Diet plays an essential part in bodybuilding, but supplements can take your physique even further. Examples of such supplements are whey protein, BCAAs, creatine monohydrate, omega-3 fatty acids and beta-alanine.
BCAAs (leucine, isoleucine and valine) can help accelerate muscle protein synthesis after intense exercise as well as prevent muscle breakdown. Glutamine is another popular bodybuilding supplement.
Creatine
Creatine is one of the best supplements for building muscle. With multiple advantages for both women and men alike, creatine offers many advantages in muscle building. In particular, its use has proven particularly helpful among athletes engaging in high intensity exercises like weight lifting and sprinting; creatine helps your workouts feel more intense, which enables you to better visualize and feel the growth of your muscles; in turn encouraging frequent workout sessions.
Creatine supplements increase muscle phosphocreatine stores during high intensity exercise, providing energy for quicker muscle contractions. This boost in strength and power makes creatine so popular among bodybuilders and other competitive athletes.
Creatine can be obtained either through food sources like meat and fish or supplements, or through oral ingestion. While creatine should generally be safe for most users, it’s a good idea to check with your physician first if taking an excessive dose may cause stomach upset and other adverse side effects.
Nitric oxide
Nitric oxide (NO) is a short-lived gas produced naturally in our bodies using nitrogen and oxygen, playing an integral part in blood vessel dilation and modulation of signaling and neurotransmission in our bodies. Supplementing with it has become popular as an aid for muscle performance by increasing blood flow to muscles, thus providing more oxygen and nutrients to working tissues.
Nitric oxide can help lower blood pressure by relaxing the walls of blood vessels, so less force is needed to push blood through them and creating less strain on your heart. This allows for improved cardiovascular endurance when exercising.
Foods such as pomegranates, walnuts and spinach can naturally increase nitric oxide production in your body, and supplements with L-citrulline – which converts into nitric oxide in your system – may help too. Our pre-workout supplement, Renewable Energy offers an impressive dose of this ingredient along with other powerful ones to support muscle growth and recovery.
BCAAs
BCAAs, or branched chain amino acids, are three essential amino acids that positively contribute to muscle growth by encouraging protein synthesis. BCAAs can be found in protein-rich foods like meat and dairy as well as in supplement forms like our Tropeaka protein powder; taking it during exercise sessions could be especially effective.
Leucine is the primary amino acid to stimulate muscle growth by activating protein synthesis. While isoleucine and valine are still capable of stimulating growth, they do not offer quite as strong an anabolic response when it comes to building muscles as leucine does.
Supplementing with BCAAs before and during workouts can reduce fatigue, speed up muscle recovery and keep you in an anabolic state more effectively – particularly beneficial when performing long and intense sessions, or experiencing a caloric deficit when bodybuilding-style training.
Vitamins
Bodybuilding can be an exhausting activity that leaves you depleted of energy. Vitamin supplements may help boost energy levels throughout the day and also regulate blood sugar, strengthen immune systems and aid with recuperation after intense sessions.
Creatine is an effective natural supplement that can help you build muscle faster and perform better during workouts. Found in various foods, creatine works by sending energy directly into muscles as they use energy during movements – making it safer than some chemical supplements and more effective at building them than traditional training alone.
Calcium is an essential nutrient for strengthening bones and teeth, but obtaining enough from diet alone may be challenging. Calcium also plays an essential role in absorption of other essential nutrients like iron. For bodybuilders seeking to expand their strength training regiment, supplements like arginine can convert to nitric oxide in the body, increasing blood flow to muscles in need and contributing to delivery of nutrients that support muscle growth.
