Training is extremely important, but following a healthy, balanced diet is perhaps even more important if you want to see real, long term results. Alongside following a healthy diet, supplements can be a great way to help kick start your New Year’s resolutions and maintain them throughout January and beyond.

#1 Whey protein

If you want to build muscle, protein is very important. According to the NHS, adults should eat 0.75g of protein per kilogram of body-weight¹. However, if you are exercising and weight training regularly, you should increase the amount of protein you eat, to help aid muscle recovery and growth.

When it comes to muscle repair and growth, protein is everything. You can get it from a lot of different foods and supplements, but two of the top supplement sources are whey and casein. Whey protein comes from the watery portion of milk that separates from the curds when making cheese, and it’s considered a complete protein because it contains all nine essential amino acids. It helps fuel muscles during resistance training and provides the building blocks your body needs to repair your muscles post-workout. Like whey protein, casein also contains all nine essential amino acids. It is a high-quality, slow-digesting protein that provides a steady release of amino acids over time, which is why many people take casein before bed.

“The best way to make time for exercise is to have a written plan. Decide on the best time for exercise in your schedule and actually enter it into your computer or cell-phone calendar as a repeat event. This way it shows up daily and there’s less chance of you scheduling something during that time. Also, when you check your schedule in the morning, you’ll see it there and form a mental picture of when and how you’ll be exercising that day, which helps you stay motivated.”