I have thought long and hard about what I think are your most important muscle building supplements. I have read a lot of articles. I have tried a lot of supplements. But unlike most, I am have nothing to sell or any profit to be made. Additionally I am like many of you, money does not grow on trees, so I look for the most bang for my buck.
So instead of me recommending me all of 10 most important supplements for everyone, I am going to suggest stages implementation:
- Bare Essentials
- Beyond the Essentials
- Building on the Essentials
Before we jump into these supplements, be sure your training is in place to utilize the intake. Otherwise its just a waste a money. So how do you know if you are ready?
Bare Essentials
Whey Protein
Muscles are made of protein and it is difficult to eat enough regular food to meet your muscle needs. If you want to add muscle size, you likely or must add protein to your diet to get this mass. The general rule of thumb is you need 1 gram of protein for every gram of body weight.
Whey protein is extracted from milk products and is easily and quickly digestible. It comes in a variety of flavors that actually taste good. Research indicates that a combination of whey protein and carbohydrates enhances creatine uptake to build muscle and recover after intense exercise.
Whey protein is your first building block.
Where to buy?
As expensive as this is, I have found the best place to buy good whey protein is online and in bulk. The best I have found is MRM Metabolic Whey at Netrition
Multivitamins and Minerals
It is tough to know (or for that matter to account) for every nutrient you consume in a day. If you haven’t, you inhibit your muscle recovery. Worse yet, trying to eat a high protein diet often leaves out some nutrients that are just essential for good health.
So what are the basic vitamins and minerals?
- B Complex- be sure it includes 400 mcg of folic acid
- E Vitamin -400 IU
- C Vitamin- 500 mg
- D Vitamin- 400 IU (often included in Calcium supplement)
- A Vitamin- 5000 Units
- Calcium- 1000 mg
- Iron- 8 mg
- Iodine 150 mcg
- Magnesium 500 mg
- Zinc 10 mg
- Selenium 55 mcg
- Copper 2 mg
- Manganese 10 mg
- Chromium 200 mcg
- Molybdenum 25 mcg
- Potassium 80 mg
- Boron 50 mcg
Where to you buy?
I have been taking vitamins for over 30 years and frankly I can’t justify a reason to pay the high prices of the slick advertisers in bodybuilding magazines.
I buy a lot of my supplements at Sam’s Club. They have a good selection and prices as you can expect are often way more than half the cost of promoted brands. To cover the entire list above, I use the following. By the way Sam’s labels their brand as Members Mark. The titles on the bottles are:
- Complete MultiVitamins (includes Minerals)
- B Complex
- Vitamin C 1000mg
- Calcium with Vitamin D and Minerals- take 2
- E 400 IU
Beyond the Essentials
Casein Protein
Casein is a slow digesting protein that can be used more easily as a meal substitute or taken at right times of the day. Just like Whey, Casein is extracted from milk. Casein protein can be a part of your 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight consumption. Since casein is slower digesting, it is more appropriately taken at bedtime. It will last hours in body for muscle rebuilding and recovery.
Where to buy?
My choice is Optimum Nutrition 100% Casein purchased online. Optimum Nutrition offers good value and quality products.
Creatine
Creatine is an amino acid (a substance in protein) that is effective in increasing muscle mass and enhancing weight training performance. It can also boost short term strength. Creatine, in most bodybuilders, will engorge the muscle with water that enhances strength and endurance. Once this occurs, the bodybuilder can lift heavier and with more intensity to permanently push the muscle to new permanent size.
How to take? A debate over whether Creatine needs to have a loading phase has never been settled. "Loading" of Creatine is simply taking about 20 grams of Creatine for 5 days to saturate the muscle. After loading, the dosage can drop to about 5 grams per day maintenance. I personally have not found the Loading phase significantly beneficial. Besides Creatine is expensive and loading is a fast way to use up this supplement. For me I have found taking an hour or two before training gives me the best results.
Where to buy?
Optimum Nutrition Creatine purchased on line.
Essential Fatty Acids (EFA)
You are probably eating a low fat diet and are likely not getting the healthy fats you need for optimal hormonal response, recovery and joint response. Specifically, these fats are involved in the insulin binding receptors to build the skeletal muscles.
Of all the EFA's, two are essential meaning they cannot be produced by the body. These are Omega 3 and Omega 6, linolenic and linoleic acids respectively. I especially like these supplements because of the anti inflammatory effects on the joints. If you have any joint issues, these essential fatty acids may help. They do seem to help me.
Omega 3 is found in flax and linseed oils, soybeans, canola and walnuts as well as some fatty fish. Unfortunately, Omega 3 is not found in tuna, a staple of the bodybuilder's diet. Some fish that include this oil are salmon, mackerel, herring and lake trout. If eating fish three times a week is not your thing, then downing four grams of fish oil capsules daily may be a good alternative.
Okay that about does it for Phase I and II, the Bare Essential and Beyond the Essentials of good supplements.
Where to buy?
Back to Sam's Club. They carry both Omega 3 Fish Oil (300 capsules-1000mg) or Flaxseed Oil (225 capsules-1000mg) for well under 8 bucks a bottle.
Next lesson will be the Phase III, Building on the Essentials.
Sweat eventually hardens to Muscle".....Scott
This article is property of Bodybuilding Program Zone and may not be reproduced without written permission from Scott Jameson. Besides it wouldn't be right....Scott
