Joey Diehl
The Tower
Grosse Pointe South HS
1st Place
Division 1, News Writing
Sports News Story
Coupled with good nutrition and workouts, health supplements can help athletes improve performance and overall health, said Patrick Sattelmeier ’12, currently a student at Wayne State University working toward a personal training certification.
“A lot of younger athletes think they constantly need the newest creatine being marketed or the protein powder with the fanciest name, but that’s just not true,” Sattelmeier said. “Increases in strength, size and stamina come primarily from training hard and eating right. However the right supplementation really can give that extra boost that’s needed at times.”
Supplements such as preworkout ones which contain caffeine to boost energy before a lift , amino acid powders that can be consumed during workouts for better protein absorption later and whey protein mixes for postworkouts are used by many people at Pointe Fitness, the gym where John Flanagan ’15 trains.
Flanagan, who is training for a bodybuilding show this spring, previously used pre-workout and creatine. Today, he only takes whey protein.
“Pre-workout can really help a lot when you’re feeling low on energy, but it’s not the best idea to be using it as an everyday thing,” Flanagan said. “Before starting a new supplement, it’s always best to check with a doctor since many supplement companies aren’t credible and may be putting less than desirable ingredients in them.”
Although Flanagan took creatine in the past, he does not recommend it and no longer uses it. Sattelmeier concurs that creatine should not be used.
“When you first start taking creatine, it appears you’re getting a lot stronger from the size you’re putting on,” Sattelmeier said. “However, the muscles are just being filled with water, and if you stop taking the supplement, a lot of the size it gave you will wither away.”
Ian Corbett ’15 has recently started using pre-workout due to hockey season beginning, and the results have been great.
“It’s hard trying to work out after being at hockey for hours, but the stuff really gives me a boost,” Corbett said. “The brand I’ve been recommended by multiple trainers is MusclePharm, which is a trusted name in the industry and creates good, affordable products.”
Corbett said an increasingly large number of players on the hockey team are beginning to use supplements. Specifically, whey protein and Pre-Workout on days with practice because they’re already run down from skating and low on energy.
“If we’re putting in the time we might as well do our best to reap the full benefits of the work we’re putting in,” Corbett said. “We have to do everything we can to get an edge on the competition.”
Supplements are often associated with health risks and people are often weary of them, said Sattelmeier, but for good reason, considering how many choices there are.
“There are a lot of supplements that underdose the good ingredients they’re giving you and don’t disclose the amounts under the premise of protecting their secret formula,” Sattelmeier said. “But it really is a scam, and they’ll try to trick young people by using scientific terms and advanced terminology most people won’t understand so that they really will think it’s legitimate.”
Many brands will go into detailed description of the advanced protein synthesis that goes down, and the things that it will make happen to your body, said Sattelmeier. However, for the most part this “science” is backed by experiments run by scientists employed by the companies trying to sell the supplement, and it’s usually hard to disprove their claims.
“A person’s best bet when looking for the legitimacy of supplements is first and foremost their primary physician,” Sattelmeier said. “After that, a personal trainer at one of the many local gyms is always a good bet and checking reviews on the credible site bodybuilding.com is always a good bet.”
For beginners, it is best to just start taking whey protein shakes after a workout, Sattelmeier said. As trainees become more advanced, it’s OK to start moving into more advanced supplementation if one does their homework.
“The bottom line is: whatever someone is putting into their body they need to be knowledgeable about,” Sattelmeier said. “As with most things in life, there are pros and cons to taking supplements, some more than others, and that has to be evaluated before making any decisions.”