Legal Supplements do not help build muscle, or burn fat

[dave39]

Interesting video here regarding supplements: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5bbK_XUesA

I know there are a ton of people on here who think that certain OTC products are worth paying $30, 40, 50+ per month for.
There are a few products that I purchase monthly for overall health and joint health but as far as muscle building and fat burning go - I have to agree with Blaha, from my personal experiences.

OTC Muscle Builders and Fat Burners are BIG business and constantly questioned/discussed.

Would love to hear some conversation regarding the brief statement of this video.

 

[123abcabcabc]

Agreed, the majority of OTC "Anabolics" and "Muscle Builders" are ****. But some of the staples like PA, Creatine, etc. do actually help from personal experience.

I disagree with you on fat burners though. Ephedrine HCL does wonders for me on my cuts.

 

[T-Bone]

Except Ephedrine HCL is a drug and not an OTC supplement.

 

[123abcabcabc]

Except Ephedrine HCL is a drug and not an OTC supplement.

It was at one point in alot of OTC products and still is. I'm not going to bite the bait, don't bother tossing any.

 

[ma70]

Well, the fat burners I find useful are the ones that suppress my appetite and give me energy while on a deficit, but I've come to believe that fat burners will never really help actual "fat burning" that much. They just help you adhere to your diet and help you stay focused/awake through the day.

 

[T-Bone]

It was at one point in alot of OTC products and still is. I'm not going to bite the bait, don't bother tossing any.

Nah, I'm not one of those online debaters. I don't have the energy for that either.

 

[john.patterson]

I disagree with the majority of what is said in this video. There are quite a few scientifically studied and proven products out on the market that provide increases in lean body mass and decreases in fat mass, such as creatine, ArA, forskolin, and PA. Now you could argue that you could get most these from diet alone, but consuming the amounts of food required to obtain the levels of these studied ingredients would be impossible (ex. creatine in red meat).

I think that many products out on the market are BS, and many people are pulled in by marketing and underdosed products that don't provide any true results. But there are some products that contain ingredients that do work for fat loss and muscle gain. Caffeine is a great example. Caffeine can raise your resting metabolic rate so you are burning more calories than you typically would. This isn't directly "burning" fat, but the end result creates an increase in overall calorie expenditure which, with proper diet, can translate to increasing a caloric deficit -- which is the foundation of fat loss.

While these ingredients aren't directly "burning" fat or "building" muscle, they can provide a large benefit in allowing the body to respond better to training and proper nutrition to achieve improved body composition.

 

[Pec.Major]

I disagree with the majority of what is said in this video. There are quite a few scientifically studied and proven products out on the market that provide increases in lean body mass and decreases in fat mass, such as creatine, ArA, forskolin, and PA. Now you could argue that you could get most these from diet alone, but consuming the amounts of food required to obtain the levels of these studied ingredients would be impossible (ex. creatine in red meat).

I think that many products out on the market are BS, and many people are pulled in by marketing and underdosed products that don't provide any true results. But there are some products that contain ingredients that do work for fat loss and muscle gain. Caffeine is a great example. Caffeine can raise your resting metabolic rate so you are burning more calories than you typically would. This isn't directly "burning" fat, but the end result creates an increase in overall calorie expenditure which, with proper diet, can translate to increasing a caloric deficit -- which is the foundation of fat loss.

While these ingredients aren't directly "burning" fat or "building" muscle, they can provide a large benefit in allowing the body to respond better to training and proper nutrition to achieve improved body composition.

Boom, word!

 

[BlackTiger22]

agreed

 

[Pec.Major]

I actually agreed john.patterson post before even seeing the video. lol.
Just thought the text made sense. And it did.

 

[john.patterson]

I actually agreed john.patterson post before even seeing the video. lol.
Just thought the text made sense. And it did.

Hahaha that's what I like to hear! Thanks dude

 

[HIT4ME]

Haven't seen the video - but I agree that there are a ton of products that are overhyped and don't work. Most of it is a waste of time, effort and money. Hard work and good diet will have a far more pronounced impact on your physique.

And I agree with John.Patterson - well said.

I think part of it is about having reasonable expectations vs. what is being marketed vs. the work that you are actually putting in on the training/dieting end. Many people fall for the marketing hype, and then hope the supplement will help make up for lack of training effort and a poor diet. It's human nature.

On the other hand, some supplements (used as supplements) can have a positive impact - protein powders can help you improve a diet (but not make up for a poor diet), creatine has been proven to be a safe, natural muscle builder, and then there are other products that have lots of positive evidence - PA, ARA, ABE, Forskolin, etc. - the results aren't steroid like, but that gets back to expectations.

I haven't watched much of Blaha, but he seems to be right in a lot of what he says...but he comes off as a bit of a know-it-all with some kind of secret knowledge that no one else has, and that just isn't the case.

 

[sgtgreen]

It's a 30 billion dollar industry because none of it works?
To sustain an industry that big, common sense would tell you it has return customers even without going into the scientific research and testing behind many dietary supplements.

 

[HIT4ME]

It's a 30 billion dollar industry because none of it works?
To sustain an industry that big, common sense would tell you it has return customers even without going into the scientific research and testing behind many dietary supplements.

Common sense would tell you a sucker is born every day, and marketing plays a major role. If things work so well, why do supplements reformulate so often? Very few supplements that were around 10 years ago are still around today. Because the group that buys them found out for certain that they didn't work. Then the company changes the product, markets this as being the improvement and everything that was promised with the first revision, and the sucker buys it again.

I've played the sucker numerous times, so I speak from experience here. I want to believe.

 

[sgtgreen]

Reformulations come from pharma and government regulations. As always, If it works too good it gets taken.
Many good innovative products release every year and make it a year or two if they work too good.

A lot of the companies fail because they are owned by people that dont workout or do any formulation at all. Marketing companies or people that got an investment and know nothing about business praying an "easy money" market with no regulation except itself.
Then there's good ones dont know how to downsize when their big sellers get taken of the market by the FDA.

It's not easy anymore when Hungry companies are coming out with new innovation, research doses, non prop blends, and working on less margins. The big names cant distribute their $4 crap dusted products for $25 anymore.

 

[NewAgeMayan]

I think I disagree with the absolutist nature of his claim.

To take two OTC ingredients as an example, arachidonic acid and phosphatidic acid, we have studies on each which clearly falsify his statement, or at least one side of it.

 

[Woody]

Common sense would tell you a sucker is born every day, and marketing plays a major role. If things work so well, why does technology reformulate so often? Very few technologies that were around 10 years ago are still around today. Because the group that buys them found out for certain that they didn't work. Then the company changes the product, markets this as being the improvement and everything that was promised with the first revision, and the sucker buys it again.

I've played the sucker numerous times, so I speak from experience here. I want to believe.

Word.

 

[ma70]

I should have probably added this to my other post, but I was short on time before.

I'd like to add that natural anabolics help, but probably not that much. I feel like the majority of them help with LBM gains, meaning the gains you get are leaner (less fat). The thing that becomes comical (and is something I used to do in the past too) is when people stack 2-3 of these natural anabolics. As long as you are natty, you will not gain as much muscle as someone who's on gear. I think most people are better off reading about training and dieting more than supplementation.

Disclaimer: I liked the following stuff...

Epicatechin
Anabeta Elite
ArA
PA
Forskolin

and I'd use them again, but I wouldnt go crazy stacking them.

 

[HIT4ME]

Word.

I see what you did there.