Essential Supplements

Whether you’re a natural bodybuilder, fitness enthusiast or just beginning to work out, you’ve probably thought about using supplements to enhance your training. But one look at the supplement section at the health food store or at your gym may have given you second thoughts. There are so many nutritional supplements available today: protein powders, amino acids for muscle building, fat-burner for fat loss, and so on. You may have wondered, do I really need to take supplements? Which ones should I take? And how do I know the good one from the not-so-good ones?

Fear no more. This guide to essential nutritional supplements will help you sort through the overwhelming array of nutritional supplements.

Sean Nalewanyj from musclegaintruth.com – Top 4 essential supplements

Nutritional supplements have come a long way, and what was once a niche product for only the most hardcore bodybuilders, supplements are now used by everybody today.
A long with the increased interests and the big time money in the supplement industry, all kinds of different exotic products has exploded into the market. Lots of the them don’t deliver what they promise and are a total waste of money. No wonder people are confused!

Supplements are not needed to succeed and you may in fact do just as well without them. A balanced whole foods diet goes a long way. Remember that you can’t buy health, low body fat and muscle in a pill or bottle of powder.

But as a drug free natural bodybuilder or fitness trainee you have to use every tool available to maximize your results. A proper supplementation plan will allow you to recover faster, boost your workout performance and support an already healthy diet. Supplements basically take the “good stuff” from certain foods and put them in one place for you to consume.

Vince Del Monte from nononsensemusclebuilding.com – Top 3 essential supplements

Below are the most essential supplements for natural bodybuilders, fitness trainees and/or overall health. They are backed by solid research and have been shown to be both safe and highly useful. These are the most basic products available and should form the cornerstone of an effective supplementation program.

They should serve you well in your quest for results and ultimately your dream body.

Here we go…

Protein & Meal Replacement (MRP’s)

Protein supplements are the most important nutrient for anyone on a training program so investing in a quality protein powder is essential. Protein has all kinds of uses in the body, not just muscle building. It is used as structural material for cells and tissues, keratin of skin and elastin of connective tissue to name a few. Protein supplementation plays a big role in providing essential building blocks that help regulate the body in an incredible number of ways.

Protein powder types:

Whey Protein powder
Milk or casein protein powder
Egg Protein powder
Protein Blends (combining whey, egg, milk and other proteins in one product)
Whey Blends (combining different types of whey protein such as whey concentrate, whey isolate, and whey hydrolysate)

Generally speaking, it is best to have whey protein shakes before and after training (if no other pre or post workout supplements featuring protein are used) and to use casein protein or casein/whey blends at other times. This is because whey protein powder is best used when fast absorption is required and a casein product or blended product is best when sustained release of protein is the major priority.

Meal replacement products (MRP’s) were developed to present a convenient, nutritious, healthy, and great tasting alternative for athletes and laypersons wanting a replacement for unhealthy fast food, and lightweight convenience food and drink.

Meal replacement products have been engineered to meet all an athletes’s daily nutritional needs providing a good source of protein, carbohydrates, essential fats, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients designed to support the building of a healthy body.

Good choices:

Creatine

Creatine is the most popular and commonly used sports supplement available today. Creatine is known as “nature’s muscle builder”. Creatine supplements are used primarily as an ergogenic aid by athletes and bodybuilders.
 
There are numerous studies backed by anecdotal evidence that support the efficacy of creatine supplementation. For the majority of the population, from the untrained individual to the elite athlete, creatine supplementation increases lean muscle tissue and improves anaerobic and aerobic performance. Best of all creatine has been approved as safe and legal for use by all leading sporting bodies including the International Olympic Committee, IAAF, Football Premier League and the NFL, Major League Baseball and NBA in the USA.

Creatine is a natural constituent of meat, mainly found in red meat. Creatine is manufactured naturally in the body from the amino acids glycine, arginine and methionine. Creatine is used for the resynthesis of ATP. ATP, or adenosine triphosphate, is the “power” that drives muscular energetics. When a muscle is required to contract, the bonds in the ATP molecule are split, yielding ADP (adenosine-diphosphate). The energy released by breaking this bond powers the contraction of the muscle.

Supplementation with creatine increases creatine stored within the muscle, allowing further capacity to regenerate ATP. In other words, the creatine enhances the ability of the muscle to maintain power output during brief periods of high-intensity exercise.

Good choices:

Fishoil / Omega 3

Omega-3 fatty acids are a family of unsaturated fatty acids that have in common a carbon–carbon double bond in the n-3 position; that is, the third bond from the methyl end of the fatty acid.

Omega-3 fatty acids began to be recognized as a nutritional powerhouse following a number of studies and discoveries in the closing decades of the twentieth century. Some scientists and doctors contend that omega-3 is the single most crucial supplement that we can take.

Good choices:

Vitamins and minerals

The body requires a certain amount of vitamins and minerals every day to function properly. Experts agree that supplementing your diet with a good multi-vitamin and mineral supplement is not a bad idea. Think of it as an insurance policy for your body.

Many vitamins and minerals play crucial roles in the body’s metabolic and anabolic processes. If you are deficient, your body is not going to be functioning as smoothly as it should and you could be hurting your progress and your health.

Studies have frequently shown athletes suffering from poor vitamin and mineral status and, indeed they often demonstrate that sedentary people have better nutrient status due to the fact that many athletes will deplete their body of vital micronutrients and then fail to replenish what thye have taken out. By ensuring adequate intake, then you will ensure better and more consistent progress.

Good choices:

Pre workout enhancers and BCAA

Pre-workout supplements are popular amongst all kinds of athletes, from bodybuilders to long distance runners. They provide valuable energy which ensures maximum performance and promotes a constant improvement in training and intensity. Some pre-workout supplements also provide valuable nutrients to stimulate muscle protein synthesis during workouts, resulting in increased muscle growth and improved recovery.

Pre-workout supplements can consist of creatine, nitric oxide products, as well as products designed to enhance amino acid balance and create mental focus and drive to power your workout to a new high.

Nitric Oxide (NO) is a compound made up of one nitrogen atom and one oxygen atom. In order for the body to create Nitric Oxide, it must do so with the help of the amino acid L-arginine or L-Arginine-alpha-ketoglutarate aka. (AAKG) and a family of enzymes called Nitric Oxide synthase (NOS).

Once Nitric Oxide (NO) is created in the body or consumed as a supplement, it essentially helps control a range of processes in the body, including muscle pump, muscle recovery, immune functions and muscle growth thru the dilation of blood vessels and flow. Athlete’s are generally interested in the Dilation process of the vessels and the increase of blood flow to the muscle, bringing with it much-needed nutrients, oxygen and hormones especially if arginine is boosting your growth hormone levels.

Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA’s), a group of three essential amino acids, are different from the other 17 amino acids in that in one of their roles, they are a primary source of fuel for skeletal muscles.

This makes them of particular value and importance to elite athletes as far as sports supplements are concerned. The branched chain amino acids are: valine, leucine, and isoleucine.

Good choices:

The definitive guide to essential nutritional supplements for natural bodybuilding and fitness.

The absolute very best supplement is HARD WORK and DEDICATION. No nutritional supplement can replace the effort put forth in the gym or at the dinnertable. Get yourself on a good training program like this or this and stick with it. Support the diet and training with a solid supplementation plan like the one presented here and you shall receive results!!

About the Author:

Kasper V. Christensen, owner of  FortiusFitness, is a trainer who specializes in rapid body transformations.

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