4 Considerations Personal Trainers Must Make Before Recommending Supplements

Introduction

Personal trainers often advise their clients to take supplements without much thought. Supplements are never the ‘miracle pill’ some people still believe they are. And, by very definition, supplements should only ever be supplementary to a good, healthy lifestyle.

So, before you make any product recommendations for your personal training clients, there are four important considerations you must make. Expert performance nutritionist Ben Coomber explains in this video.

Or, if you’d prefer, you can read what Ben had to say in the article below.

Get the basics right first

For me, clients should progress onto supplements after establishing a solid foundation. Supplements are meant to supplement a good training and nutrition programme. It is important you assess whether your client is sleeping well and training properly so you can determine what supplements would actually benefit them.

Before you look at improving performance or recovery, health should always come first. It is very hard to make the human body recover, perform, think, do, or move better if it is not healthy. So, you have to start with health-based supplements in my opinion.

We know from research that most people are deficient in magnesium, vitamin D, and omega-3 fats (fish oil). There may be some smaller individual vitamin and mineral deficiencies, particularly in specialist populations, but magnesium, vitamin D, and omega-3 are common deficiencies that often need addressing.

If the body is not recovering effectively, it is very hard to push that person to perform better. Factors like sleep, calorie intake, and movement efficiency are important to effective recovery, which then leads to better performance.

Consider your clients’ individual circumstances

You must always bear in mind the lifestyle constraints and finances of individuals. There might be a handful of supplements that we take ourselves or recommend, but if your client is so busy they forget to take something, that would be a poor recommendation.

If someone does not have a lot of disposable income, for example, they might just focus on the health-based supplements and progress to something else later on if they can afford it. We should always start off with health, then move on to recovery, which will then lead to better performance.

In this instance, you would be better off recommending just one or two supplements to a client who does not have much disposable income, rather than four or five. You do not want to put pressure on your client because of the cost and effort involved in taking a stack of supplements every day.

There is no point saying, “Oh, caffeine’s an ergogenic aid,” or “Creatine’s an ergogenic aid,” if this person is not sleeping properly or eating well. You are not going to get the full performance benefit you could have. In my experience as a performance nutritionist, everyone will benefit more from something that enhances performance once they have got the basics right.

It is quite often the case with caffeine. You might have experienced being really tired yourself and thought, I’ll just have a good dose of caffeine to wake myself up. And sure, it might make you feel good for 20, 30, or 40 minutes – then you crash and feel worse.

Make ethical recommendations

Do your due diligence around the companies that sell supplements. There are a lot of strange products on the market. Do your research on the company’s ethics. If you recommend a supplement company that does not have good ethics (for example whey protein), the client could go on to the website, put the product in their cart, and then see an ad for a fat burner.

Now all of a sudden, the client thinks, “Maybe I should get that too.” Because they are on a weight loss journey, they think fat burners could speed up their progress. But you originally recommended the whey protein to increase their daily protein intake, maybe to help them make a smoothie or overnight oats for breakfast. Now this fat burner ad has popped up and it is tempting them. That is why it is your responsibility as a trainer to recommend companies that are ethical in their practices.

I would not recommend a supplement company that is selling things like fat burners, hormone manipulators, or carb blockers. That is not an ethical way to coach people and it is a faulty mindset to encourage. Don’t just say, “Buy from anywhere” or “Buy from here.” It really matters. Where you recommend is a reflection of your beliefs and your advice as a trainer. You need to align yourself with companies that have the right kind of ethics, because otherwise the client is going to be manipulated by sales tactics. And if they are not very knowledgeable, they won’t know how to make the right decision.

Educate, don’t just advise

When you get your clients to use supplements, make sure you take them on a process of education to understand why they’re taking that supplement. That’s really important.
It is our job as coaches to empower clients to be autonomous in the future. People don’t need personal trainers in their lives forever.

Teach your client why they are taking a supplement, what the correct dosage is, the best time of day to take it (if that matters), and whether it should be taken with food, on an empty stomach, or alongside another supplement. Empower them with that information. You don’t want them to say, “I’m taking it because my trainer told me to.”

We are not the expert provider that needs to be leaned on every day. We are coaches, here to empower and create autonomous clients over time. Your job six, nine, twelve, even eighteen months down the line is to make sure your clients are confident enough to maintain their diet, training, and supplement regime without you. That is the goal of coaching.

If you want to become a world-class personal trainer who is confident delivering evidence-based supplement advice to your clients, our personal training courses and articles provide you with all the knowledge you need.

If you are interested in learning more about evidence-based diet and nutrition practices and how these relate to healthy eating, take a look at our range of nutrition courses and qualifications. Alternatively, if you want to discover more about a range of health and performance supplements and how these can be used safely and effectively, check out our supplements for sport and exercise course.