Best Supplements To Take When
Working Out
By sidranoreen
Healthy muscles help you to perform your best during exercise and daily life. For maximum muscle gain, you should meet three main criteria: eating more calories than you burn, consuming more protein than you break down, and an exercise program that is challenging to your muscles.
To meet this criterion certain food supplements can help you to achieve your goals. Here are some supplements that can help you to gain muscles with your exercise.
1. Creatine
Creatine is a molecule that provides energy to your muscles and is produced naturally in your body. However, taking it as a dietary supplement can raise muscle creatine content by up to 40% than normal. It helps to encourage muscle gain by affecting your muscle cells and exercise performance. In fact, some researches show that creatine help to improve muscle strength. Greater muscle strength helps you to perform well during exercise leading to larger increases in muscle mass over time. Creatine also helps to increase water content in your muscle cells that can cause your muscle cells to swell and produce signals for muscle growth.This supplement can also increase the levels of IGF-1 hormones required for muscle growth. Creatine has an outstanding safety profile so if you are looking for a supplement to gain muscle then you should choose creatine.2. Protein Supplements
To gain muscle mass your body needs more protein to consume than your body breaks down through natural processes. There are many different protein supplements available but the most commonly used are whey, casein, and soy protein. Research showed that consuming protein supplements can help to gain more muscles in people who exercise than adding extra carbs. However, these supplements are more effective for those people who aren’t getting enough protein in their normal diet. Some researches show that taking very high amounts of protein supplements will not help you to gain muscle mass if you are already following the protein-rich diet. If you are an active individual trying to gain muscle then 0.5–0.9 grams of protein per pound of body weight can be sufficient for you.3. Beta-Alanine
Beta-alanine is an amino acid that reduces fatigue and can enhance exercise performance. Beta-alanine can also help to increase muscle mass. One study suggests that taking 4 grams of beta-alanine per day can help to increase muscle mass more than a placebo in football players. This supplement can also help to gain muscle mass when combined with an exercise program.
4. Branched-Chain Amino Acids
Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) contain three amino acids leucine, isoleucine, and valine. The food sources of branched-chain amino acids are meat, poultry, eggs, dairy, and fish. BCAAs are important for muscle growth and makeup about 14% of the amino acids in your muscles.
A small amount of research has shown that BCAAs can improve muscle gain or reduce muscle loss, compared to a placebo. However other researches show that BCAAs may not produce muscle gain in those following an exercise program.
5. Beta-Hydroxy Beta-Methyl Butyrate (HMB)
Beta-hydroxy beta-methyl butyrate (HMB) is a molecule that forms when your body processes the amino acid leucine. HMB is responsible for the beneficial effects of protein and leucine in the diet.
HMB helps to reduce the breakdown of muscle proteins. HMB is produced naturally by your body, taking it as a supplement provides you higher levels and can be beneficial for your muscles.
6. Weight Gainers
Weight gainers are supplements designed to get more calories and protein. These supplements are used by those who are trying to gain muscle. The calorie content of weight gainer supplements varies; mostly they contain over 1,000 calories per serving. Many people think that these calories come from protein so they are important to gain muscle but actually most of the calories come from carbs.
This high-calorie supplement often contains 75–300 grams of carbs and 20–60 grams of protein per serving. Research in adults whom weight trained showed that taking a weight gainer supplement was not effective for increasing lean mass. Weight gainers are only recommended if you are trying to get enough calories from food.
7. Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)
CLA belongs to a group of omega-6 fatty acids that have many effects on the body. Studies on CLA showed mixed results and it’s not clear that CLA is beneficial for muscle gain or not.
8. Glutamine
Glutamine is an amino acid and is most widely used by bodybuilders to gain muscle by increasing levels of leucine in muscle fibers. It prevents muscle breakdown and boosts the immune system which prevents you from getting sick and missing workouts.
Glutamine taken before workouts helps to reduce muscle fatigue and increases growth hormone levels. Recent research shows that glutamine can also play a role in fat loss by increasing the number of calories and fat burned at rest and during exercise.
Conclusion
Supplements can’t provide you with maximum muscle gain if your nutrition and exercise programs are lacking. To build muscles you need to eat enough calories, protein as well as exercise. To fulfill your nutritional requirements consider dietary supplements. Creatine and protein supplements are the best choices for muscle gain, but other supplements can also be beneficial for certain people.