Perhaps not the entire audience of Rocket Nutrition will agree with her because many can rightly say: “Muscles are not important if there is no visible result from them!”. This is partly true, but if your goal is functionality, strength, and endurance, you still need to think about muscle mass! Perhaps not to the extent that the guys think about it, who set themselves the goal of just having a beautiful body, but still!
This article will analyze the top 3 supplements for muscle growth. This will be useful material for those who want to become stronger and more resilient. For those who, with the onset of the cold season, are thinking about starting a “mass-gaining cycle,” it should become truly invaluable!
With the onset of the cold season, many people think about starting a mass-building cycle, and rightly so, as this is a great time to focus on gaining muscle mass and getting a little stronger.
Proper mass recruitment implies the correct ratio of calories received, sufficient protein intake, and an effective training plan.
The judicious addition of sports supplements to the diet will also help you gain muscle mass.
Many different supplements on the sports nutrition market promise phenomenal results. I do not trust these loud statements because they are not supported by research results or many years of experience in training. Therefore, my top supplements will be based on my long-term personal experience and the results of numerous tests.
So I present to you the top 3 sports nutrition supplements that will help you activate muscle growth:
1. Creatine
Creatine increases the capacity of your creatine phosphate, energy system, and anaerobic system. Simply put, it increases strength, endurance, and recovery between sets. But you can do nine squats per set instead of eight.
Increasing your training volume over days, weeks, and months is an important aspect of taking creatine. And here, everything is identical: more training volume – more muscles.
In science, creatine is the most effective and proven iso whey zero supplement on the sports nutrition market for improving anaerobic endurance and body weight.
There are about a hundred studies related to the ergogenic effect (increasing the efficiency of exercise) of creatine. Approximately 70% reported increased training endurance, while no study indicated an erotic effect of creatine (impaired performance).
In both the short and long term, creatine supplementation enhances the quality of training, resulting in a 5-15% increase in strength and performance gains. In addition, almost all studies show that the correct creatine intake increases body weight by 1-2 kilograms in the first week after administration.
In a report by the International Society for Sports Nutrition, the authors state:
“The sheer volume of research done with positive results for creatine monohydrate leads us to conclude that it is the most effective dietary supplement available today for enhancing high-intensity exercise and building lean muscle mass.”
A recent study identified an optimal creatine regimen that increased muscle creatine by 10-40%. According to this scheme, it is necessary to use creatine at about 0.3 g. per kilogram of body weight for the first 5-7 days. This period of acceptance is called the “loading phase.” For example, if you weigh 70 kg, you must consume about 20 grams. Creatine 5 gr. For each dose (4 times a day).
After the end of the “loading phase” (5-7 days), you must take 3-5 grams of creatine daily. In the same study, an experiment was made with the absence of a “loading phase” and cycling of creatine intake; this regimen did not show such effective results in maintaining optimal muscle creatine levels.
2. Beta-alanine
One of the leading theories of muscle fatigue is the accumulation of hydrogen ions in the muscles (as a result, a decrease in pH). Beta-alanine is an amino acid that helps to contain excess hydrogen in the muscles. As a result, it helps to increase the efficiency of the anaerobic energy system.
Several reliable studies show that beta-alanine has a positive effect on physical performance. One study found that pre-workout beta-alanine increased the number of reps per set by a few extras. For example, if you are training in the medium rep range (8-15 reps), you can count on 3 more reps per set. Beta-alanine also improves performance in interval training and sprinting.
Interestingly, creatine and beta-alanine work separately, and if you use them together (or with a short interval), you get a double performance boost. How does this happen? Two anaerobic systems are responsible for energy sources in the gym: the phosphagen (quick response) and glycolytic energy system.