T Nation

Supplement Advice for My Athletes

Supplements and Nutrition
#1

One of my athletes (high school football player) came to me today asking for advice on supplements. I usually take a fairly passive stace on this because I don’t want it to come off to parents like I’m telling them they have to take a supplement.

Anyway, he said he was considering taking whey protein or creatine. He said he could only afford one of the two and asked which he was better off taking. I said that it depended on his diet. If he is able to get a meal in every 3 hours or so, each of which contains protein, then take the creatine. If he’s not able to, take the whey. He needs to gain weight for next season.

I also meantioned that fish oil is fairly cheep and would be great to take as well. Is this pretty decent advice?

#2

Sounds good to me, that’s what I would have said. I may have favored the protein more but that’s just personal preference.

#3

Yeah, lean towards the protein.

#4

look into what brand of protein/creatine he’s spending his hard earned $$$ on. I know I was swayed by fancy labels and claims made by big name brands when i was in high school. There’s a good chance that he can afford both basic creatine monohydrate & a basic whey protein. For example…Biotest Grow!(5 lbs.) + Biotest Creatine(500g)= 45$ whereas just 2 lbs. of CellMass creatine might run you about the same cost.

#5

Good point Mike. I should probably start taking a more active role in their supplement intake, but to be honest I’ve always felt like it’s not worth the possible liabilities.

#6

you may be liable for an increase in performance, or an increase in muscle mass.

I can see how it would be hard to deal with.

You’re not advocating steroids for teenagers. The kid approached you about suppelements, you gave him basic advice concerning whey (which in in milk) and creatine (which is in red meat), both good for an athlete his age.

Be upfront with his parents about it, and I don’t see there being a problem.

#7

I agree everyone can afford creatine… it’s less then $5 bucks a month. Educate him on exactly which products he needs. He doesn’t need NO-Explode!

#8

If they eat well Creatine.

If they don’t then Protein.

As a HSchool kid I ate TONS (very little junkfood). I’d put down a loaf a bread every few days, tons of tuna, vegi’s, fruits/etc. Creatine might have been nice back in the early 90’s. Of course when I went to college my parents food bill dropped 200-250$ a month…

#9

I’m just thinking of my high school days and it would have been hard to eat a ton. I woke up 10 min before the bus, ate a small breakfast. went to school from 7-3 with only 1 meal plus practice till 6. thats not the best schedule for packing on the calories. I would invest in protein but thats just me. maybe he can manage bigger meals more often than i could.