BEGINNERS SUPPLEMENT COURSE

Bodybuilding supplements course for beginners:

1. Introduction
2. The basics
3. Supplements glossary
4. The "essential" supplements
5. Other supplements
6. Common myths
7. FAQ
8. Summary & links

You're reading part 2 of 8. Click here to start over.

Part 2: The basics

What are bodybuilding supplements?

Bodybuilding supplements are dietary ingredients that have been designed for the sole purpose of increasing an individual’s performance and improving body composition. These supplements generally consist of natural or synthetic ingredients extracted from plants and herbs, vitamins, minerals and amino acids.

Bodybuilders and athletes have above average nutritional requirements. In order to keep growing, bodybuilders must have a high calorie, high protein and nutritionally rich diet. Bodybuilding supplements are designed to supplement the bodybuilder’s diet, allowing these nutritional requirements to be met.

Other bodybuilding supplements are designed to increase energy, aid recovery, increase blood flow and raise testosterone levels. We cover these supplements more in part 6 of this course.

How do supplements effect performance?

Obviously, different supplements work in different ways. Most supplements aid in muscle recovery by limiting muscle breakdown. The most important time you need nutrients is directly after a workout. After resistance training your body is in a catabolic state and muscle tissue is being broken down. With the correct post workout supplement combination you can limit muscle breakdown and increase protein synthesis, resulting in more lean muscle growth.

Other supplements, like creatine, increase energy available to muscles allowing you to train harder. Supplements like nitric oxide improve blood flow to your muscles resulting in getting a better "pump" and more nutrients where they're needed.

Do you need to take supplements?

It is possible to gain weight and increase lean muscle mass without supplements. However, most people will benefit from taking supplements in conjunction with a good workout routine and diet plan. Here are some reasons for taking supplements:

1. Whey protein has the highest BV (biological value) of any source of protein, and a complete amino acid profile. This makes it the best protein source for lean muscle growth.
2. Whey protein is absorbed by the body faster than another other source. This makes it ideal for post workout and first thing in the morning. Getting the same results from food would be impractical.
3. Night time shakes have been shown to increase protein synthesis and decrease muscle catabolism while sleeping. Studies have shown casein protein can take up to 7 hours to be absorbed by the body. Again, it would not be practical to eat a meal with the same nutritional value before bed.
4. Energy products like creatine, and blood flow products like nitric oxide cannot be consumed through diet.
5. EFAs can be consumed through diet. But it would mean eating different varieties of fish, nuts and oils throughout the week. It would also be difficult to achieve the optimal EFA amounts & ratios.
6. Busy lifestyles don’t always allow for the preparation of meals to meet the requirements of your muscle building diet.

The bottom line is, with the correct diet and training program supplements will help you achieve your goals faster.

Continue to part 3: Supplements Glossary »

What supplements are others using? Check out the top selling supplements by category:

Top Protein Powders:

1. Fat-Free Pure Whey Protein Isolate
2. Elite Whey Gourmet
3. ON 100% Whey Gold Standard
4. Nitro-Tech Hardcore
5. Muscle Milk

Top Creatine Supplements:

1. BSN Cellmass
2. Gaspari SizeON
3. Dymatize Creatine Monohydrate
4. Volu-Gro Post Workout
5. Cell-Tech Hardcore

Top Nitric Oxide:

1. No-Xplode
2. SuperPump 250
3. NaNO Vapor
4. Dymatizer XPand
5. White Flood

Top Weight Gainers:

1. Monster Mass
2. High Protein Mega Gainer
3. Up Your Mass
4. Pro Complex Gainer
5. CytoGainer

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