Understanding Muscle Supplements

Posted by: nicknite86

Understanding Muscle Supplements - 05/05/10 04:56 PM

Muscle Building means hard work, and like many other things in life there is no quick fix. However, hard work and dedication isn’t always the miracle solution for gaining muscle mass, because no matter how hard some people try they just can’t get the right amount of muscle or that “bodybuild” they are looking for. This is where Bodybuilding supplements come in. In regards to buying supplements and using them, there is no one all powerful supplement, and it takes using about a few to get an effective combination. Of course eating naturally and supplementing with natural foods is the best way, but with the massive wave of supplements out in the market it is worth doing your research to see which ones can be safe and effective for taking training to another level.

Here are three categories for bodybuilding supplements that are important to know in order to get the best out of them.

1.) Muscle Recovery
2.) Muscle Building
3.) Energy Production

So, what are the best supplements in each category?

Ultimately it comes down to what has been time tested and is scientifically proven.

Muscle Recovery-

After getting all pumped in the gym this is the best time to recover and nurture your muscles in order to enable the growth process. In other words, the way a muscle grows in size is during the phase of recovering. After working out your body automatically repairs and protects its own muscle by making more of it, and so this continues as you exercise more and more until the repairing process builds muscle to the point of attaining a ripped appearance. Supplementing this repairing process is exactly what glucosamine does. In essence, the supplement glucosamine aids recovery of your muscles from heavy workouts. There are literally hundreds of glucosamine products out in the market, so it really comes down to research and learning more about the body to get the right one for a current workout stage.

Muscle Building-

Supplementation in building muscle is really overrated in regards to supplement advertising. The reality is a routine for building muscle requires a sufficient amount of protein on a regular basis. Protein; in the supplement world, is the fuel and builder of muscle and could be taken through many means including protein foods. Eggs, chicken, vegetables, fruits, red meat, protein powders, or making your own meal replacements are all great ways to get protein. Also, there is creatine, which is possibly an enormous contributor to building muscle mass when combined with lots of protein. Creatine could be found in supplements, pills, protein powders, and meal replacements. Creatine is typically found in the body’s skeletal muscle system and therefore getting amounts of this with the necessity that is protein, then ultimately these could be a potent combination for gaining muscle.

Energy Production-

When it comes to energy there is almost nothing that can surpass carbohydrates. Carbohydrates can come from many foods and sources, two of them being breads and pasta. What carbohydrates do is provide energy and stamina during a workout, so it is much like a source of fuel. In addition to foods carbohydrates could also be found in various formulas such as that of powder-like supplements being added to liquid.

These are the supplements that anyone can use to increase performance and build greater looking muscles, not just bodybuilders.
Posted by: Cord

Re: Understanding Muscle Supplements - 05/06/10 03:33 AM

Regarding the Muscle Recovery advice. You are thinking of L-Glutamine, not glucosamine.

Glucosamine is beneficial for healthy cartilage and joint care. Glutamine is an amino acid believed to be of particular importance in the adaptive phase of training, though its use is far from universaly shown to improve results.
Posted by: Stormdragon

Re: Understanding Muscle Supplements - 08/09/10 06:14 AM

Muscle building (i.e. protein or weight gain) supplements are really only necessary if for some reason you aren't able to get enough protein with regular food. If you can manage to get enough by eating normal meals with real food do it, it's cheaper and there's nothing really special about supplements. Anything you can get from a supplement you can get from food. It's just easier with supplements. Much, much more expensive though. I make gaisn with and without, the only thing I find that matters is that I'm getting around 200 grams of complete proteins every day. Doesn't seem to make a difference whether it's with supplements or not. This can't be stated enough. People seem to think there's somethung supernatural about protein supplements (I was one of them for awhile). Same with creatine, you can get that in red meats (which are far more delicious).
People who really need supplements would be vegeatarians.
Posted by: bullguy

Re: Understanding Muscle Supplements - 11/15/10 08:29 PM

All you need really is protein and if you cant get enough then you can use protein supplements

all the other stuff is mainly a waste
Posted by: Mark Jordan

Re: Understanding Muscle Supplements - 11/17/10 03:05 AM

The liver cannot break down too much protein intake. It can also be bad for the kidneys for it cannot flush out everything. Before it passed out the body need to process it first and the by-products (whatever you call it) - the uric acid will be deposited to your joints which causes gout, arthritis etc
Posted by: Kathryn

Re: Understanding Muscle Supplements - 11/17/10 12:48 PM

Originally Posted By: Mark Jordan
The liver cannot break down too much protein intake. It can also be bad for the kidneys for it cannot flush out everything. Before it passed out the body need to process it first and the by-products (whatever you call it) - the uric acid will be deposited to your joints which causes gout, arthritis etc


One way to sidestep that would be to supplement L-carnitine, which hasn't been mentioned yet.