Maybe it’s me, but has reliance on supplements gotten out of control?
How many times has an out-of-shape slob asked you something like “what can I take to burn fat?” or “check out these before and after pics in Cosmo - I never knew you could do that just by taking Hydroxycut!” OK, what they really mean to say is “I haven’t worked out in 10 years and have no plans for starting now, is there a miracle pill I can take to transform me into the model in Cosmo without having to exercise or change the way I eat?” Fuck no tubby!
14 year-old kids are taking fat burners, creatine, prohormones and diuretics to “help get into shape.” What did they have for lunch? Fries, chicken nuggets, and a Pepsi. Ask one about their training program and the response will likely be “well last night I did 20 push ups and 20 sit ups before bed…plus me and Tommy are doing curls after school today.” And don’t even bother asking what they think the supplements are doing for them. “This is to help me get huge and ripped!”
I won’t even get into the middle-age “office type” out-of-shape slobs lining the aisles of GNC looking for “something to help me trim down for my vacation/wedding/reunion next week.”
Remember when supplements were only used by trained athletes? And even then, only as SUPPLEMENTS? Yeah, those were the good old days - 5 years ago!
Don’t get me wrong, the supplement industry has come a long way over the past few years improving quality, affordability, and SPECIFICITY. I’m sure marketing campaigns targeted at the “general public” has helped increase sales too…that plus availability - you can get most of the aforementioned miracle pills at any Wal-Mart or grocery store.
Then again, maybe it’s just me.
What d’ya think, t-nation?