Thursday, April 4, 2013

Which Supplements Are Best For Building Muscle?

By Russ Howe


While most guys want to learn how to build more muscle, very few of them truly understand which supplements to take in order to help them reach the physical goals they have set out to achieve. Today we are going to teach you how to do this for yourself.

Despite all of the forward strides we have made in nutrition and science over the years, it is perhaps foolish to assume that people have all of the information they need to build whatever body they want. This is because there's a case of information overload in the fitness industry which tends to hold most people back.

Thirty years ago, the science behind growing muscle mass was still fairly basic and while those basics were great, the information was sometimes difficult to come by due to the lack of books and studies available. Compare that to nowadays and you'll notice the completely opposite situation, yet neither is good. People often can't commit to a routine or long-term plan because they are being told contradicting information everywhere they turn, so they quit.

Yet despite the great strides forward we've made in science and training, the basic principles remain almost exactly the same as they were 20-30 years ago.

It is very easy to see why so many gym users get lost in the world of bodybuilding supplements. It's a billion dollar business, so you are going to find that competition for your money is very strong indeed. This often results in companies trying to out-do each other with bold statements on why you need their product to get a good gym session.

While you could spend hours comparing the statements on different tubs of protein or creatine, the truth is you can learn how to pick the best product for you by simply teaching yourself what to look for, rather than which one claims to be the best.
Discover which supplements to take with today\'s simple video rules.


* Whey is a highly effective protein source

* Creatine is a very good product for size and strength

* Casein Protein

* Simple carbs are great for your post-workout period

* BCAA's (branched chain amino acids) are the building blocks of hypertrophy

* Glutamine for recovery

The six products listed above are by far the most important when it comes to achieving more muscular development in a short space of time. They're listed in order of importance, too, making it easier to prioritize them to suit your goals. We'll now run through a brief explanation of what you can expect from each one.

Whey protein is easily the most popular health product on the market nowadays. Despite this, many people falsely believe that you should only use it if you intend to get bigger. This often puts many people, particularly women, off the product entirely and it is simply not true. Whey is a great way to pack in more protein to your daily diet and it's such a popular product due to the speed at which your body can digest it. There are three main categories of whey, they are hydrolized, isolate and concentrate. Hydolized is the quickest digesting form and therefore tends to cost the most money. Isolate is second and concentrate is third.

However, the massive difference in prices between these three formulas doesn't reflect the fact that there isn't too much difference in terms of the quality of the protein itself. While a hydrolized product would return optimal results, you will certainly still be able to achieve success using either of the other blends if money is tight.

Creatine is a great strength building product which has been on the market for two decades already. It is designed to increase your ability to perform short bursts of explosive action, which is why it's popular among 100 meter sprinters and power athletes. By using creatine you'll increase your performance in the gym, which in turn will help you reap more rewards from your hard efforts.

Despite the many new formulas available today and expensive prices, the formula with the most scientific backing is still the original. Despite being twenty years old, creatine monohydrate remains the king in this category. The fact that it is easily the most widely available and cheapest blend is also an added bonus.

The process of protein synthesis can be manipulated further if you make use of a casein product, too. This has been available for many years now but, until recently, had no concrete evidence to back up it's effectiveness and survived purely because the theory behind it made sense. It now does have evidence, and is a great addition to a nutrition plan which includes products like whey and creatine. This slow digesting protein source is great for pre-bedtime consumption as it allows your body to continue building lean tissue while you sleep, feeding your muscles with a slow release of protein over an eight hour period.

Studies revealed that using casein prior to sleep kept the body's muscle building process activated for far longer and resulted in superior gains in lean tissue to those using whey alone.

If you have ever tried losing fat you will probably have encountered the myth that carbohydrates are the enemy. Of course, this is nonsense and carb avoidance has been shown to result in short-term losses but long-term weight gain.

While the majority of your daily carb intake should arrive from complex sources, the post-workout period is very important and you should look to hit your body with some fast absorbing carbs here. While not strictly a supplement, carbohydrates can be easily obtained from food and there is no need to buy a pill or powder to perform this task.

Branched chain amino acids are a very underrated product in gyms around the world. While most people are desperately trying to pack on some lean muscle, the majority of them have never heard of this type of product despite it's proven hypertrophy results. You will get a good dosage of these in your whey protein product anyway, but if you can afford to add in a specific BCAA product as well you will notice greatly enhanced gains.

The final item on our guide is glutamine. Glutamine is mainly used by people who are trying to boost their immune system and it can have good results on your progress throughout a long-term fitness routine. This is because it helps you to recover quickly from workouts and keeps your bodily functions able to fend off minor illnesses such as colds, which you will be susceptible to if you are regularly pushing your body hard in the gym.

Learning how to build muscle can become an experience which is thoroughly enjoyable if you are able to see past the huge amount of nonsense and sales pitches which populate many of the products you will see on store shelves. Rather than having to use an expensive trial and error approach, you now have the knowledge to determine which supplements to take to achieve a leaner, muscular body this year.




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