Who is a beginner?
A beginner is someone who is very new to the idea of training and dieting and has generally spent less than one year to six months practicing. A person’s age doesn't really matter when we define who is a beginner, a person who is 15 years old can be a beginner or even a person who is 50 years old may also be a beginner. Time spent practicing diet and training generally is a good measure, however, there may be discrepancies in that as well because not everyone is equally serious about diet and training and not everyone may be exposed to the right information at the beginning of their journey.
At the end of the day, it will boil down to how close you have reached to your genetic potential in order for you to conclude whether you are a beginner, intermediate or advanced. For the sake of simplicity for this article, we will assume a beginner to be someone who has been training and dieting for one year or less.
What are dietary supplements?
we have discussed the details on supplements in our article “ Supplementation: basic you need to know,” , here we will just discuss the types of supplements available in the market. so here is a table showing the classification below,
| Type of supplement | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Health supplements | Targeted towards improving overall health and well-being | Omega-3, ashwagandha, pro-biotics, greens powder, etc. |
| Ergogenic supplements | Targeted towards improvement in an individual’s performance | Creatine, caffeine, beta-alanine, sodium bicarbonate, etc. |
| Dietary supplements | Targeted towards fulfilling nutrient requirements | meal replacement shakes, etc. |
of course, there is some debatable overlap between the above classifications as they are interdependent on each other. For example, better nutrient intake will lead to better performance and better health and similar better performance can also lead to better overall health and vice versa.
What should a beginner do?
Most certainly supplements can be useful irrespective of whether you are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced in your journey of diet and training. however, not all supplements carry the same level of efficacy, and effectiveness and are easy on the pocket. hence, it is always better to prioritize diet and training over-supplementation. Few of the supplementation which can be considered are as follows;
| Supplements | Rationale |
|---|---|
| Whey Protein / Plant-based protein | Easier to consume protein intake, especially for people who are vegetarians and vegans |
| Creatine | One of the most researched supplements and one of the most economical ergogenic supplements available in market |
| Vitamin D | One such micronutrient that is not easily available in the food sources |
