Without any question, people can gain muscle from eating and working out- that is eating right and doing the right kind of weight lifting. However, there is a need to truly unleash your body’s muscle building potential and as such, there is a need to use various muscle building supplements.
These muscle building supplements aims to aid body builders, health conscious people doing vigorous workouts and even everyday ordinary folks, to boost their bodies’ muscle building capabilities. It is important then to look at the most popular supplements for muscle growth available in the market today.
What is in a muscle?
Before we look into the the most popular supplements for muscle growth, it is important to define what a muscle is and what is in it that makes it so special.
Basically, muscle is made up of soft tissue which contains protein filaments that can slide, contract and change lengths to produce the desired motion and force. In short, muscles are essential in movement and the body’s capability to exert energy. Muscles that are well developed then, can have a wider range of movements and can provide more energy outputs for activities that need to be accomplished
11 Most Popular Supplements for Muscle Growth
With the aforementioned importance and significance of the role of muscles in the day to day activities of individuals, it comes as no surprise then, that people want to boost their muscle growth and development. Listed below are the 11 most popular supplements for muscle growth:
1. Whey Protein Powder
This supplement is understandably the top muscle growth supplement people need to consider for that boost in muscle development. Whey protein powder improves the body’s protein synthesis efficiently promoting faster muscle growth and development. Simply put, whey protein helps melt fat fast and acts as a catalyst for your body to start developing stronger muscles.
2. Casein Protein Powder
This popular muscle growth supplement only comes in second to whey because of its slow digestion rate. As such, casein is best taken before going to bed to ensure the prevention of catabolism during sleep by emptying slowly and steadily from the body.
Casein has also been shown to make individuals feel less full making it an ideal snack item for those who want to pack in that protein supplement fast. New research even suggests that taking Casein after working out increases the muscle building capabilities of the body more than just taking protein alone.
3. Creatine
Creatine is made up of three (3) very important amino acids which are arginine, glycine, and methionine. The combination of these amino acids in creatine provides a number of benefits and advantages for muscle growth such as increasing the amount of energies for repetitions during gym workouts, drawing water to cells which in turn, will result in better cell growth over time and increasing the levels of growth factor-1 in muscles further stimulating muscle development.
4. Branched Chain Amino Acid (BCAA)
Branched Chain Amino Acids pertain to leucine, isoleucine, and valine, three (3) amino acids that are critical in building and repairing muscle tissue. Of the three amino acids, leucine seems to be the most critical as it has shown to stimulate protein synthesis even on its own. Taking the three amino acids together will provide a synergistic approach to muscle development as the health benefits exponentially increase when BCAAs are taken together. These health benefits are increased muscle growth, increased energy, and delaying the onset of muscle soreness.
5. Beta Alanine/Carnosine
Evidence suggests that muscles with higher levels of carnosine are muscles with better strength and endurance. Carnosine does this by allowing the muscles to strongly contract for extended periods of time. Beta-alanine has also been shown to improve muscle development and fat burning properties of the body.
6. Nitric Oxide Boosters
Nitric Oxide (NO) is involved in a number of multiple key processes in the human body. It has been shown to improve the dilation of blood vessels and allows blood to flow freely to the muscles improving the delivery of essential muscle building components such as oxygen, nutrients, anabolic hormones, and water. As a result, nitric oxide can actually provide more energy during workouts, better muscle contraction and muscle recovery and development post workout.
7. Glutamine
This supplement, when combined with leucine, can help reduce muscle breakdown and improve the body’s immune system. This means better overall health and less chances of getting sick and missing out on your workout sessions.
Glutamine is also ideally taken before working out as it can help lower the muscle fatigue experienced during workouts and subsequently enhance growth hormone levels in the body. Glutamine has also been linked to fat loss.
8. ZMA
ZMA actually stands for zinc, magnesium aspartate and B6. It is a vital supplement especially for bodybuilder and extreme weight lifters as it helps in normalizing hormone levels and assists the said individuals in getting proper sleep, a requirement for effective muscle recovery.
9. Carnitine
Carnitine has long been associated with fat loss but it’s also an important supplement in promoting muscle growth by increasing the body’s blood flow to muscles resulting in faster transfer of muscle building nutrients and components.
It also increases the levels of testosterone in the body which in turn stimulates muscle growth. All these benefits can give carnitine takers the advantage of possibly gaining more muscle mass in the most effective and efficient way possible.
10. Beta-Ecdysterone
This supplement helps promote protein synthesis and as such, result in increased muscle growth and development. It has also been theorized that beta-ecdysterone can help in improving both muscle size and strength.
11. High Molecular Weight Carb (Vitargo)
Typically taken from waxy maize (corn) starch, these carbs act as muscle growth supplement by being quickly absorbed and processed by the body thereby directly and positively affecting enhanced muscle growth, and increased levels of insulin in the body.
All of these muscle growth supplements, when taken with other healthy food can greatly improve muscle mass. Of course, it is important to exercise and workout regularly, too.