Is Fish Oil really the ultimate supplement for building muscle and burning fat? I've been hearing some pretty incredible claims.

So I decided to use my own body as a "guinea pig" and put fish oil to the test.

Here's what happened.

First, let me give you a little background about why I decided to perform this experiment. Many of the top fitness guru's are touting the benefits of fish oil. For example, Charles Poliquin claims he trained a potential NFL draftee and helped the guy pack on 29lbs of lean body mass in one month by giving him 45 grams of fish oil per day. Poloquin advises "If you want to put muscle on and lose fat, take at least 30 grams of fish oil a day."

Fat loss guru Clarence Bass found that he actually got leaner when he increased his calories by supplementing with fish oil. The idea of actually losing weight while adding calories certainly raises the eyebrows.

Mauro Di Pasquale, author of The Metabolic Diet, calls fish oil "the most important supplement ever."

Fish oil was starting to sound like some sort of magical super-food and I was anxious to test it out for myself.

What Does Fish Oil Do?

Fish oil is supposed to support testosterone levels and contribute to optimal muscle development. It's supposed to reduce inflammation in your muscles and joints and speed recovery time. Fish oil can also decrease triglyceride levels and reduce the risk of heart disease. Fish oil is supposed to increase fat burning and also make it more difficult for your body to store fat.

The Details Of My Experiment

Per Charles Poloquin's article, I decided to take 30 grams of fish oil for 30 days.

A few years ago I tasted some fish oil and immediately threw up.

So I decided to use caplets for this experiment.

For two days, I popped 30 "gel-caps" a day. I used the Nature Made brand, found in almost every major drug or grocery store. I broke up the doses and took 10 pills at a time, three times a day. (Morning, noon and night). After two days, I decided that I didn't want to compromise my experiment with cheap fish oil.

So after two days I switched to Carlson's brand liquid Fish Oil. I only had to take 3 tablespoons a day to get my 30 grams so this made things a lot easier. Also, I was dreading the taste but it really wasn't bad at all. This particular brand has a lemon flavor. Sure, it was oily... but oily lemon taste sure beats a fish taste.

By the way, many kitchen spoons are NOT true tablespoons.

So I used an actual measuring spoon to ensure that I was getting the full tablespoon of fish oil.

The Results

Ultimately, the results were inconclusive.

Did I add muscle? Yes, I got stronger on every exercise during the last 30 days. But this would have happened anyway and cannot be attributed to the fish oil. (The workout and eating plan I follow ensures that I get stronger every single time I set foot in the gym. I have added either pounds or increased the reps on every exercise for 17 weeks straight now.)

Did I lose fat? Yes, I did lose some fat. But again, this would have happened anyway as I was following a fat loss plan and performing cardio training five days a week. Some people claim that fish oil helps their joints and reduces inflammation. Well, I rarely have any trouble with my joints or inflammation, possibly because of my work with bodyweight exercises.

Conclusion

So... after 30 days, I have no amazing results to report.

The gains that I did make could just as easily be credited to my eating plan and training. And there is the "catch-22" with supplements.

When your training and diet are in order... the supplements seem to work. Of course... when your training and diet are in order... you don't need supplements because you see results anyway. When your training and diet are screwed up... the supplements don't seem to do anything. And of course... this is when you most wish they would work.

So I didn't gain 29lbs of muscle in one month. I didn't drop my body fat percentage by 11% in 30 days.

Nothing amazing happened. I did feel like I had a bit more energy. My skin seemed a little healthier. But I was expecting much more. Considering the cost of this experiment (one large bottle of Carlson's fish oil cost about $30 bucks and I went through one bottle each week, total cost of experiment: $120 bucks).