Best Supplements for Bodybuilders

Achieving the bodybuilder’s physique is a dream of every weightlifter. Without a doubt, with enough hard work, dedication, and the right tools, you can achieve that dream.

If you are a regular lifter and either want to gain weight or lose weight, you can do that without the use of supplements. But for doing that your diet has to on point.

Every lifter, athlete, or an actor knows the importance that their diet holds to achieve a goal.

You not only need to eat the right amount of calories but also need to eat the right combination of carbohydrates, fats and protein if you are to make a difference.

And surely everyone knows how much of an importance, protein holds for the recovery of muscle breakdown.

Supplements can help you in achieving your goals if you are unable to get enough nutrients from your diet. But before we start, I would like to address that supplements are in no way steroids or any derivatives of them, unlike the popular belief.

Steroids are meant to anabolic and related hormones and are itself a different thing.

If you are keener towards learning more about safe and legal steroids, you might want to check this link, Best Legal Steroids- Intarchmed.

Best Supplements for Bodybuilders

1. Whey Protein: If I have to pick the best supplement that one could use for bodybuilding, it will be a protein supplement and not just any protein supplement, whey protein.

Whey is a protein that occurs naturally in milk, along with another protein known as casein. While casein is a slow-digesting protein, whey is a fast-digesting protein; therefore, it gets to the muscles rapidly.

It also contains a significant level of Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs). When taken post-workout, it can enhance your muscle recovery and muscle building. It is undoubtedly worth every penny if you’re thinking about spending your hard-earned dollar.

Protein in itself is very crucial for building muscles, and one should try to consume protein at least one gram per kg of body weight. It helps recovery, enhances strength and helps your muscle to repair itself from all the breakdown it has suffered.

2. Creatine: If you still have some money to spare, then definitely buy creatine. It is a molecule that is naturally produced and made inside your body because it provides energy to muscles and other tissues of the body.

To find out more about creatine read this post from InsideBodybuilding.

Creatine has been shown to increase strength; one scientific study found out that a group of people taking creatine supplements gained 10 pounds of more body weight and had a dramatic increase in strength as opposed to those not taking the supplement. There have been many other studies displaying the same results.

Taking creatine supplements can increase your muscle creatine levels by as much as 40%. Ultimately, it affects your muscle energy stores, making you lift more and do more reps for a given weight, allowing you to get stronger in the long run.

More researches have spotted that creatine can increase muscles growth signals and hormones responsible for muscle growth. Others have shown that creatine could even decrease the breakdown of muscles.

Nevertheless, one thing is for sure that creatine helps you to build more muscle and helps in getting bigger and stronger.  The best time to take it will be probably before your workout as mixing it in your pre-workout shake; just 2-5gm will do the trick.

3. Branched Chain Amino Acids: Branched-chain amino acids or in short BCAAs are a group of three amino acids, namely, valine, leucine and isoleucine. They make a hefty 14% of your total muscle volume.

They are found in protein sources that are derivatives of animals or are of animal origin like eggs, chicken, milk etc. But the content is very less.

Therefore it is advised to take BCAAs supplements. Some researches have shown that BCAAs can decrease muscle loss and improve muscle gain when supplemented with a proper diet.

Furthermore, some have shown that these three can improve strength during a workout, and also decrease the release of cortisol ( it is a stress hormone that increases fat storage and muscle breakdown).

However, more research is still needed to understand a more conclusive effect it has. And it is known to be beneficial for those who are not taking enough BCAAs in their diet.

If you want to use BCAAs, then I would recommend you to take it 5-10 grams before and after your workout and also in your breakfast, for maximum effects.

4. Beta-Alanine: It is an amino acid that reduces fatigue and can increase exercise performance. One research found out that subjects that took beta-alanine along with creatine gained more muscle and lost more weight as compared to another subject group.

Several more studies performed on athletes have shown that beta-alanine can increase the strength of muscles and improve performance for a pretty long time without causing the muscles to fatigue. While still more research is needed, beta-alanine can prove to be useful when taken along with a proper diet and exercise program.

5. Other Supplements: Many different supplements are also known to show benefits like;

• Carnitine: It is shown to increase fat loss and muscle growth in some clinical trials.

• Casein: Similar to whey protein, but is slow-digesting and can be taken when there is going to be a long break in-between meals, like at night.

• Nitrous oxide: A vasodilator, increases blood flow and oxygen delivery to the muscles and therefore enhances energy during lifts and better recovery.

• Weight/Mass Gainers: Can help those individuals who are struggling to eat enough calories and therefore struggling to put on weight and muscle mass.

Conclusions

Supplements can only help you so much with your lifts and bodybuilding. The real key lies in your weight training and your diet.

Supplements are only there to “Supplement” your diet and are not intended to be taken as a replacement. Therefore, the key to becoming a better bodybuilder is to be consistent with your diet and exercise. Just eat enough protein, carbohydrate and fats and lift well to see the best results.

CLICK HERE FOR BREVARD COUNTY NEWS

Similar Stories