There are supplements that burn holes in your pockets and do nothing for your physique - and there are some that will benefit you big time!
So here's three rock solid supplements that will help you in the quest for more strength and size!
CREATINE
The most researched supplement around, this amino acid is a huge benefit to your strength and size goals.
As I detail in this article with numerous scientific references creatine is no cheap imitation of a useful supplement!
It will also help you get lots more out of your workouts to ensure you keep progressing.
Furthermore, despite some of the garbage you might hear - creatine is actually BENEFICIAL for your kidneys!
You can read the research on this issue right here.
CITRULLINE MALATE
Everytime I turn around there's more solid research into Citrulline Malate.
I've detailed some great research into Citrulline Malate in recent issues of the FIT'N'FLEXED newsletter (sign up on the right hand side of the home page!) as well as in this article - it's a supplement that's getting a lot of attention lately.
And it's for good reason - the data is consistently decent.
Citrulline is a non-essential amino acid and malate an organic compound.
Citrulline is in watermelon and malate is made by all living organisms. It's also the ingredient responsible for the sour taste of fruits.
Citrulline malate goes very well with creatine too - by helping your phosphocreatine's depletion rate AND increasing the replenishment rate during rest by 20% too. In short - this helps you get more repetitions out (click the link above for more info).
It also appears to help with blood flow (getting more nutrients into the muscle) and with protein synthesis rates too.
It certainly ticks a lot of boxes.
WHEY PROTEIN POWDER
As far as convenience goes - this bad boy is the bees knees.
There's plenty of scientific research to justify whey protein before training providing it's been a little while since you've eaten - check out this eye-opening research on FIT'N'FLEXED here!
Furthermore, whey (and casein) protein has a biological value of 100 (1).
Biological value measures the amount of nitrogen absorbed versus the amount of nitrogen contained - and it scores higher than fish, chicken or beef!
It's also very high in the amnio acid leucine - the amino acid that time and time again has been shown as the key regulator behind protein synthesis (2).
Higher amounts of leucine via a whey protein supplement has also been found to be absolutely vital for maximal muscle growth in the elderly too (3).
There's also a lot less calories in 30 grams of protein via whey than there is from the same amount of protein from steak, which makes it beneficial for fat loss or even possibly just a smaller waistline overall.
Protein is a necessity for muscle growth, so be sure to get some from wholefoods but from whey protein powder too!
FURTHER READING: 3 USELESS Supplements For Body Composition
"Stay Fit, Stay Flexed!"
REFERENCES
(1) Kreider RB, Kleiner SM. Protein supplements for athletes; need v convenience. Your Patient Fitness 2000;14(6):12-18.
(2) Norton LE, Layman DK. Leucine regulates translation initiation of protein synthesis in skeletal muscle after exercise. J Nutr. 2006 Feb;136(2):533S-537S.
(3) Luiking YC, Deutz NE, Memelink RG, Verlaan S, Wolfe RR. Postprandial muscle protein synthesis is higher after a high whey protein, leucine-enriched supplement than after a dairy-like product in healthy older people: a randomized controlled trial. Nutr J. 2014 Jan 22;13:9. doi: 10.1186/1475-2891-13-9.
Author
Dayne Hudson