Supplements: From the word itself, this means to make up for a deficiency or to add on to. In the world of bodybuilding, supplementation is a must. Even if you are genetically gifted, having a good supplement stack to backup your good genes is necessary to make that one last high rep or that one last extended pull. This is where supplementation comes in. And it comes as a big factor in gaining a step toward that goal.

Why Supplement?

Some of you might say, “I am young, energetic and gifted with terrific genes so I don’t need any of those supplements.” This is arguably true. Only if you are not a competitive bodybuilder. If you only look at bodybuilding as a leisure activity, then supplementation is indeed not necessary. You just need to eat the right foods, sleep well and drink lots of water and you should be good to go. But if you take bodybuilding seriously, you should know that having supplements is more than gulping down those protein shakes.

You see, average people only need to have enough sleep/rest, a good diet and lots of water. That is to ensure that his or her body would be properly fueled for the normal day to day activity. But for bodybuilders like you and me, who rips our muscle tissues apart during an enormous workout session, we need added support to increase stamina and ensure quick muscle recovery.

This is where supplements play their most important role. Supplements provides the body with the extra help and boost it needs to rebuild those muscle tissues that were ripped during the workout; to help the muscle fibers recover faster while preventing the buildup of body fats during sleep; and to keep the body energized for an extended period of time. We’ll discuss each supplement further in this article.

Nitric Oxide: New School Power Formula

One part Nitrogen and one part Oxygen. That’s what comprises Nitric Oxide. And what does it do? It helps the body do 3 things. Repair, maintain and defend body cells. Quite a function if you ask me. Even though Nitric Oxide is produced naturally by the human body, most people don’t produce enough of it to achieve optimal health. The truth is that the older we get, the less Nitric Oxide our bodies produce. Here is where supplementation comes in.

Bodybuilders are particularly interested with the fact that nitric oxide enhances the flow of blood into the muscles. This is because better blood flow delivers additional nutrients to muscles resulting into larger and bigger muscles. It also lessens inflammation which, in a layman’s term means decrease pain experienced when putting muscles to extreme stress. In addition, nitric oxide affects the release of adrenaline which explains why you normally experience increased pump and vascularity during workouts when you ingest NO prior to doing your routine. I personally recommend Gaspari Nutrition’s SuperPump 250 as the product to beat for this particular supplement.

The Mighty Builder – Glutamine

Glutamine is one-half of two amino acids that are critical to human health with the other half being glutamate. In humans, animals, and plants, glutamine and glutamate are transformed into each other as part of numerous physiological processes. Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the human body and is mainly stored in the musculature.

Although Glutamine can be found naturally in food sources such as beans, poultry, fish and dairy products, in order to consume a highly beneficial amount, taking it in powdered form as a nutritional supplement is highly-recommended. You may be asking why take it in high amounts. If you are a serious bodybuilder, you need to read this. Glutamine is one of the best anti-catabolic agents that reduces the rate of muscle breakdown resulting from hours of excruciating muscle building routines.

Glutamine is also highly beneficial on the body’s immune system. Not only are your muscles heavily stressed from your workouts, but your entire immune system is stressed as well. Glutamine will help you to recover quicker in between your workouts and will also help to prevent you from getting sick.

For this one, I suggest Prolab Glutamine Powder as it provides 4500 mg of L-Glutamine per serving. You can easily get a 1kg pack at the A1 store for just 39.95 USD.

The Big Star – Protein

Do I need to say more about the importance of protein supplementation? Nevertheless, let me give you a brief yet meaty advice that you could follow to ensure an adequate amount of protein intake via supplements.

Whey protein is a bodybuilding staple that should be taken several times a day. As a recommendation, you can take a serving of whey protein shake first thing in the morning to help stop the catabolic effect of the overnight fast that you had in your sleep. It is also important to ingest a serving before and immediately after workouts.

Casein protein, though not as popular as its whey counterpart, has specific benefits because of its slow-digesting properties. This means that ingesting casein protein powder provides a steady stream of amino acids to the muscles for hours which makes it ideal to take before hitting the sack at night.

I believe that everyone would agree with me when I say that Optimum Nutrition’s protein products are tops in this aspect. You could grab a casein or whey product by ON at a low price of 25.95 per 2 lbs.
Supplements

The Underrated Combo – Arginine And Carnitine

With all the talks about the more popular bodybuilding supplements, more often than not, both arginine and carnitine are most commonly set aside. Most people focus on protein and creatine when in fact, arginine and carnitine provide equally important benefits to the muscles.

Arginine, or L-arginine, is an amino acid that is needed to keep the liver, skin, joints, and muscles healthy. It strengthens the body’s immune system, regulates hormones and blood sugar, and promotes male fertility. As a bodybuilding supplement, arginine helps drive more blood into the muscles during training bringing with it more oxygen, nutrients and hormones that aid in muscle growth. This process increases the pump and is helpful when combined with NO to get that unbelievable growth-inducing vascularity when blasting the irons. Ideally, you need to take in 5 grams of arginine an hour before you hit the gym. You could try Arginine 1000 that sells for just 12.95 per 100 tablet bottle from the A1 store.

On the other hand, Carnitine is an amino acid-like substance that is very important in energy production and fat metabolism. According to Robert Crayhon, author of The Carnitine Miracle; Carnitine is “the most important nutrient for naturally supporting the weight loss process.” This is the reason why most fat burning supplements in the market today include carnitine as part of the product’s ingredients when in fact, most only contains 50 mg. This amount is considered insignificant in weight loss promotion and energy boosting. Most experts agree that the ideal carnitine dosage per day should be between 1,000 to 4,000 mg; for one to enjoy its weight loss benefits. I suggest taking 2 capsules of Universal Carnitine LEN half an hour before eating, right before a workout or a couple of hours after a full meal. It only costs 21.95 per 60 capsule bottle at the A1 store..

Personal Supplement Stack

As a serious bodybuilder for the past 2 years, I have been an advocate of proper supplementation. And when I say proper supplementation, this means that I take into consideration all aspects of my health in conjunction with regular medical check-ups. That being said, let me outline my personal supplement stack.

I have the following:

• ON 100% Whey Protein – Taken first thing in the morning right after getting out of bed
• PRO-NOS Whey Isolate and Cytosport MuscleMilk – Daily Meal Replacement for meals 2 and 4
• ON 100% Casein Protein – Ingested before bedtime
• Gaspari Nutrition SuperPump 250 – Pre-Workout drink
• Universal Torrent – Post Workout drink
• Arginine 1000 – 3 tabs per day
• Carnitine LEN – 3 caps per day
• Multivitamins – 1 capsule daily

The above are my daily supplement stack and I combine it with a low-carb high-protein whole meal diet for maximum weight loss and mass gain. And as an added advise. Don’t forget to drink water. Lots and lots of water to make sure that you’re body is properly hydrated for the whole day.