Top 6 Nutritional Supplements and How to Take Them for Muscle-building and General Fitness Training

Given the huge array of nutritional supplements inis very high in both BCAAs and glutamine; any
fitness and bodybuilding, it can be very frustratingwhey protein will have these qualities, but after a
when you want to take your training and diet toweight training workout timing is the key. Many
the next level with supplementation. Most ofwhey proteins are a mixture of both whey isolate
these are a waste of money- There are 6and whey concentrate. Whey protein isolate is
nutritional supplements available, however, thatabsorbed extremely fast, while whey concentrate
are indispensable for enhancing muscle-building andis broken down more gradually over time.
fat loss. Given the importance of a good diet, thisFast-acting proteins such as whey isolate are
should be the highest priority in any fitness trainingknown as "anabolic proteins", dumping tons of
program. Once your diet is tuned to perfection,amino acids into the bloodstream very quickly,
adding the right nutritional supplement at the rightpromoting muscle-growth. Slower acting proteins
time will take a great thing and make it better.such as whey concentrate, soy protein
Certain bodybuilding supplements are extremelyconcentrate, or calcium casienate (milk protein)
valuable in particular situations, especially when theare known as "anti-catabolic proteins"; they
goal of your weight training program is to lose fatprovide a slow, steady release of amino acids into
while building muscle. Our bodies have beenthe bloodstream helping to reduce muscle-protein
designed to survive the harshest of conditions,breakdown for fuel. After a weight training
readily storing body fat during times when food isworkout, we want our protein to get there
plentiful and shedding it (along with muscle-tissue)fast-whey protein isolate is ideal for this purpose.
when food is scarce. While this characteristic of4. Creatine monohydrate:
our metabolism kept us alive through the ice-ages,How creatine works: Adenosine triphosphate
it makes things really difficult for building a(ATP) is the primary energy source to fuel
lean-muscular physique (that is if you are not busyintense muscular contractions, such as those
running from saber-tooth tigers and fighting rivalduring sprinting or weight-training. ATP contains a
tribes!).high-energy phosphate bond, which is broken
The right supplementation in the context of yourdown into ADP (adenosine monophosphate),
bodybuilding or fitness workouts (pre and/orreleasing the energy necessary for muscles to
post-workout) can "trick" the body into thinking itcontract. Every muscle cell has a store of
has what it needs so that muscle-mass isphosphate, from which ADP is recycled back into
preserved. What happens during intense weightATP to continue fueling contractions. As this pool
training and cardiovascular exercise is that ourof phosphate gets depleted, so does our ability to
bodies, along with burning glycogen and body fat,make ATP; when we run out of ATP the muscle
are also very efficient at breaking down muscleis exhausted and unable to further contract (i.e.
tissue. This metabolic adaptation helps to preservethe muscle fails such as on the last rep of a
energy stores at the expense of metabolicallybench press). It was discovered some time ago
costly muscle-tissue; if you are starving the morethat our muscles can actually be "loaded" with
muscle you have the quicker you will die (goodadditional phosphate, which can extend our
for us back in the cave-man days, but bad for uscapacity to do high-intensity exercise. Phosphate is
now!). Our muscles are constantly being brokenstored in the muscle as creatine phosphate, which
down and built back up from hard weight training,acts to replenish cellular phosphate stores. When
and if we could shift the balance just slightly awaycreatine monohydrate is ingested, it is converted
from degradation (catabolism) and towardto creatine phosphate and absorbed into the
accumulation (anabolism), this would have a hugemuscle cell, helping to replenish the phosphate pool.
effect on the effectiveness of our muscle trainingAfter an intense workout, muscle phosphate
program.levels are drastically decreased. Supplementing
My top-6 list of indispensable nutritionalwith creatine post-workout replenishes creatine
supplements:phosphate stores much faster, speeding recovery.
1. glutamineCreatine also acts through unknown mechanisms
How Glutamine works: glutamine is known as ato increase protein synthesis and muscle growth.
"conditionally essential" amino acid; it becomesFor every molecule of creatine absorbed into the
"essential" during intense exercise such as weightmuscle, several molecules of water are absorbed,
training or cardiovascular exercise, as the needgiving the muscles a fuller, more pumped
for glutamine is greatly increased. During bouts ofappearance. A hydrated muscle is an anabolic
intense activity (or stress), glutamine enters themuscle.
bloodstream and travels into the liver where it is4. Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) How EFAs work:
converted into glucose; this newly synthesizedWithout getting too much into fatty acid
glucose helps to fuel the working muscles. Thisbiochemistry, EFAs are required by the body for
process is known as gluconeogenesis-the processa countless number of processes, and are an
of turning a non-carbohydrate substanceessential element to any nutritional
(glutamine and some other amino acids) intosupplementation regimen whether for bodybuilding,
glucose which can be used for energy. While thisathletic training, or general fitness training. The
all sounds great for the muscles, the problem istypical American diet is largely deficient in EFAs,
that the primary source of glutamine duringand dieters often have less than optimal levels
exercise is from broken down muscle tissue; thewhile on low-fat diets. There are 3 basic EFAs
body actually breaks down muscle tissue to helpwhich are named based on their chemical
fuel the working muscles by preserving theirstructure, including omega-3, 6, and 9. Most
glycogen stores1. Supplying the muscles with ancommercial EFA supplements are a blend of the
exogenous source of glutamine (i.e a glutaminevarious EFAs, providing an ideal EFA profile.
supplement, has been shown to reduce muscle5. Meal replacement powders (MRPs): Commonly
degradation during intense exercise-the body isknown as the "protein shake", MRPs serve not
"tricked" into not breaking down as much muscleonly as a convenient protein supplement, but as a
tissue.substitute for regular meal.While real food is
2. Branched chain amino acids (BCAAS)always best, the busy schedules of most people
How BCAAs work: Unlike glutamine, BCAAs,simply cannot accommodate the optimal 5-6
consisting of leucine, isoleucine, and valine, aremeals per day-MRPs are a great way to stay on
essential amino acids, meaning that the bodythe diet in spite of the most hectic of schedules.
cannot synthesize them from precursors-theyThere are many brands commercially available
must be obtained from the diet. Like glutamine,with different nutrient profiles; choose the product
there is a greater requirement for BCAAs duringthat tastes good and provides the nutrient profile
intense exercise such as weight training and theythat fits for your particular diet plan.
are derived primarily from catabolized muscle6. Multivitamin/multi-mineral supplements: While in
tissue. BCAAs are broken down into (amongan ideal world we would get all the vitamins we
other things) alanine and glutamine (rememberneed directly from the food we eat, in practice
glutamine?) which are in-turn used to generatewe can all benefit from a quality multivitamin. Stay
glucose in the liver. Supplementing with BCAAs willaway from the typical once/day tabs found at
help to prevent their degradation in muscle tissue,the supermarket. It is questionable whether these
limiting muscle-degradation and speeding upare absorbed well at all. Stick with those vitamin
recovery. Leucine itself has been shown tomineral supplements derived from whole-food
stimulate protein synthesis, and research hasextracts-these are more readily absorbed. In
shown that the BCAAs have a positive effect onaddition, whole-food based multis may contain
recovery, can reduce fatigue, and encourage anunknown substances which are found in food
overall anabolic state in the muscle. BCAAs seemwhich are either essential or beneficial; science is
to be especially effective in times of reducedconstantly discovering new nutrients present in
calorie intake (i.e. while dieting down to lose thatfood-our current list is far from comprehensive.
last 5lbs).There you have it, the only nutritional
3. Protein: (whey protein isolates)supplements you need to care about. They have
How whey protein works: This one may seembeen proven both anecdotally and with rigorous
like a no-brainer; proteins are made of amino acidspeer-reviewed research to enhance the
and as discussed above, certain aminos canmuscle-building and fat-burning effects of any
greatly enhance your weight training efforts.weight training and fitness program including.
Whey protein is a great protein source because it