Our society is increasingly obsessed with popping pills.  Commercials and advertisements for supplements, vitamins, and diet pills abound on television, radio, in magazines, and certainly run rampant on the Internet.

While most of the supplements taken by weight trainers and body builders aren’t pills (they’re usually powder) the concept is the same.  Far too many people seem to believe there is a magic formula out there that will provide them with the results they want…they just have to find it.

I’m not saying that supplements don’t have their place, because they do and we’ll discuss a few of them.  But, let’s face it, the people experiencing the biggest benefit from the sale of supplements are the people peddling the product.  These companies are spending hundred of millions of dollars a year on advertising and it’s definitely paying off.

The process of building muscles is, at its core, very simple.  Take in more calories than you burn and consistently exercise your muscles to develop them.  This process is also excruciatingly slow for most people.  It takes an ongoing commitment and a lot of hard work.  No supplement is going to make this process radically easier or radically faster.

You could easily go broke trying all of the different supplements and end up with nothing to show for all of your spending.  It seems that there is a new supplement released every week to entice you and advertisements are filled with testimonials advocating how amazing this new mixture is.

And yet, too often, you will end up looking no better than someone who takes no supplements but works a bit harder than you do.  If your main goal is to make the process easier, perhaps you need to reconsider your overall commitment?

The sad fact is that taking some type of supplement has become necessary for our overall health, according to the American Medical Association.  This means, of course, that we’re not getting the optimum level of vitamins and nutrients from the food we eat.  While this is obviously horrific in general, it’s particularly damaging to people who are trying to build their muscles specifically.

So, start with overall health.  Daily vitamin and mineral supplements should be the first thing on your list.  This is simply to ensure that you’re staying healthy and are in the best possible shape to be working on building up your physique.

An additional Vitamin C supplement is also an excellent idea, as it aids in preventing free radical damage which results from high intensity weight training.  You’ll notice a difference in the amount of time you spend sore after particularly grueling workouts.

Whey protein should probably be the next product you consider.  It’s quickly absorbed into your system and is excellent just after you work out, because that’s when you’re muscles are screaming for additional nutrition.  Since protein is incredibly important to building muscles, this is an excellent source of additional protein.  The amount of protein you realistically need to take in for optimum muscle building can be overwhelming, so this can be a helpful way to reach your daily goal.

Finally, a Glutamine supplement helps round out the basic four supplements.  This is an amino acid produced in our bodies but our body will frequently use more than we can create.  It serves as an antioxidant, which will help combat the stress of working out and breakdown of muscle proteins.

Start with these four groups of supplements and, if you really feel the need, experiment with others.  Always research the supplements before you invest in them, pay very close attention to your body so you can feel any effects and remember that you still need to consistently work very hard to reach your goals.