Over the past few years, we have seen tremendous growth in women’s fitness, specifically, women wanting to build more muscle mass. “Muscle is the New Skinny” is the new war cry for women. Instead of being skinny like a 1980’s model, women and teens want to have extreme curves like Kim Kardashian, big boobs, big round butt, and a slim waist. However most women cannot afford plastic surgery, so working out is the alternative. The squat exercise has become THE exercise for women to partake in to get a “big round booty”, like many internet models.
You can literally find thousands of squat workout videos on the internet. Instagram and youtube seem to be the most popular place to find these videos. And commonly, the women making workout videos are typically recommending products to help monetize their content. Most of the time one of these products is some sort of supplement, like a fat burner, pre workout, or BCAA. Naturally, as a supplement manufacturing expert, I like to analyze the products they are recommending and judge them on their quality. Whether a total garbage supplement is being recommended or something that is actually high quality and beneficial.
My Credentials
I’ve been selling supplements for almost 20 years now and I consider myself an expert in supplement manufacturing and the FDA C.F.R. 111’s for dietary supplements. I’ve seen everything from a company called Pinnacle Supplements selling horny goat weed as an erection aid, to NFL football players pimping deer antler spray as a human growth hormone supplement.
As you can see, the “hype” of these two supplements is over and I don’t know one single person who uses horny goat weed as an erection or testosterone aid, or one person who would say, “you know what, I took deer antler spray, and it really helped me increase my muscle mass and lose body fat”. Like most “fad” supplements, these two have run their course in the sports supplement industry, until another slick marketing company decides to pay some professional athlete to say he is using the product to help with his performance.
Needless to say the supplement industry will stop at nothing to try to sell you supplements that are completely worthless, like horny goat weed and deer antler spray. The latest trick by supplement companies is to market supplements specifically towards women, gender specific supplements. Supplements such as BCAA’s for women, pre workout supplements for women, and fat burners for women. Instead of packaging and labeling that is appealing towards men, the supplements that are marketed towards women will typically have pink colors somewhere on the supplement labels. Here’s a Google search a performed and as you can see pink labels.
I then continued my search and found this supplement (see below) marketed towards women. It is a fat burner and here is what I found on their website showing their supplement facts.
I have put red arrows showing how this supplement contains CLA. However, the CLA in this proclaimed fat burner is grossly underdosed. It only contains 100 mg of CLA. The recommended dose of CLA for the use of fat loss is 1,500 mg. Not only that but 3 times per day for a total of about 4,000 mg per day. These are the types of “games” supplement companies play in order to sell supplements. This example above is a classic example of a supplement company “dusting” in an ingredient. I consider this fat burner for women a scam.
As I continued my research I found more and more supplements marketed towards women that were very low quality. Underdosed ingredients, low-quality protein powders, products with soy in them, and many other things I consider characteristics of low-quality supplements. This leads me to believe a big problem is taking place in the supplement industry….
WOMEN ARE SUCKERS FOR SUPPLEMENTS!!
With the growth of more and more supplement companies coming out with “women’s” lines of supplements or gender specific supplements, could only mean one thing. PROFITS! Supplement companies like to capitalize on two things. 1) join in on the latest fad supplement and 2) buy low-quality ingredients and sell them for a huge profit.
Therefore it is time for me to warn you about this trend in the supplement industry, gender specific supplements, and tell you exactly how not to become a sucker when it comes to buying supplements for yourself.
Women need higher quality supplements than men
It is a simple fact that, in general, men can build lean muscle mass easier than women. Why? Testosterone! Testosterone is what turns a boy into a man. Testosterone is the key hormone in the bodies ability to generate muscle mass. Simply inject yourself with synthetic testosterone AKA anabolic steroids and you’ll increase muscle mass dramatically. It is no secret that testosterone is the key to muscle mass.
Women, in general, because they lack the levels of testosterone men have, experience a more difficult time building muscle mass. Therefore in order to support an increase in muscle mass, supplements can be used. And it would only make sense that HIGHER quality supplements should be consumed by women over the supplements consumed by men. Women, genetically have a harder time putting on muscle, therefore they need all the help they can get! If you’re a female wanting to increase muscle mass you’d want to consume the most powerful fat burners, pre workout supplements, and the best protein powders available. So why buy these weak supplements with cute pink labels? In stead, you should but the supplements that are the highest quailty you can find to give you the biggest advantage.
Women Should Use Testosterone Supplements
As stated above, it is common sense that women have less testosterone than men. Also, stated above testosterone is the key hormone to increase muscle mass. Therefore, women should use testosterone supplements to help increase muscle mass and lose body fat. However, the first thought at this suggestion I make, if you’re a woman, is, “I don’t want to look like the Incredible Hulk”. This train of thought is so far from reality it is not even funny. The testosterone supplements sold today will no way in hell make you look like the incredible hulk. If they did 1) they would be drugs 2) every female athlete would be using them 3) women would be walking around looking like the Incredible Hulk. The truth of the matter is that testosterone supplements will help women increase muscle mass and lose fat, BETTER than men. These supplements I feel will have a better effect on women. For testosterone supplements I recommend the following:
- Unleashed. Formulated by supplement guru Nelson Montana. A best seller for almost 9 years.
- LJ 450. The highest quality long jack supplement you can buy. This product has research behind it and I put it in a category of branded ingredients, as opposed to generic long jack supplement made in China that are could contain cheap synthetic materials.
If you’re woman you can stack these two supplements together for the highest quality testosterone supplements money can buy.
Remember, you want the most powerful testosterone supplements on the market in order for them to work. And trust me, you are not going to turn into the Incredible Hulk, not even close. However you might just find you put on a little more muscle mass and have lost a little more fat. And as an added bonus, you might feel your libido increase. Many women have reported an increase in libido with the use of LJ 450.
Women should avoid soy protein and products containing soy
Unless you have been living under a rock for the past 10 years, you should know that women should not consume soy. It messes with your estrogen levels. You do not want higher estrogen levels when trying to get lean and increase muscle mass and lose fat. Make sure you read the ingredients carefully.
Expert Tip: For a quick look, look at the allergen statement on the product. If you read, “product contains soy”, do not use it.
Women Should Use Creatine Monohydrate
Creatine monohydrate can support DHT levels, which in turn will help increase muscle mass and lower body fat. I only recommend German made creatine monohydrate called Creapure.
Expert tip: Stack creapure creatine monohydrate with alpha-lipoic acid for a better effect. Remember as a woman, you want to use the highest quality supplements you can find, plus use tricks and stacks to help them work better.
Women should avoid supplements that contain caffeine
Do not use pre workout supplements or fat burners that contain caffeine. Caffeine increases cortisol levels in the body which increase fat and decrease muscle mass. I have written numerous articles on this topic and consistently tell my customers to avoid caffeine. If you are having a difficult time losing body fat, step back and take look at your consumption of caffeine found in cofee and energy drinks. A lot of times, simpy eliminating the caffeine will cause a dratic effect on body fat levels. You’d be surprise of the effects caffeine has on the body. Most people that consume coffee 2 to 3 times a day have an addiction.
Expert tip: Do not combine caffeine with creatine.
Women Should Avoid Supplements Marketed Towards Women
After reviewing a ton of supplements with fancy pink labels and flowers on them, I have concluded that most of them suck. Most of them contain ingredients that are underdose which make them worthless.
Expert Tip: Avoid protein powders and supplements that contain phytosterols
I have recently discovered that phytosterols are contained in 99% of the protein powders on the market. If you buy a protein powder with soy lecithin or sunflower lecithin you are consuming phytosterols. I have written about phytosterols extensively here.
In conclusion, women looking to increase muscle mass and reduce body fat to obtain a bigger booty and more dramatic curves should bodybuild. Bodybuilding involves the typical exercises that men consider the foundation of their workouts. Exercises such as squats, deadlifts, bench press, military presses and mostly free weight workouts. There are not specific exercises that are more beneficial to a woman than a man and vice versus. To say this would be absolutely ludicrous. Therefore just as specific exercises are not more beneficial to different sexes, the same goes for supplements. Men and women should use the same supplements. Both men and women should look to obtain the highest quality supplements they can buy. However, women have a more difficult time increasing muscle mass because of lower testosterone levels, they should be more in tune to the supplements they chose to use. Buying gender specific supplements is a scam and buying them is nothing but a waste of money.
Alex Rogers is a supplement manufacturing expert. He has been formulating, consulting, & manufacturing dietary supplements since 1998. Alex invented protein customization in 1998 & was the first company to allow consumers to create their own protein blends. He helped create the first supplement to contain natural follistatin, invented whey protein with egg lecithin, & recently imported the world’s first 100% hydrolyzed whey.
