GNC: The World’s Largest Supplement Retailer?
If you had to guess which retailer was the world’s largest retailer of nutritional products, what would you say? If you guessed General Nutrition Center (GNC), you would be correct. With their 4,800 different locations in the US alone, coupled with their online catalog, GNC has a massive presence in the supplement industry.
GNC was founded by David Shakarian. He started a small health food store in 1935 called Lackzoom, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As the business grew and expanded, he eventually renamed his store to you now recognize as General Nutrition Center.
You can walk into a GNC and be greeted by a (sometimes) helpful sales associate ready to sell you everything you need to help reach your fitness or health related goals. They offer a wide selection of nutritional products, ranging from sports supplements to herbal supplements. They carry a massive number of different brands, and they tend to put their own GNC branded products in the spotlight, some of which are actually quality products.
A quick look at their prices will raise an eyebrow or two however, especially if you purchase most of your supplements from online retailers. I did a quick price comparison between Bodybuilding.com, (the world’s largest online supplement retailer) and GNC.com, and here’s one example of the price difference: Bodybuilding.com sells Gaspari Nutrition Myofusion Probiotic series in the 5lb container for $49.99 plus they offer a 15% discount which would bring the price down to about $42.50. GNC sells the exact same product for $64.99. This is just one example, and this is a $22 difference.
GNC does have an excellent return policy, which states that if you are unsatisfied with your purchase, bring back the unused portion and you can receive a full exchange or refund with no questions asked. This is an excellent aspect of purchasing from GNC. Also, it’s nice to have the option of walking into a store and making your purchase rather than ordering it online.
Like everything, GNC has its pros and cons. And they can legitimately help you to “Live Well”, but not without a hefty amount of markup on their items compared to other options out there. I make the majority of my supplement purchases online, and unless GNC decides to lower their prices, it’ll stay that way.
Why You Need Animal Pak
Do I really need a multi vitamin? Yes! Unless you have been oblivious to what’s going on in the fitness and nutrition world, you know that nutrition is a crucial component for success. Unless you want your gains or progress to stall, nutrition is one thing you don’t skimp on. That is why Animal Pak has been providing bodybuilders with the perfect combo of nutrition, and has been the #1 selling pack in the world.
Animal Pak has an extensive list of ingredients, ranging from vitamins and minerals, vital amino acids, a performance complex, and even digestive enzymes. Everything you need comes in a pack of pills, which is convenient to take with you if you are on the go. There are 60 key ingredients found in each Animal Pak, and each is pack is made up of 11 tablets.
A pack per day is all that is needed during the offseason, but if you are training really hard or dieting for a show, then two packs would more beneficial. Animal makes many more products and stacks that are beneficial to training, but Animal Pak is where it you should start in order to ensure that you have a strong nutritional base.
Optimum Opti-Men
A multi-vitamin and mineral supplement should be part of everyone’s daily routine. No matter how hard you try to eat healthy, there will be times when your body will be deficient in certain vitamins and minerals. A good multi therefore acts as an insurance policy for your health. I prefer taking Optimum Nutrition’s Opti-Men multi-vitamin and mineral supplement. As the name suggests, Opti-Men is specifically designed for males and provides an array of vitamins, essential minerals, amino acids, anti-oxidants and herbs.
