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Weight lifting supplements
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Make an informed choice when it comes to health supplements
I suggest you do your homework when it comes to using weight lifting supplements and make an informed decision before consuming any powder, pill, or brew. Read as much literature as possible on your chosen weight lifting supplement.
If there is any doubt, save you money. You will also want to ensure that the health supplement manufacturer is well established in the industry and not a fly by night company.
Before I go any further, I want to direct your attention to an absolutely fabulous resource about weight lifting supplements. The resource I'm talking about is Will Brink's "Diet Supplements Revealed". I use this resource as my supplement bible. If your looking for supplements and don't want to be ripped off, you must take a look at this book. A must read for those of you who are serious about taking supplements.
With that being said, weight lifting supplements can play an important roll in building muscle. Weight lifting supplements are meant to enhance an already great muscle building program.
If you have the right combination of nutrients and weight lifting program, a weight lifting supplement schedule may serve to enhance your performance by helping you overcome certain stumbling blocks or achieve certain objectives.
Weight lifting supplements can also play an important role as convenience tools in our very busy lives. For example:
- Perhaps there are some foods that you can't eat or don't like. Health supplements can fill in the
nutritional gap left by excluding such foods
- Maybe your schedule is so busy that you don't have time to prepare food
- Maybe you want to gain that competitive edge
In order for weight lifting supplements to function properly, they must be taken at the proper times and in the proper amounts.
At this stage, we are interested in building muscle, so it is an excellent time to begin taking weight lifting supplements if you aren’t already.
Remember to have your weight lifting diet down to a science before you start taking any weight lifting supplements.
Let’s go over some of the more popular weight lifting supplements that may be useful in your building muscle program. The basics...
Protein
To build muscle, you need protein. You need to supply your body with the necessary amino acids found in protein. Protein is the nutrient most responsible for the creation of new muscle tissue.
Without an adequate supply of protein, new muscular growth is not possible. If you lack protein, you radically reduce your chances of building new muscle.
In the worst case scenario, you risk the chance of losing hard earned muscle. Training hard while in a protein deficiency state can be very hazardous to your training regime. If you want to build muscle, you're gonna need lots of protein.
Supplementing with protein in the form of premixed drinks or shakes made from powders can help supply your daily protein needs.
Weight lifting supplements- protein health supplements
Whey protein health supplement
Whey protein is by far the most popular protein health supplement today. It has been given a lot of attention these last few years due to it’s high biological value. Prior to whey, the best in protein supplements came from whole milk and eggs.
Egg was thought to be the standard because of it’s high protein efficiency ratio, which is a scale that measures how well a protein source is utilized by the body.
Whey protein is now used as the standard because of it’s high biological value. Biological value (BV) is a term used to determine the quality of food protein and the bodies ability to utilize that protein source in protein synthesis.
Food high in biological value are used for growth and repair of body tissues. Since whey protein has the highest biological value of all protein sources, health supplement manufacturers have been quick to jump on the whey protein bandwagon.
Whey represents the highest quality of protein available in weight lifting supplements. Whey protein is digested rapidly, allowing for fast uptake of amino acids, specifically branched chain amino acids.
After weight lifting, you want fast protein absorption into the body which is a prime time to feed your muscles. After a hard weight lifting session, your body is in a state of havoc. Your muscles are depleted of glycogen (muscle fuel) and are thirsty for fuel.
By feeding your muscles quality protein, you can speed up the recovery process in order to start building new muscle tissue.
Personally, I use a quality weight lifting protein supplement for convenience. I just don’t have time to make 6 meals a day.
Whipping up a power packed protein drink for my mid morning meal and post workout meals are a cinch with protein powders.
I simply add all of the ingredients up in a blender and presto, there ready to go.
Overall, whey is an excellent protein choice that can provide many benefits to the user. You may want to consider adding whey protein supplements to your building muscle diet.
Some of the more popular whey protein supplements include Optimum Nutrition’s 100% Whey, SportsPharma’s Just Whey, and EAS’s Complete Whey.
Click here for the widest selection of quality protein supplements on the web.
Weight gain powders
We’ve all seen the ads on the huge pails, “mass monster”, “weight gainer 3000", “lean builder” or “muscle builder”. These products belong to a group of weight lifting supplements known as weight gainer powders.
Most weight gain powders contain a mixture of carbohydrates, protein, vitamins and minerals, amino acids and other ingredients that are thought to improve body performance.
These weight lifting supplements contain huge amounts of the basic food nutrients. Protein in particular, comprises the bulk of these weight lifting supplements.
If you’re under weight, and having trouble gaining muscular weight, these high calorie supplements may be what’s needed to pack on those extra pounds.
A word of caution, these weight lifting supplements are loaded with calories, over a thousand per serving in some cases so don’t over do it.
It’s very important to monitor your weight lifting diet and caloric intake in order to make sure you don’t add too much body fat as opposed to muscle.
Remember that each meal must be balanced according to your desired nutritional goals and weight gain powders are no exception.
Some of the more popular weight gaining supplements on the market include Prolabs N2 Large, Optimum Nutrition’s Power Mass, and Twinlab’s Gainer’s Fuel.
Click here for the widest selection of weight gainer supplements on the web.
Meal Replacement Powders
Another option to weight gain powders are meal replacement powders. Meal replacement powders (MRP) are great weight lifting supplements to use as balanced snacks and after weight lifting exercise to consume as balanced carbohydrate-protein-fat combinations for potential muscle building enhancements.
These weight lifting supplements provide less calories than weight gain powders and are much better tasting.
Some of the more popular MRP’s include MuscleTech’s Meso-Tech, MET-RX, Labrada’s Lean Body, and EAS’s Myoplex.
Weight gain powders are useful for those people out there who are “hardgainers”. A serving of one of these weight lifting supplements may boost you caloric intake by 1000 calories and may be what’s needed to kick start your metabolism into new growth.
Click here for the widest selection of brand name meal replacements on the web.
L-Glutamine
This one is a very interesting weight lifting supplement which has gained a lot of popularity these recent years.
Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the body. Most glutamine is stored in your muscles, but there are rather significant amounts found in your blood, lungs, brain, and liver.
Among other things, glutamine serves as a building block for proteins and other amino acids.
Glutamine has been shown in recent studies to optimize recovery. It does this in the following
ways:
1) Spares protein
2) Stimulates the formation of glycogen
3) Protects immunity
4) Enhances protein synthesis
During very intense exercise, your muscles release glutamine into the blood stream. This can severely deplete the amount of glutamine reserves you have in your muscles. Such a short supply of glutamine in your muscles can pose a problem.
A glutamine deficiency can possibly lead to the breakdown of muscle tissue. But if there is sufficient glutamine available, muscle loss can be prevented.
Glutamine also promotes the formation of glycogen. As you know, glycogen is the number one fuel source of muscle. The more glycogen you have available for energy, the better.
Glutamine is the number one fuel source for cells that make up your immune system. Very intense exercise can severely deplete the amount of glutamine you have in your muscles.
Researchers now believe that this may be the cause for a weakened immune system for hard core trainers and athletes.
Supplementing with glutamine may ward off some of those nasty bugs and keep you training hard. Glutamine also enhances protein synthesis by assisting with controlling hydration levels of cells (cell volumization).
By assisting in maintaining cell volume, protein synthesis is stimulated and protein breakdown is decreased. If you are interested in maximum performance, muscle repair, and immunity, glutamine may be the health supplement your looking for.
The role of glutamine in protein synthesis cannot be underestimated.
Some of the more popular glutamine weight lifting supplements include EAS’s L-Glutamine and Twinlab’s Glutamine fuel. Both companies are well established in the sports supplement industry.
The amount of Glutamine needed depends on the amount time that you work out and your diet. I recommend that you take between 15 - 25 grams per day.
I find the best time to ingest glutamine is upon rising, ½ hour before a workout or before bed in divided doses.
Of course, you will have to experiment a little to find out what works best for you.
Click here for the widest selection of brand name glutamine powders on the web.
Weight lifting supplements- Carbohydrate Supplements
I believe carbohydrate health supplements may be useful in your muscle building diet for two applications. Firstly, if your weight lifting sessions last any longer than one hour, you may want to use a weight lifting supplement containg carbohydrates.
The reason? After 60 to 90 minutes of intense weight lifting, your body has just about used up all it’s glycogen levels.
Energy levels drastically drop after 60 to 90 minutes of intense weight lifting. Once stores of glycogen are used up, general body fatigue sets in. The fatigue is fast acting and leaves you is a state of lethargy.
I’m sure you all know the feeling, one minute your full of energy and strength, the next, your dragging your heels to the next exercise.
What you want to do is ensure that your fuel tank is filled up with quality carbohydrates. If your body is low on muscle fuel (carbohydrates) going into a heavy weight lifting session, your performance is going to be poor and sometimes may lead to injuries.
Having your muscles filled with quality carbohydrates will ensure maximum performance.
If you know your exercises are going to last longer than 60 minutes, you may want to consume a carbohydrate weight lifting supplement 30 minutes prior to weight lifting and sip a light carbohydrate beverage during the workout.
This way you are ensuring that the body uses it’s number one fuel source (carbohydrates) as opposed to protein (muscle builder). Protein’s number one job is to build muscle, not fuel it.
The second application is regarding post workout weight lifting supplementation. What you want to do is refuel your muscle after a heavy weight lifting session. Recovery is an essential part of building muscle.
The better you recover from weight lifting, the harder and heavier you’ll train during your next weight lifting session.
Weight lifting supplementation- Immediately after weight lifting
After a heavy weight lifting session, your muscles are pretty much dry of any glycogen reserves. At this point, you muscles are thirsty for glycogen.
Blood flow to muscle is much greater after a heavy weight lifting session and the muscle cells practically soak up glucose like a sponge.
This is an excellent opportunity to feed your muscles with the fuel it needs to recover.
The best type of carbohydrate to feed your muscles after an intense weight lifting session are fast acting carbohydrates with a high glycemic index.
The glycemic index is a scale that describes how fast a food is converted to glucose in the blood.
The higher the number assigned to a particular food, the faster it converts to glucose.
Carbohydrates with a high glycemic index are the ideal post weight lifting “refueling” food.
Similar to protein weight lifting supplement powders, carbohydrate powders provide convenience.
Most carbohydrate powders today have fancy names like carbo 2000, max energizer, or carbo booster. Don’t let the name fool you, they all contain the same ingredient, carbohydrates.
Some carbohydrate weight lifting supplements contain simple, complex, or a combination of carbohydrates. Optimum Nutrition’s Glycoload is an example of a carbohydrate weight lifting supplement that provides both, simple and complex carbohydrates.
This weight lifting supplement contains fructose for longer lasting energy, dextrose for quick energy, and maltodextrin for slow energy release. This combination of carbohydrates ensures energy levels are sustained over prolonged periods of time.
If you are experiencing low energy levels during your weight lifting exercise, you may want to take such a weight lifting supplement 30 minutes before your workout and/or immediately after your workout.
Some carbohydrate powders may contain more that just carbohydrates. Some powders may contain glutamine or amino acids such as Pacific Health’s Endurox. These weight lifting supplements use a combination of carbohydrates and protein to maximize recovery.
Weight lifting supplements- Vitamins and minerals
Hard weight lifting workouts increase your nutritional needs. There is no doubt about it. Having extra amounts of vitamins and minerals may be the one weight lifting supplement you may really want to consider adding into your weight lifting diet.
Taking vitamin weight lifting supplements should not take the place of good nutrition. Your body can get almost all the nutrients it needs from a balanced weight lifting diet.
However, research has shown that most North Americans fall short of the requirements for many key nutrients, including vitamins C, E, B12, folic acid, zinc, and magnesium, which is why a growing number of people are turning to supplements.
It is important to remember that vitamins are not a source of energy. Vitamins do not necessarily affect exercise but perform highly specific metabolic functions, especially in energy metabolism.
Vitamins and minerals are vital to all our biological functions including the synthesis of new muscle tissue. Vitamins help release the energy provided by the macro nutrients such as protein, carbohydrates, and fat.
Although you should be getting your daily requirements from your weight lifting diet, I'm a proponent of taking a quality vitamin/mineral weight lifting supplement. I like to think of it as good insurance, especially a good antioxidant multiple containing 100% of the daily values for vitamins and minerals.
These formulations will help you cover your nutritional bases, ensuring your body is at maximum performance.
There are generally three kinds of categories of vitamin weight lifting supplements.
The most common vitamin weight lifting supplement is the multivitamin tablets which contain all the known vitamins as well as trace elements and minerals. Prices can range anywhere from $5 to $35.
Some of the more popular multivitamin weight lifting supplements are Twinlab’s Mega Vitamin/Mineral, Atkins Basic #1, and Beverly International’s Ultra 4 Vitamin/Mineral
The second category of vitamins are weight lifting supplements containing two or three vitamins. Some of the more common weight lifting supplements containing B-complex plus vitamin C or some combination of the fat based vitamins.
Prices can range anywhere from $5 to $35. Some of the more common types “specialty” combination vitamins are Prolab’s Super C, E, and Carotene, Nature’s Way B-50 complex, and Optimum Nutrition’s Stress B Complex.
The third category of vitamin weight lifting supplements are single vitamin products. I’m sure you’ve seen these types of weight lifting supplements lined up on the shelves in health food stores.
There are pros and cons to taking these types of vitamin weight lifting supplements.
The primary advantage is the dosages involved. If you feel you are lacking a certain vitamin, it may be ideal to supplement with that particular vitamin. In most cases, one tablet or capsule may be more than enough to supply you for a day.
The main disadvantage of single vitamin supplements can be classified as potentially dangerous. Certain vitamins are toxic if taken in too high of quantities. For example, too much vitamin B12 can cause liver damage and allergic reactions.
It is very important that you follow the prescribed vitamin dosages. See Twinlab’s Super E Complex, and Optimum Nutrition’s Vitamin C.
Weight lifting supplements- Creatine
Creatine is a very popular weight lifting supplement because of it's ability to produce results very quickly. Here's why.
Creatine is produced in the liver and kidneys from 3 non essential amino acids, arginine, glycine, and methionine. Roughly 95% or the body's creatine travels by blood to be stored in the muscles, body cells, and heart.
Once inside the muscle cells, it's turned into a compound called creatine phoshate. Creatine phoshpate acts as a short term energy supply, enough for several seconds of action.
Creatine works best in activities such as weight lifting and strength training where short bursts of strength are required. This is very beneficial for our purpose since we want to build muscle and power.
Creatine boosts the pace of energy production in your cells. You can work out more intensely, and this means more muscle gains.
Creatine also replenishes reserves of ATP, the fuel that provides the power of muscle contractions. More ATP means more muscle contractions and hence, a stronger muscle. Once creatine is in your muscles, you are able to push harder and longer in your workouts.
Creatine usually comes in a powdered form as creatine monohydrate, a white powder which is tasteless and odourless. The best time to take creatine is immediately after training. It should be combined with 50 grams of a simple carbohydrate such as dextrose or glucose and 50 grams of whey protein.
The body can only absorb so much creatine at a given time and too much creatine can cause cramps, nausea and bloating.
I suggest you take your creatine weight lifting supplement before and after your workouts. This increases creatine levels before exercise and speeds up recovery afterwards.
Some of the more popular creatine weight lifting supplement sources on the market include EAS’s Simply Creatine and Phosphagen HP, Twinlabs Creatine Fuel, and MuscleTech’s Cell Tech. All of the companies are well established in the market.
I strongly suggest you add a creatine weight lifting supplement to your weight lifting diet. It is a very effective weight lifting supplement and may add to your muscle building efforts.
Click here for the widest selection of quality creatine supplements on the web.
Weight lifting supplements- Branched chain amino acids
Branched chain amino acids- valine, leucine, and isoleucine- are essential amino acids that make up about 1/3 of the amino acids in muscle tissue.
Branched chain amino acids have been used in hospitals for years to stimulate protein synthesis and nitrogen balance in burn, starvation, surgery and body trauma patients. BCAA’s are now being used in sport related activities including weight lifting and body building.
BCAA’s appear to have tissue sparring properties in muscle building as well as providing an energy source for endurance type activities. BCAA’s are rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream and are transported to protein craving muscles.
BCAA’s also act as nitrogen carriers which assists the muscles in synthesizing other amino acids which means more muscle growth and repair.
I suggest you take BCAA’s with each meal and after training.
Some of the more popular BCAA supplements are Beverly International’s Muscle Mass BCAA’s and Prolabs BCAA plus.
Weight lifting supplement- Desiccated Liver
Desiccated liver is basically concentrated animal liver, usually beef. The process usually involves a vacuum drying process at low temperatures. Most manufacturers use de-fatted liver which are weight lifting supplements that are very low in fat that you would otherwise get from eating regular red meat.
Weight lifting supplements such Desiccated liver products contain all the nutrients and enzymes of the original source without the high levels of fat. Desiccated liver contains very high concentrations of protein and heme iron.
Of course, protein is very important to weight trainers and strength athletes but heme iron is something that is generally overlooked.
The primary function of iron is to help bind oxygen to red blood cells. Without adequate supplies of iron, oxygen transport systems would be severely impaired. Heme iron is important because it is the best absorbed of all iron sources.
Desiccated liver supplementation have been overshadowed in recent years by more modern high tech supplements but they remain one of the more potent yet least expensive weight lifting supplements out there.
You may be pleasantly surprised by the results of this effective weight lifting supplement.
I suggest you start with 5 to 6 desiccated liver tablets per day spread over three main meals such as breakfast, lunch, and dinner. See Beverly Internationals Ultra Desiccated Liver
Weight lifting supplement- Glucosamine and chondroitin
Joint wear and tear is something all weight lifters experience at some point in time. No matter how proper your weight lifting form, heavy training will take it’s toll on your joints and connective tissues.
Glucosamine and chondroitin are components of connective tissue, mainly the cartilage inside joints. These weight lifting supplements can help prevent and repair connective-tissue damage.
Usually, these two are found in the same supplement. I suggest you take these weight lifting supplements with your meals. See Optimum Nutrition’s Glucosamine Plus CSA
Weight lifting supplementation schedule
Once you have completed your nutritional plan, you may want to add in certain weight lifting supplements to enhance your muscle building program. There is really no right way to supplement but there are definitely wrong ways.
Selecting and using weight lifting supplements is a lot like exercising, you have to experiment a little to find out what works best for you. Only you can decide what works best for you and for the most part, you’ll have to work things out on your own.
You now have to decide on an effective weight lifting supplementation schedule. Here is a sample weight lifting supplement schedule.
Before breakfast
l-glutamine
15 grams or according to label directions
With breakfast
Multi/vitamin tablet
Use according to label directions
Mid morning/Mid afternoon
Protein powder/*MRP/weight gainer
Use between meals as snack
With each meal
Desiccated liver tabs
3 to 5 tablets
Branched chain amino acids
Use according to label directions
Glucosamine and chondroitin
Use according to label directions
Before training
Carbohydrate beverage
Use according to label directions
After training
Protein powder/*MRP/weight gainer
Consume immediately after training
Branched chain amino acids
Use according to label directions
Creatine
Consume immediately after training
5 grams or according to label directions
Before retiring
l-glutamine
15 grams or according to label directions
*MRP = Meal Replacement Powders
Remember to experiment a little when it comes to weight lifting supplements.
Use the best weight lifting supplementation that works best for you.
Weight lifting supplements can play a very important role in your muscle building program and it's very important that you understand what they are and how to take them.
I strongly suggest you read Will Brink's Muscle Building Nutrition. to gain a full understanding of weight lifing supplementation. Mr. Brink is a world renowned authority on weight lifting supplements and will guide you step by step on how to set up you weight lifting supplement schedule for optimal results.