What supplements really help improve health and performance? I’ve tried a lot of stuff over the last few years through health problems and on the way to achieving strength goals. Here are my list of top supplements.
Top supplements for muscle gains
There were certainly supplements involved here ; )
BCAA’s plus greens powders – BCAA’s (Leucine, Iso-leucine and valine) are the most proven supplement for muscle growth.
Benefits include:
- Increased hormone response to training (decreased cortisol to testosterone ratio post-training),
- Decreased muscle soreness
- Improved motivation and decision-making
- Decreased fatigue
- Increased anabolic
Greens powders decrease the acid load and can help keep the body alkaline which is will increase work capacity and has added health benefits.
Dose: 3g-40g have been recommended. I recommend 5-10g depending on the workout intensity.
Whey protein – check out my other posts for my recommendations on whey protein.
Carnitine – Acetyl-L-carnitine and carnitine tartate are the most common forms of carnitine that you will find. It’s benefits include:
- Improved performance – providing you can get carnitine into the muscles which either requires insulin or omega-3 fatty acids according to latest research.
- Improved cognitive performance
- Increased fat loss
- Improved recovery from weight training
Dose: 1-3g / day taken in the morning or before A.M. training sessions
Creatine – Naturally found in natures muscle foods, meat and eggs (hence why it’s especially effective with vegetarians, creatine is one of the most widely used and researched supplements. There are lots of variations on the market but simple pure creatine monohydrate still seems like the most reliable option. Concerns about effects on kidney function have been proven to be untrue for healthy subjects many times over as have the supposed dangers of high protein diets! Benefits include:
- Improved memory function
- Increased work capacity
- Improved strength gains
- Improved hypertrophy gains
Dose: Load for 4-5 days with 20g/day then cut back to 3-5g /day. Split your dosage between pre and post training.
Glutamine – levels drop in the first days of getting sick or when the body is under stress in line a decrease in immune function. Keeping glutamine at optimal levels has been show to help in dealing with stressful environments and it has an alkalising effect. Glutamine has also been used to help heal the gut in people with leaky gut and food allergies.
Dose: Take 10g post workout for muscle-building or 5g x5 /day for gut healing.
Top health supplements
Digestion: HCL capsules, digestive enzymes, glutamine if the gut lining isn’t in tact.
Alpha-lipoic acid
Magnesium
Zinc
Acetyl-L-Cystine
B-vitamins
Vitamin D
Vitamin E
Vitamin C
Note: You should try to have the most high quality diet possible to get the greatest benefit from your supplements.
Made with Bullet