazine, I go through it and tear off all the pages with advertising on both sides. It makes the articles easier to find, and I don’t get as tempted to buy stuff.
haha, that is awesome! I remember fumbling through them in high school… boy was I naive.
Great post, the fitness magazines are full of so many ‘great’ ways to get the body you want. Yet most of the content in a lot these magazines does nothing more than make your wallet slimmer!
Absolutely! They robbed me of hundreds of dollars right outta high school!
Hey JC, first time posting here. I found out about your blog from Rusty. I love this post and I already forwarded it to my husband who is a supplement junkie. For some reason, he’s just hooked on them and seems to think that supplements will help him with his fitness goals. I guess it would take more than me telling him that most of them are crap
Will be following your blog from now on. More power to you!
Anna
Hey Anna, thanks for sharing the article.
I hope he takes your advice!
Link love at the start of the week, sweet.
There is nothing new under the sun and training, at it’s core, is pretty boring:
1. Do activity.
2. Recover from activity.
3. Repeat a little better/harder/faster/heavier.
The part the people get all fucked up on, and that part that gets newbs so so badly is the often not talked about number 4:
4. Temper yourself and trust the process; none of this happens overnight and that supplement certainly isn’t going to be the magic bullet you’ve been missing.
I’ve been as guilty of number 4 as anyone over the course of my life, so I shout it from the treetops to any trainee curious about results that I meet.
Best,
Skyler
Good stuff, Skyler. I can attest to number 4. I have been guilty of wanting results yesterday; we have all been guilty of that at some point in our journey.
JC,
Thanks for spreading the message! I knew supplements were a waste, but didn’t know how few actually made a difference.
In my free ebook, The Supplement Conspiracy – http://SupplementConspiracy.com/ …I interviewed Brad Pilon (Eat Stop Eat) and John Barban (Adonis Effect)…both of these guys were Heads of R&D of 2 large supplement companies and even they claim that most supplements are a waste.
In fact they say that Creatine is the only proven muscle builder & Ephedrine and Caffeine stack is the only proven fat burner. You don’t need any fancy formulations or anything. The regular stuff that has been selling for years works fine.
I don’t take any supplements at all, nor do I recommend anything…but it is good to know what could help…even if it only makes a slight difference.
Rusty
yea, the only supplements in my arsenal are the ones I mentioned in the article. The only time I will ever take anything different is if it’s free. For instance I just got a few free bottles of yohimbine HCL and beta alanine from TrueProtein as a promotion for my last order. I have heard some interesting things about beta alanine, so figured I would try since it’s free.
JC… awesome post. Found you by way of Rusty over at Fitness Black Book.
Agree with everything you stated in this article and then some. The question people have to ask themselves is “Do the risks outweigh the benefits?”
Do you really know the contents of these substances your ingesting? Damn, I could go till tomorrow about this topic. Great to see another voice of reason has raised their Spokian eyebrow towards this industry pimp!
David, thanx for stopping by.
Most don’t know where they’re ingesting, some don’t care. Look at some of the professional athletes that have died due to substance abuse… sad.
Great post! I try to steer all my readers away from supplements. What is it that makes healthy-leaning people want to pop pills?
that’s easy. most everyone wants a shortcut. simple as that.
He he, that was a rhetorical question but you are definitely right.
oops!
Excellent points, and sadly, I think the ‘lies’ go beyond the advertisements and into the content of the magazines as well.
Often times, in my experience, magazines suggest overly complex diet and exercises regimes and swear you will look like Jason Statham or one of the 300 Spartans if you do exactly as they say.
Unfortunately, most of us won’t because, 1) the article is not specific enough 2) Most of the readers are not a strong enough starting level to turn into a spartan warrior in 3 months no matter how floor wipes they do or how much peanut butter they eat.
…Wheel Spinning is inevitable and miserable.
You are right. most are not at the level necessary to make the transformation they see in the publication.
Then, even if they are, it’s too confusing and complicated that they usually give up within a few weeks anyhow.
There is a lot of money to be made in this industry though, so it will prevail.
…and how about all those crappy ads in the back of the magazine? WTH!?
So, JC, when are you going to start a forum?????
yea, I know what you mean! Crazy stuff right? however I am sure they are big sellers due to them being in there every publication.
Forum? Maybe I should put that on my list?
Yes, it goes on the list. Make it happen!
Two thumbs up for this post.
Hard for skinny guys to not fall into these traps. A lot of marketing muscle behind all that hype. Thanks for helping spread the truth.
Yea, it’s very hard considering all of the fitness fallacies out there.
Cool, I hope the newbs read this one.