The field of athletics is more competitive than it’s ever been. With incredibly high priced salaries and billions of dollars filtering through them, sports is one of the biggest businesses you can find in the entire world now. Everyone is looking for that step up on the competition. The difference between being at the very top and being just great is the difference between fame and fortune or anonymity.
Sports nutrition has grown right along with the business of sport. It has evolved as sports started making money and society began to care more about their nutrition. This combination created the perfect atmosphere for sports nutrition supplements. They are widely used by anyone who is looking to augment their nutrition or exercise regime. Sports nutrition supplements are not a way to avoid having to work out or enjoy athletics. They are a supplement. They are merely an addition to using proper nutrition.
Bodybuilding
One of the main reasons for sports nutrition supplements is bodybuilding. The entire goal of bodybuilding is to build muscles. Conveniently enough, that’s generally the goal of most sports nutrition supplements.
Bodybuilders have been using supplements from the very early ages. They use it in their training. They use it when they aren’t training. They use supplements before and after events. There are however many substances which are banned from bodybuilding. Because of this, bodybuilders truly need to know what is exactly in their supplements so they don’t take anything that they might be tested on later.
Protein
The catchword in most supplements is protein. It’s something you hear from everyone with half baked advice these days. Protein diets, protein based meals, more and more protein! But a lot of people don’t actually know what protein is. Protein is the substance that actually creates new cells and knits tissues together. Proteins work together. They are hooked to each other link a string of beads. These beads are amino acids which make up the full protein. They can be small or short. Anyway, the use of protein in sports nutrition is usually for your muscles. Protein will help you with recovery from your workouts. Common forms of protein include:
- Protein powder - protein powder is a common supplement that many people take. It’s simply distilled protein that is usually used to make a protein shake.
- Whey protein - Whey protein is a common protein. It’s often distilled into powder as well. Whey protein actually comes from milk. The milk is separated into two different parts.
Weight Supplements
There are a lot of different weight supplements to choose from. Weight supplements are classified into two categories. The first category is supplements that work to add weight. The second category is supplements that work to burn fat and lose weight. People choose these supplements when they are unhappy with their body image or just want to make a change.
Muscle Supplements
Muscle supplements have been developed with one goal in mind. They want to help you increase the size of your muscles. As already discussed, bodybuilding is one of the most common uses for sports nutrition supplements, and muscle supplements are an obvious choice.