Do You Need Supplements to Get Bigger

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So many people out there wonder if they need supplements in order to get bigger, mostly because all of the top fitness models and bodybuilders out there use supplements often many at a time to help them out. This brings into question if one can get a great body without using any supplements and what exactly is the role of supplements in muscle building?

Can you build a great body without supplements?

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Yes you can build a great body without supplements; I can personally tell you that most of the weight I have gained has been without the use of any supplements. I went from about 64kg to 77kg (thats 13kg [28lbs] of weight gain)without using any supplements and then I tried creatine monohydrate for a month and I only gained about 1kg whilst taking creatine that first time (who is to say I would not have gained that 1kg regardless). I recently only bought whey protein so I could increase my protein intake since I felt that some days I was not eating enough protein in my meals, but I could have easily just got some peanut butter and lots of chicken breast instead.  Supplements are not the main factor in weight gain, what is the most important when it comes to gaining muscle is that you lift challenging weights consistently, and the second part is that you eat a balanced diet with enough protein to build and repair muscle but also to maintain any muscle mass you have. A lot of the muscle gain has to do with whether you are in a caloric deficit or a caloric surplus, obviously if you want to gain muscle and general size which won’t be 100% muscle you have to eat more calories than your maintenance calories. I talk about the Bar Brothers a lot on this blog because they are great example of what’s possible without supplements and without a gym or weights, they prove that all you really need to build a great body is some form of consistent resistance training ,to eat enough and to eat well, it’s really that simple.
Do you need whey protein and creatine to build big muscles
Supplements I am currently using whey protein and creatine monohydrate

What do supplements do for you?

So I will start off by defining what a supplement is so we get a clear understanding that they are not a replacement of a good diet but are meant to support a good diet and workout program.

Supplement – is something that completes or enhances something else when added to it.
Supplement – a substance taken to remedy the deficiencies in a person’s diet.

So by this definition you use supplements to cover up for anything you feel is lacking or to improve something for example there is creatine in food we eat (meat) but it’s not in high quantities so we supplement with creatine monohydrate or creatine ethyl ester in order to increase the amount of creatine in our body. I said above that I recently bought whey protein because I felt that on some days I was not eating enough protein, so you could say I am using the supplement whey protein to “remedy the deficiencies” in my diet.

The general use of supplements is to make more energy available, to make your gym sessions last longer, to make conditions in your body support muscle building and recovery, to make you stronger and to boost your natural muscle building hormones etc.

Should you get supplements?

If you have the money, I say why not? If you do not have the extra money I say don’t worry about it, you do not need supplements they only provide an advantage, they are a want not a need. What you need to get bigger is resistance training and proper nutrition which I have been stressing throughout this post. Some supplements are over hyped in my opinion and they are just a waste of money, an example I would say is creatine X4 vs creatine monohydrate powder, I personally tried both and feel like you are just wasting money buying the more expensive X4 when I feel both work just the same when one is advertised to be more effective (if there are any differences in performance I feel they are so small that they are unrecognisable). Also I feel that often supplements have a placebo effect in that even if some don’t really work you would not know because you would be convinced that since you are taking a certain supplement you should be stronger and end up feeling stronger regardless of whether it’s the supplements or your mind making you feel stronger.

Oh and one more thing I mentioned bar brothers earlier so here they are doing their thing

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