Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Which Body Building Supplements to take

By Jim Livingston

There are many bodybuilding supplements today. Most common are proteins / protein powders and amino acids, mineral replacement products, prohormones, testosterone boosters. These supplements and taken by body builders, sports persons and people looking to maintain their health. They help with building muscle, to assist with fat loss, improving sports performance and for general well being.

But do you really need supplements to gain muscles fast?

In most cases the answer is Yes. Supplements are necessary if you want gain bigger muscles faster or improve you health and fitness.

This is because various supplements have their own benefits and they work together complementing each other to support muscle mass gain. You will probably not be getting enough of them through your normal meals and that is the primary reason why you need supplementation.

Which supplements to take:

1. Protein Supplements: the most important for muscle growth

Protein builds muscle. It is the common supplement that every bodybuilder uses. You need up to 1 gram of protein for every pound of your bodyweight per day for rapid muscles growth. This is a lot of protein, more than most people will get from their meals alone

Types of protein

Amino acids & Branched chain amino:

Although you can supplement individual amino acids for most people a complete protein powder is sufficient. Protein which is consumed metabolizes into amino acids. If you do wish to try individual Amino Acids the ones bodybuilders prefer most commonly are leucine, isoleucine and valine. These branched chain amino acids are assumed to promote resistance to muscle breakdown.

Soy protein, a naturally occurring complete protein may sometime exhibit estrogenic activity and is therefore avoided by many of the bodybuilders, however egg protein is preferred as it is also a complete protein. Casein, a rich protein source of the amino acid glutamine is preferred as it contains casomorphine additionally, which releases amino acids at regular intervals.

Protein powders are available online from websites such as Bulk Nutrition. Remember muscles are primarily made of protein so protein also helps us in the repairing and growth of muscles. It is usual to take protein just after exercise or as a replacement for a meal.

As well as protein you may wish to also supplement these:

2. Creatine Supplements - Creatine can significantly increase muscle volume along with protein. It will also improve your weightlifting performances and raise your energy levels so that your workouts are more intensive and this provides for greater muscle gain.

3. Glutamine Supplements. Glutamine helps in your muscle recovery after your workouts and also prevents muscle lost due to muscle catabolism.

4. Multi Vitamins / Minerals Supplement - an active person need many vitamins and minerals. They also assist in recovery as some vitamins and minerals are antioxidants. They remove free radicals generated after your muscles are stressed out and damaged during a gym workout.

And that's it. Unless you are considering becoming a competitive bodybuilding! Then you'll need a few more things

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