Question about Vitamins / Supplements

dawnelaine96

I joined a gym last month and have had 3 sessions with a personal trainer. Every time, he's trying to sell me the supplements that are sold by the gym. He has told me that a couple of them are very important for me to have. Unfortunately, they are all very expensive. One of the ones he's really pushing is called Branched Chain Amino Acids.

Can anybody please tell me if any of these supplements they sell at the gym are really necessary, and if so, can't I buy them somewhere else for a lot better price.

Right now I'm taking a daily multivitamin (centrum) and I just started taking Flaxseed oil tablets. Are there other vitamins I should be taking on a regular basis.

skinnyjeanzbound

I don't know anything about hose supplements, but it sounds like he's just trying to pressure you to spend your cash. If others w/ more knowledge about the supplements confirm they are unnecessary, the next time you go in just tell him you are only taking supplements advised by your personal physician--hopefully that will make him back off :grumble:

Pandorian

Any pushy sales and I tell them to take a hike, I haven't gone for my second "Free" session yet as it's really just to get some face-time to get me to commit to some personal trainer stuff....
thing is most of the "trainer" stuff I see offered in the gym is what I previously had a friend along for, spotting, checking form etc with no cost to me.
I take no supplements, and always question the source of them, if I "need" a supplement I should be able to go where I want to buy it not have to buy it from "you mr. trainer" and bump your commission.
Same as the original guy who signed me up for my gym membership, he wouldn't get paid (beyond his hourly rate) if I hadn't signed up for the year membership... not exactly someone to "Trust" my hard-earned cash in for their suggestions.

husker_gal

you're multivitamin and flax seed oil are most likely perfectly fine for you. I only take a One a Day Prenatal ( not pregnant they just have a higher amount of nutrients and I take apple cidar vinegar tablets because apple cidar vinegar is very good for your body as a whole. I would say don't bother spending extra money to get the vitamins you are probably already getting from your daily vitamin.

snookeroo

Here are a couple of tips from Dr. Oz

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/critical-vitamins-every-woman

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/critical-daily-vitamins

I personally take a multi (for men) and omega 3

Pandorian

For your specific suggested item, looking up the name pointed me to
Branched Chain Amino Acids. (BCAAs) are among the nine essential amino acids for humans
Amino acids are the structural units that make up proteins.

So it sounds like a protein supplement to me.

Mayor_West

BCAAs are extremely helpful, especially in regard to repairing the muscle fibers following a workout. Are they essential? No, but they are a viable supplement and do have their place. You can also find BCAAs in a lot of whey protein powders as well. I'm also not sure
what your definition of "expensive" is, but I just bought a 200-serving bottle online for $14. I'd advise against buying any supplements from the gym, as they tend to mark up their prices rather drastically- you can find much better deals online.

Here's a great primer on BCAAs and how they work- it should help you to see if they're right for you:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/bcaa.html

Also, I would fire your trainer immediately. If he's more inclined to try to sell you ANYTHING other than personal training services, then he clearly does not have your best interests at heart and needs to be replaced with someone who does.