Many 'newbies' to bodybuilding, start by buying a bunch of supplements hoping to superdrive their gains from day 1. I know from experience that this is not a smart way to get your feet wet with the sport. You see, bodybuilding products should 'supplement' your diet and workout routine. Don't think that you can take a few scoops of protein powder and wake up the incredibel hulk. It just doesn't work that way.

However, if your an experienced bodybuilder and you use supplements in the right way, you can get some great results. But first you must always have a good diet and workout routine.

And then once you've got used to doing the different exercises and workouts, whilst eating a high protein diet, you can start thinking about using a few supplements to further your success. I can assure you if you do it the other way round you will almost certainly result in failure.

You may be wondering why I am advising that you never begin bodybuilding using supplements. It's because it's a mistake that I myslf have made and the failure can knock you back and steal your motivation. I bought 2 pounds of whey supplements and had the idea that by taking it alongside a few exercises I'd start growing. But I saw no gains at all.

The month after a decided to stop using them and design a proper eating plan. I included some high protein foods like red meat, fish and cheese whilst also making sure I ate enough fruit and vegetables. By doing this I began to feel much better as well as notice some significant gains at the gym.

I was really enjoying bodybuilding now as my body was growing and I was seeing some great gains. I didn't even spare a thought for supplements at this point as I was doing just fine as I was.

Then, when I felt I was ready, I went back to using my whey protein supplements again. But this time instead of having hardly no results at all, I started having massive gains. I talking about every time I went to the gym I would grow in size and mass. It was a very exciting time and although my body has slowed down now, I am still gaining at a rapid rate.

So hopefully you now realize that whilst supplements can build on the muscle gains that you are already getting, you do need a good diet and exercise routine first. And once you've built up some momentum, begin to maximise your results with bodybuilding supplements.