It is often difficult to get all the nutrients you need exclusively from your diet. This complication is compounded for athletes and bodybuilders who have very specific requirements beyond that of non-exercising people. Getting all the nutrients their working bodies need only from dietary sources would lead to extravagantly overabundant meals, with sometimes conflicting requirements. Who wants to eat liver at every meal to get Creatine? There are many supplements available to exercising men; not all of them are required at all time, but they all fulfill different functions. Here are three principal bodybuilding supplements for men – although they can be used by women, too!
Creatine – Creatine is a supplement that has gotten a lot of good traction in recent years. Produced naturally by the liver and kidneys, creatine is a nitrogenous acid that plays an important role in the proper functioning of muscle cells; in effect, creatine allows for the short term delivery of energy to straining muscle cells during contraction. This allows for more intense contractions, leading to greater strength, which allows to lift heavier weights, and the cycle continues. Creatine monohydrate replaces the body’s phosphocreatine in the muscles, delaying the onset of muscle fatigue and allowing for much longer, powerful workouts. Creatine also contributes to cell volumization, making for bigger, better looking muscles.
Protein – Proteins and their amino acid components are the main building blocks of skeletal muscles. Protein supplements, or at least sufficient dietary protein, are important elements of muscle growth. Muscles grow by cell Bulking sarms division, and there must be enough protein around to allow for the new cells to be built; taking protein supplements shortly after a workout, or before, can ensure a complete saturation of the skeletal muscle cells with component amino acids, and speed up the repair and recovery of muscles, reducing down time and encouraging fast growth. Protein supplements are available in powder form as well as in protein bars, and usually based on whey or casein protein, although some supplements are made from soy and even hemp protein.
Glutamine – Glutamine, or L-Glutamine, is one such amino acid. It is the most common amino acid in skeletal muscle, representing over 60% of muscle by weight. While L-Glutamine will work as described above to help repair damaged muscle cells and build new ones, it comes with a twist: supplementation of L-Glutamine encourages the body to increase its secretion of Human Growth Hormone by up to 400%, not only significantly enhancing the growth of lean muscle mass, but also speeding up fat metabolism. With these powerful credentials, it’s no surprise that L-Glutamine has become of the most popular specialized bodybuilding supplements on the market!
These are but some of the most popular bodybuilding supplements. There are many others that may not be nearly as popular, but offer specialized help when needed. There are of course many brands available for all these supplements, and many places to buy them from. If purchasing them online, always make sure to do your research ahead of time, both for the supplement in question as well as for the retailer selling it.