The age old question is ‘If i train more will i build and get fit quicker’. I suppose you can look at this from both personal experience and researched literature. Most people will ask the question when looking at training programs of elite athletes and bodybuilders, will this work the same for me. The definitive answer is NO. Firstly most bodybuilders (and a few elite athletes) are on performance enhancing substances that not only allow you to train harder, but also shorten recovery time.

Back in the 70’s there was an experiment (the Colorado experiment) done to “prove” that doing less is better. This is the curves method of training and is now proven to be not entirely useless but close to it. The American College of Sports Medicine states that the minimum amount of exercise done on a daily basis to maintain health is 30 min of moderate intensity exercise. So for any real gains we must exercise at a higher intensity and for longer.

Now in terms of increasing size and fitness there has to be a balance of training and rest & recovery. So for a normal person four days a week weights with at least 2 cardio sessions is all that is recommended. Anything more is overtraining which will lead to injury. However with supplementation the process of recovery can be sped up, and growth happed a lot quicker.

Again this is different between individual that is why you should always be mindful of your program and adapt it to meet your level of fitness and own capabilities.

Andrew Bulloch

Exercise Physiologist

Most of you are wondering, are supplements actually doing anything?

The definitive answer is YES. Supplementation is one of the most important aspects of training itself. There is an old saying, 'Exercise is only half of it'. When in actual fact it is probably a bit more like 30% of it. Nutrition is the major factor in how we get our ultimate body, it is what fuels our body, and allows it to grow. For the average male wanting to put on muscle, you need about 2-2.5 grams of protein per kilo of body weight per day. In context, for a 100kg male, this is equivalent to about 200-250g of protein per day. Now take into consideration that most meat has around 20g of protein per 100g (this is for a good cut of meat); this male would have to consume around 1-1.3kg of meat per day spread out over 2-3 hour intervals. Nearly nobody has the time or the money to achieve this goal, so instead we supplement. A good protein such as Max's Muscle growth GTE will cost you around $1 per serve. Having a better absorption rate and being much more cost effective.

Let us now look at creatine - the most scientifically researched supplement on the market. Many of you ask 'What does creatine actually do'? The answer is actually quite simple. It allows you to resist fatigue on a cellular level by given more energy to the muscle cells in the first cycle of power, the Anaerobic cycle (without oxygen). Creatine increases lean muscle mass by allowing you to get those extra few reps out that you couldn’t before.

Pre-workout enhancers, are they all that their cracked up to be. The answer to this is maybe, depending on how you look at things. Most pre-workout formulas are caffeine based and the ones that aren’t might look into becoming so (with the exception of HORSEPOWER by Ultimate Nutrition). In the stresses of everyday living, people working long hours and so forth are prone to fatigue both mentally and physically. So who doesn’t need a little pick me up to maximize their gym session? If you aren’t getting your best lifts because you are tired and lack energy then a pre-workout is definitely for you. People think well I’ll just have a cappuccino, you couldn’t be further from the point. Although coffee itself is a stimulant, the process of warming milk up actually releases an amino acid called Tryptophan which acts on the brain to release melatonin and induce sleep. Confusing isn’t it? Best just to stick to pre-workout and avoid the hassle.

Andrew B

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