FOR roughly three years, I went to the gym the way I did most things: consistently, but without overthinking it.
At 28, I enjoy moving and doing physical activities to balance out the demands of working in sports media as a multimedia reporter.
I almost never say no to anything that involves physical pain and exhaustion. Occasional races, HYROX training, Pilates, even racket sports experiences.
If it involves sweating, count me in. Easily.
But that was it. I never really paid attention to supplements, and I was pretty casual about my nutrition. I still like to eat what I want without guilt and be able to have casual drinks with my peers.
Other than occasionally drinking energy and hydration drinks before, during, or after my workouts, I didn’t really do much when it came to supplements. Based on the 360 scanners I’ve tried, I was already getting an optimal amount of protein from my regular diet.
I didn’t count calories. I just paced myself with food and, fortunately, I naturally enjoy high-protein meals and greens.
For the longest time, those habits were enough to get me by with the routines I wanted and the few new activities I tried every now and then. I never had health complications and, as a former cheerleader, I’ve always had pretty good mobility.
Six weeks ago, in late July, I committed to a performance trial with WHEYL Nutrition Co., a local supplements brand and community.
It’s not the first time I’ve tried their products. In fact, I purchased some of their supplements years ago, only to use them inconsistently.
But this time, I locked in.
On a daily basis, before my workouts, I used their supplements as fuel, usually on an empty stomach: one scoop of flavored creatine, one scoop of whey protein, and my favorite, WAKE pre-workout, 15 to 20 minutes before I started at the gym.
I’m used to working out on an empty stomach because I enjoy early morning sessions when I can. But when my schedule doesn’t allow it, I’ll have a light meal before my late-morning to early-afternoon gym time.
Of course, the quickest and most noticeable kick came from WAKE.
More than the fact that it actually tastes really good -I’d switch between Ocean Razz and Island Iced Tea depending on what I felt like that day, just a few minutes after taking it, I’d feel the “itch,” literally and figuratively.
Apart from raising my energy level, it gives me focus, something I find particularly helpful as somebody with the attention span of a goldfish.
WAKE has caffeine for the kick, L-theanine for calm, L-citrulline for blood flow, and beta-alanine to help fight fatigue.
I’d avoid taking it late in the afternoon, especially if I wanted to get to sleep early. I usually crash around 11 p.m.
And while I don’t always get enough sleep because of wee-hours coverage and an inconsistent work schedule, I found myself leaning on creatine as part of my recovery routine.
For the longest time, I didn’t like creatine because of its taste, so I never really bothered with it.
But WHEYL’s flavored KREA creatine monohydrate became my personal game-changer.
I specifically had the Breakfast Orange flavor, which had a citrusy, refreshing and zesty taste that made it much easier to take consistently. I'm not fond of the regular creatine taste.
With my PPL splits, sometimes mixed with upper- and lower-body days, I get to do leg days three times a week instead of my usual two.
I personally like working on legs, so this was something I was happy to experiment with.
Over the six weeks, I noticed that I was recovering faster than usual. There was still a little bit of soreness, of course. It comes with the territory. But it was soreness that didn’t really bother me or stop me from getting back into the gym.
More noticeable, though, was my capacity to do more reps.
Before adding supplements, I could usually do a maximum of eight to 10 reps on some basic heavy movements like the bench press, deadlifts and leg press. At my personal best, I’d get around six reps.
Since adding the WHEYL supplements to my routine, I’ve been able to push those numbers to 12 to 15 reps on my usual working sets, and eight to 10 on my heavier personal-best loads.
At the time, I focused more on adding reps than adding weight.
And while I was already meeting my protein goals through food, more protein is always welcome.
WHEYL’s JUST whey has some of the best-tasting flavors I’ve tried, and I’ve been switching between Mighty Matcha and Strawberry Milk.
On some weeks, I’d even use the scanner to check where I was at, and my protein intake would come out significantly higher than my supposed optimal range.
But perhaps the most interesting result of the six-week experiment wasn't just in those metrics, it was in the mirror. I wasn’t the only one who noticed that I looked leaner. Friends and family started pointing it out, too.
I don’t usually measure myself, and the weighing scale didn’t exactly show a dramatic drop as I only lost a kilogram or two.
But my gains became a little more evident. My body-fat reading on the 360 scanner also dropped from 27 percent to 23 percent, while my weight barely moved.
While the scale don't tell the whole story and I’m no expert on body recomposition, but I know my body well enough to notice significant changes, both in the short and long term.
For three years, I had been comfortable simply showing up, sweating it out and moving on with my day. The last six weeks taught me what happens when I add a little more intention to the equation.
It was about becoming more agile, feeling healthier, recovering better, staying energized and, perhaps most importantly, understanding my body a little more.
My current level of athleticism allows me to participate in some mildly intense activities like CrossFit, boxing and hybrid workouts without much build-up.
With a goal of building more engine, I think it’s time to see what happens when I add more cardio, proper sleep, and recovery sessions among others to the mix.
Three years of showing up taught me discipline, and these six weeks taught me that sometimes, it pays to be more intentional about what you bring into the work, too.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
