Supplements:

Supplements are exactly what they say they are, Supplements. They Supplement your diet, they do not become your diet. Nothing will be as important then eating enough, and eating correctly.

Taking Supplements will not automatically give you gains or increases in the gym. You are not magically going to Squat 400 just because you are taking supplements. You still have to work hard. What supplements will do is help you to train longer, and recover quicker. And lets face it, the most important part of training is recovery. I cant cover all supplements so I will simply list a few that I have taken and use, and the affects they have on me. 

Firstly and probably the most controversial is Creatine. Creatine will help to give you more energy while you are training by replenishing your creatine phosphate stores in your muscles. It is most effectively used by athletes who require more fast twitch fibre activation. Sprinters, Weightlifters, Shot Putters. While taking creatine you can expect to see a rapid increase in strength and Body-weight. When I took creatine I found the increases in strength not to be linear to my increases in body-weight. Meaning, I got bigger and stronger, but not strong enough to justify the 10 lbs increase in  body weight. As an Olympic lifter I am bound to my body-weight division. I stopped taking creatine for this reason. Creatine has also been know to leave an athlete feeling bloated and retaining water, as well as having some nasty effects on bowel movement. As an off season supplement Creatine can help to bulk up and make some increases in strength.

Secondly Glutamine. Firstly you have to understand what glutamine is. Glutamine is an amino acid; used in the synthesis of protein and thus supports the production of muscle. It supports and regulates the immune system, it is an alternative fuel source for the brain and it also supports and regulates the dietary system. Glutamine is an easily attainable amino acid. It can be found in almost all major food sources that are also rich in protein. If there is an excess of glutamine in the body, it just goes to waste. It can't be stored for an extended period of time in the body, so if you are on a maintenance diet - not trying to lose or gain weight (muscle or fat) or you are bulking (putting on muscle/fat or just muscle) then you probably do not need to use glutamine supplements. However, for those who are cutting (losing fat and attempting to maintain muscle) then glutamine is a fantastic supplement. It is for this reason that I use glutamine when I am cutting weight for competition.

Protein is the king of all supplements. If the key to muscles growth and regeneration is protein synthesis then having an abundance of protein is  the answer. You cant take to much protein, you can however not take in enough protein. I for one am guilty of this. I don't eat enough raw protein during the day so I "supplement" my diet by having a protein shake every day.

I consider Protein to be the one essential supplement for any athlete.

So based on the above, my supplemental intake during the year would look like this. Creatine and Protein during the off season to gain muscle mass and strength. Glutamine during the preseason before competition to lose body weight and maintain muscle strength. Protein over the course of the competition season to maintain and not lose strength.