Bodybuilding Magazines Are A Waste Of Time

Are you a beginner bodybuilder trying to learn the fundamentals? If so, have you made more than a few visits to your local bookstore?s magazine rack? The reason I ask is that many new trainees trying to start a weightlifting program look to bodybuilding magazines for inspiration. Many beginners find the magazines exciting, but this can be a problem for the inexperienced. For example, most of these magazines are filled with advertisements for supplements. Believe it or not, many magazines own supplement companies and vice versa. Sometimes there is no direct affiliation, but you could still say there?s a conflict of interest because magazines rely on their advertisers for revenue. This, after all, is how magazine companies make their money (along with subscription fees of course). This may not be such a big problem if beginners know this and maintain a certain skepticism towards the ads. Unfortunately, the weightlifting supplement industry has been known to make questionable claims, and everyone trying to build muscle should be careful when considering these products.

Ultimately, the real lesson here is that supplements should not form the core of your muscle building program. While a few supplements can be useful for advance trainers, you need to have a solid weightlifting and diet program to even consider spending your money on supplements. The basics will always be gradually increasing your weights in the gym and getting enough calories and protein. Many of the popular supplement fads are unnecessary. You may not want to hear it, but skipping the basics and looking for shortcuts will leave you broke and disappointed.