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Don't know where to start and which workout boosters are suitable for you? Read on for some muscle-building choices without wasting too much money.
There are usually two types of fitness newbies. The first group finds it difficult to gain weight, while the other just wants to burn fat. Still, either in the skinny or overweight group, you can solve your own problem after finishing this article from Ultimate Sup - the best one-stop supplement store in Singapore.
When you start hitting the gym, the first thing you need to pay attention to is building muscle mass, along with promoting your metabolism. Especially in your first two months, you may not “get along” well with high-intensity sessions. That's why dropping by a store nearby and purchasing some muscle-building supplements can give you a hand.
What Are Muscle-Building Supplements?
Muscle-Building supplements first appeared in the US in 1994, regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). According to this company, these products enrich nutrients to boost users' muscle growth. Some nutritional ingredients included in supplements are protein, starch, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids, and fibers.
Benefits Of Muscle-Building Supplements
This kind of boosters brings lots of advantages because most people cannot ensure an adequate nutrition amount. That makes workout products more and more well-known, especially for gymnastics or sports athletes who exercise at high intensity and desire to build muscle mass faster.
During training, your body will consume a lot of energy and also have broken muscle tissues. They need to recover after workouts, and supplements can be a great support. Moreover, taking a booster improves your performance.
In addition, muscle-building supplements are usually in powder form. They are mixed with water, which is super fast, convenient, and suitable for those who are too busy in this modern life. Many individuals with digestive diseases, indigestion, and dyspepsia also follow this method.
Muscle-building supplements play a vital role in your get-in-shape journey. Let’s find out which products you should take.
Mass Gainers
Mass Gainers include an energy-rich blend of protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins, and minerals. They are perfectly appropriate for skinny gym-goers as they provide a great source of calories for the body. Its protein percentage may be less than that of Whey Protein Powder, but the carbohydrate and fat levels are surely higher. Hence, you can boost your calorie intake significantly with this “assistant.” Mass gainers can be used as a substitute for nutritious snacks, supporting fast, safe, and effective weight gain, too.
Benefits Of Mass Gainers
- Rich in nutrition, especially carbohydrates, ensuring fast, safe, and scientific weight gain
- Contain high-quality whey protein
- Focus on muscle recovery and development
Worth Trying: MuscleTech Mass Tech, Dymatize Super Mass Gainer, Optimum Nutrition Serious Mass Gainer.
Recommended Dose: It will depend on your target weight gain per week. If your goal is 1kg per week, you should get extra 1100 calories from the Mass Gainer supplement. For best results, you should take mass gainers post-workout as a means of regenerative meal. Besides, you can consider taking it between your meals.
Creatine
Creatine is an organic compound in muscle fibers, an amino acid synthesized inside the body through a catalytic process to produce ATP. Creatine is composed of 3 acids, including arginine, glycine, and methionine, to provide energy, increase your strength and performance.
As a supplement, creatine has been popular since the 1990s, and has been the subject of hundreds of studies since then. It comes in numerous forms, but none have been shown conclusively to be as effective as the cheapest and most popular variety, creatine monohydrate.
Benefits Of Creatine
- Expand lean muscle mass, particularly during your strength training session
- Enhance muscle strength
- Decrease soreness, lower levels of exercise-induced inflammation
- Improve blood flow during workouts
- Support better performance during high-intensity training
Worth Trying: Platinum Creatine, MusclePharm Creatine Essentials, Cellucor C4 Sport, Allmax Nutrition Creatine Powder.
Recommended Dose: Five grams, taken whenever works best for you. In case you’ve already used NitroTech protein with three grams of creatine, you should only take another two grams from a creatine supplement.
Some professional athletes take about 25 grams of creatine daily in five consecutive days to enhance their best performances. However, this is not necessary. According to Ciaran Fairman in the article "Do I Need to Load With Creatine," you can also get the same benefits with around five grams per day. The crucial factor here is that you have to take it consistently.
Whey Protein
Whey protein is considered the best for lifters. Whey protein supplies the body with a high amount of protein and amino acids that help to jump-start the anabolic process. Whey protein continuously replenishes and enhances your body’s amino acids. It assists with muscle recovery, as well. Whey is usually low in fat, sugar but high in amino acids. It contains beneficial glutamine to help in regenerating, synthesizing, and increasing muscle effectively.
Benefits Of Whey Protein
- Improve digestion more effectively than other protein sources
- Boost muscle mass, especially when taken post-workout
- Control appetite and fullness
- Consist of more leucine than any other protein sources
Worth Trying: RSP Nutrition Whey Protein Powder, IsoFlex, MuscleTech NitroTech Whey Gold, Dymatize Nutrition ISO 100.
Recommended Dose: You can have 20-30 grams of whey protein per serving. As Nick Coker writes in the article "The Case for Pre-Workout Protein”, post-workouts are the best times to take whey. It's ok to take it as a meal replacement or to boost your protein intake at other times. However, you still need to enhance your protein amount by eating fresh foods.
Branched-Chain Amino Acid (BCAA)
BCAA is one of the primary elements in muscle-building supplements. Of the 20 amino acids that make up protein, just three are referred to as BCAAs: leucine, isoleucine, and valine. These are the specific amino acids that have been shown to stimulate protein synthesis and help regulate protein metabolism.
According to experts, BCAAs are entirely harmless with no side effects to users. This has also been verified by professional athletes who use it for a long time. Many bodybuilders and sports athletes use BCAAs as a daily supplement to improve performance, recovery, and muscle development. Krissy Kendall, Ph.D., revealed in "The Top 7 Supplements to Boost Endurance Performance” that BCAAs can be as beneficial for endurance athletes like runners, rowers, and cyclists as they can be for lifters and bodybuilders.
Benefits Of BCAA
- Promote levels of muscle protein synthesis
- Lower levels of muscle damage during training
- Reduce muscle soreness from sessions
- Improve endurance during workouts
Worth Trying: Scivation Xtend, MuscleTech Platinum BCAA, California Gold Nutrition BCAA Powder, BPI Sports Best BCAA
Recommended Dose: You should take 3-6 grams pre or post-workout. When selecting a muscle-building product, don't forget to check its leucine, isoleucine, and valine.
Testosterone
Testosterone is your primary sex hormones. Both men and women produce testosterone, but men make more. As a steroid hormone from the Androgens group found in most animals, Testosterone is also an essential hormone in muscle development.
Typically, the testosterone concentration in men is much higher than that of women. On average, men have about 200-1200 ng/dl while women only have 15-70 ng/dl. That's partly a reason why ladies often struggle in building muscle.
Benefits Of Testosterone
- Support your muscle growth and strength
- Increase neurotransmission and stimulate tissue growth
- Interact with receptors in the gene, leading to protein synthesis
- Enhance the concentration of growth hormone, making it more likely for men to exercise for muscle improvement
Worth Trying: MuscleTech Test HD, MuscleTech Platinum 100% Tribulus, RSP Nutrition Prime-T.
Recommended Dose: Your dosage depends on each specific muscle-building product . You should take capsules 30 minutes before workouts or bedtime on an empty stomach.
In general, boosting mass is not that difficult when you find these “magical” things. If you wish to own a fit body in just a blink of an eye, choosing them all is an excellent choice. Other muscle builder supplements you can consider are MuscleTech Muscle Builder or MuscleTech Clear Muscle. They are available at any local supplement store.
However, suppose you're underweight and have a limited budget, choose yourself a combo including a mass gainer, a BCAA booster, and a creatine supplement in a store around. In case you’re suffering from obesity, try whey protein instead of a mass gainer to manage your weight. If you’re currently living in Singapore, visit Ultimate Sup to own high-quality products with the most affordable prices.
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