5 simple ways to cut your supplement bill in half without harming your gains!

So the current economy has you second-guessing some of your expenses. Unfortunately, like most of us, you have a lot more money going out than you do coming in. To make matters worse, your credit cards are almost maxed out. You need to do something, and you need to do it quickly. Lucky for you, there’s five easy fixes to cut your supplement bill by at least 50% and not sacrifice an ounce of results. Let me repeat that: Your gains will not suffer if you make these simple changes!

1) If the supplement comes in a bulk powder form, buy it.

Not only are most bulk powders half the price of their identical counterparts, but the large majority actually produce better results. For example, most combination products that contain beta alanine don’t have enough beta alanine to produce results. Charles Poliquin, one of the greatest strength coaches in the world, recommends 10 grams daily for maximum results. You won’t find that much in any combination product.

Another example is creatine products. Time and time again, clinical studies have proven that the newer, “more powerful” creatine spinoffs are no better than regular micronized creatine. In fact, according to the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, “Most of these forms of creatine have been reported to be no better than traditional CM in terms of increasing strength or performance.” So 500 grams of micronized creatine would cost you $20 and would last you almost 3 months even with a 3 day loading phase. A bottle of Cellmass would cost you almost $40 and last you 25 days. So can your results justify $100 price difference?

Potential savings: At minimum $100

2) Buy what’s on sale

Each month a different manufacturer will have a “blowout” sale. If your supplement retailer is honest, they’ll pass along that special to you. One month it’s maybe BSN’s NO-Xlpode. The next month it’s maybe Gaspari’s Superpump 250. If there’s a product on sale, and it’s in the same category of the product that you were looking to buy, purchase it. In reality, there’s very little difference between NO-Xlpode, Superpump 250, NanoVapor, etc. The supplement industry is a business, and it’s a $22 billion business built on clever marketing. Just because the product has “x” ingredient that’s not in its competitor’s product doesn’t make it a superior product. Red paint is red paint, no matter who manufactured it. The majority of raw ingredients come from the same suppliers. If the top secret ingredient is that great, they’d patent it. Don’t be fooled by clever marketing.

Potential savings: Sometimes the discount can be as much as 20-30%.

3) Buy from companies that pass on the savings (No, Muscle Geeks isn’t the only one)

Don’t let them rob you of 20-30% on each supplement. Ask to see their invoice. If they don’t do that, take your business elsewhere. At most, never pay more than 15% markup on a supplement. That’s what Wal-Mart has done in the prescription drug world. If a patient can’t get his medicine for $4, they’ll go to Wal-Mart. Is it fair? I think you could make a good argument either way. Will it help the average patient during this economy? Without question yes. The retailer is just a middleman anyways. Why should they get fat on us. If they truly cared about the consumer, they would already have reduced prices during this economy.

Potential savings: Depends on your annual volume, could be as much as $500.

4) Buy larger quantities of the same item

Can’t decide if you want the 2 lb or 5 lb container of Syntha6? If you have the money, choose the 5 lb. You’ll save $11 compared to if you would have bought two 2 lb containers, and still have an extra 1lb of protein leftover. How? Manufacturer’s discounts are percentage-based. For instance, currently our BSN discount is 25% off of wholesale pricing. 25% off of $30 ($7.50 savings) is going to be less than 25% off of $50 ($12.50 savings). That should be true at almost every retailer, not just Muscle Geeks.

Potential savings: $5-10 per supplement

5) Avoid the latest, greatest supplement available

It seems as though every time a supplement company creates a new supplement, it becomes the next big thing. It’s amazing. Every month we see a new supplement that is supposed to make all other supplements obsolete. However, the staples of the supplement industry are the ones that continue to produce consistent results across the board (creatine, protein, BCAAs, fish oil, etc). I think Patrick Arnold, one of the big wigs at Ergopharm, said it best, “If it’s not new, it’s not in demand.” (Paraphrased of course).

If a company never comes out with anything new, consumers forget about them. They appear as they lack innovation, intelligence, and even energy. Thus, they have to develop something new to stay in the game. That’s why they’ll spend endless hours searching pubmed.com looking for an ingredient that shows even the slightest bit of promise, and they’ll run with it (i.e Hoodia, acai, etc). In a month, you’ll start seeing ads that ingredient “x” increased muscle protein synthesis 300%. What you don’t know: it was in 5 rats in a lab in Germany. Congratulations, you’ve been fooled. Hook, line, and sinker!

Remember, follow the science. Don’t believe everything the supplement world tells you, even if they have an MD, Pharm.D, or any other initials behind their name. Most importantly, use common sense.

Think about it:
1) Does it make common sense?
2) Does it make physiological sense?
3) Does it produce results?
4) Are the results worth the price tag?