3 Supplements Everyone Needs (ft. Coach Marissa)
September 11, 2017I wear multiple “hats” at River to River Fitness..coach, manager, media director to name a few. One of my favorite roles is nutrition counseling, and last month with the addition of goal sessions/body composition testing to our our list of services at R2R, I was blessed with a lot of time to talk shop in educating people on how to begin making better choices.
It’s my belief that fitness and good health is a path worked inside out, meaning it all starts with what you put in your body. What you think, how you feel..and most important what you eat. If you’ve had a conversation with me about food you will know my mantra..”you can never out train a bad diet”. I don’t promote a ton of supplements because I would rather see you get what you need from whole foods, however I will always recommend these three supplements to anyone on the road to better health.
- PROTEIN
An in depth explanation of the many types of proteins on the market is a great article for the next coach writing content 🙂 Typically you’ll see most athletes using a whey isolate protein powder. Protein is extremely important for the growth and repair of muscle tissue. Research has proven that taking protein before and after workouts is the best way to spark new muscle growth, speed muscle tissue repair, and gain more lean muscle than ever before. Pure isolate whey proteins are the ideal way to do this because they contain key muscle building amino acids. Standard recommendations fall something along the lines of .5-1 g of protein per pound of bodyweight per day. As far as brands go, I recommend finding one that is easy to digest and your system (and your budget) tolerates, keeping in mind that quality does matter.
- FISH OIL
I’m sure most of us have already heard the benefits of fish and fish oil, the biggest benefit being that it helps provide DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid), two crucial fatty acids that help our keep our brain functioning properly. Issues with depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder have been treated with fish oil. Omega 3’s are renowned for their abilities to improve cellular health with benefits ranging from lowering cholesterol, improving cardiovascular and heart health, boosting mood and elevating alertness and for their anti inflammatory effects. (#r2rtipsandtricks Fishy “burps” and mild gastrointestinal issues are a common complaint for many who are new to taking fish oil or are using large doses. This is because fish oil can be difficult to digest. A quick remedy for this is to leave the supplement in the freezer overnight to slow down its release into the stomach, or buy a supplement with an enteric coating which will keep it from being released into the stomach.
*CAUTION-Fish oil may interact with a number of medications including blood thinners and diabetes medications. Always best to check with your doctor or pharmacist first.
- BCAA’s
Branched Chain Amino Acids aren’t the sexiest supplement out there. They don’t hype you up with stimulants before a workout, they can’t promise to rid your body of fat and they definitely don’t serve as a post workout protein snack. What they do is small and relatively unseen in just one workout. However, taken daily-it’s those changes over a long period of time that make a BIG difference.
We train to build bigger, stronger muscles, but do you know how the building process works? Resistance training triggers protein synthesis, a signal that tells our body to use proteins to construct new muscle tissue. Supplementing with BCAA’s during and after resistance training can actually increase the signaling of protein synthesis, which means more muscle growth! Even without resistance training BCAA’s can aid in the preservation of lean tissue and help prevent fat gain.
Hopefully if you were one of the first “waves” of goal setting attendees, that provided a little more follow up on some of the points we discussed. For those that haven’t gotten a chance to make their appointment yet-message us on facebook and we can take care of that for you. And stayed tuned for an upcoming “Sample Week” as we launch products from Driven Nutrition.
For any other ways we can assist you in reaching your goals, drop me a message at marissa@mygymisdifferent.com
Committed to your success,
Marissa Oliver
Manager/Head Coach
River to River Fitness, Paducah
