It's strange to me that after watching the supplement industry for 35 years, nothing really comes out of it in terms of muscle gain and fat loss. This is why I do not take these shill pills. It's the same rhetoric from company to company. Don't get me wrong, I use creatine and a few vitamins and minerals but all the other **** is just bogus..... Well, let me retract the last statement. I have run FD2 from BLR and loved the way it helped with blood glucose and nutrient partitioning but that effect only lasted a few months and stopped.
My 2 cents
Why do you think I haven't released a single muscle building (i.e., "anabolic") product since I opened 5 years ago?
I do think some of these products can help, but as a steroid user, the effects seem so mild relative to the money spent, that I haven't been convinced to release one...even though there is profit to be made. Despite this, this class of supplements is still the best selling in the industry (outside of protein powders). Drug-free lifters are so desperate to get bigger that they'll spend tons of money for a teeny-tiny increase in results. I've known drug-free guys who've spent $1,000's on muscle building supps, and years later, they're still basically the same size. Maybe they gained a few pounds, but it's not really noticeable to the casual observer.
Many users of natural supps don't really know how to effectively train and eat. If they did, they would be a lot bigger. I started training at age 14, but by 21 years old, I never got above roughly 170 lbs because I never dedicated myself to intelligent training and diet. Then, when I was 22, I made a choice. I decided to go all in, but no drugs yet. In a period of 12 weeks, I went from 167 to 208 lbs, which was a gain of 31 lbs. 31 lbs in 12 weeks was way better than what I saw other people experiencing, but I also knew that those other guys weren't training and eating or sleeping the way I was. I got stronger on every single exercise in my program, every workout, for the entire 12 weeks. There wasn't a single training session that I didn't get stronger on everything. My strength gains were enormous. I added 100-150 lbs to every major lift (bench, squat, overhead press, deadlift, chins).
Over the following 9 months (after the first 12 weeks), I gained another 22 lbs of bodyweight, putting me at 230 lbs. At this point I was benching 405, overhead pressing 315, deadlifting 550ish'. I did all this in one year of SERIOUS drug-free training. Yes, I used creatine. My bodyfat went up a little bit, but not much; maybe 2%.
From age 14-21, I spent thousands on supplements....and gained barely anything the entire time. I had some newbie gains just like everyone, but after that...not so much. This is what happens when someone's nutrition, training and sleep aren't very good. Basically, I only did what I felt like doing, neglected a bunch of stuff, and ate when I was hungry. That= crap gains.
In other words, if you don't have your nutrition and training in order, work on that before spending a bunch of money. It will be MUCH more effective.
8 years inconsistent, unintelligent training & nutrition + $1,000's in supps= barley any gains.
1 year of serious, intelligent, dedicated training & nutrition + creatine only= 63 lbs of mostly muscular bodyweight and huge strength gains
Back to supps...
From the research I've seen, EAAs are more effective at activating muscle growth and inhibiting protein degradation than pretty much any other natural anabolic.
Aside from basic nutrition (I consider EAAs and protein powders to be food), creatine is still the KING of supplements when it comes to providing real, substantial results. Even though much of the initial weight gain is water, no other product adds anywhere near as much strength or size as creatine....and it's been 30 freakin' years since creatine was released. When a 30 year old product still has the #1 spot, you know the industry is lacking.