Nutritional Health Supplements Guide

There are many fantastic natural bodybuilding tips out there these days. However, there are also tons of misconceptions that are in circulation. That is basically the problem with the World Wide Web or the Internet. While there are so many information that are readily available online; not all of them are accurate and true. If you search online for tips on how to bulk up naturally, you will immediately be bombarded with tons of information and it would be difficult for you to choose what among them to use. Then again, the good new is that, out of all the advices and tips that you can find, there are still some good information out there that can help you achieve your goal. Here are a couple of them to help you out. (more…)

One of the most popular nutritional supplements among bodybuilding and workout enthusiasts today is Nitric Oxide, or NO supplements.  Nitric Oxide supplements are touted as stimulating a wide range of effects, most notably increasing blood flow and oxygen delivery, glucose absorption, and increasing muscle growth, power output, endurance, and muscle velocity.  Taking these nutritional health supplements supposedly result in some key benefits like:

• Increased Strength
• Fast Gains in Muscle and Lean Mass
• Faster Recovery from Workouts
• Better Endurance (more…)

When a nutritional health supplement becomes popular and begins to have a lot of buzz and hype surrounding it, the million dollar question on most people’s minds is:  does it really work?  Creatine is perhaps, outside of steriods and pro-hormones, the most hyped, most used, and most talked about bodybuilding supplement of all time.  Proponents of creatine claim that it can provide a host of awesome benefits, including:  faster recovery time from workouts, fast gains in muscle mass and strength, and increased energy.  So of course we all want to know, does creatine really work? 

Creatine is sold primarily in two different forms these days:  the original and most common form, creatine monohydrate, and the newer form creatine ethyl ester.  Which of these forms is better is a debate for another article.  The question of course is, do they work? (more…)

Most people who are bodybuilding, weight training, or training for any type of sport use nutritional health supplements to help them train more effectively and efficiently.  In this article, we will primarily focus on bodybuilding supplements for those who are trying to get stronger, get bigger, and gain muscle in general.  Nutritional supplements are absolutely crucial if you are doing any kind of weight training.  These supplements are nothing like steroids and are, for the most part, totally safe and healthy.  However, you will not even come close to getting the results that you want from your training efforts unless you take at least a couple of these weight training supplements.  Let’s take a look at some of the most common supplements taken by your average weight trainer.

• Protein.  Protein is a basic nutrient that is required for human life, but it is also essential to building muscle.  While we all ingest protein with in our daily diets, we need much larger amounts of protein when trying to build muscle.  Most experts recommend ingesting between 1 and 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight.  So, if you weigh 100 lbs, you would want to intake between 100 and 150 grams of protein per day.  However, too much protein can be hard on your kidneys, so do not go overboard and be sure to drink plenty of water. I will add a full article about protein eventually, but generally why protein is the most effective type. 
• Creatine.  This is probably the most popular bodybuilding supplement in history, and for good reason.  Creatine is proven to quickly and effectively promote gains in muscle size when combined with a weight training regimen and proper diet.  Studies have shown that creatine can increase energy, strength, and muscle mass and also reduces recovery time.  A pretty amazing supplement!  Creatine occurs naturally in the body in small doses.  Side effects of creatine supplements could include dehydration and cramping, and it is also speculated that creatine may be tough on the kidneys.  It is important to drink plenty of extra water while taking creatine and even after you stop taking it, since it builds up in the body.  Avoid excessive heat and use caution when performing extensive aerobic exercise: be sure to drink extra extra extra water and fluids!

If you are new to weight training and/or do not want to spend a lot of money right away, a protein supplement would be the one product you should definitely get.  If you do not get enough protein, you simply cannot build and maintain muscle.  After protein, creatine is the next must have bodybuilding nutritional supplement.  The effects will speak for themselves.  After these two, you may want to consider some of these other bodybuilding supplements as well. 

• Nitric Oxide.  Also known by its chemical symbol NO, nitric oxide has recently become quite popular among bodybuilding and weight training supplement enthusiasts.  NO is a gas that has many, many functions in the body but, essentially, can work to increase the flow of blood in the body.  Increased blood flow translates to more nutrients and energy being delivered to the muscles, resulting in less fatigue and longer, more effective workouts, and longer muscle building phases in the body. 
• Testosterone Boosters.  Testosterone boosters are easily the most controversial nutritional supplement mentioned in this article.  Proponents claim these products boost the natural production of testosterone in the body while, unlike steroids, staying within the “normal” range of testosterone.  Some critics claim these products are largely ineffective while, on the other end of the spectrum, others claim these products are practically legal steroids.  Despite these criticisms, testosterone boosters such as ZMA continue to be best sellers for manufacturers of nutritional health supplements.