The best muscle-building supplements for you depend on what kind of results you’re looking for. You can choose whey protein, creatine, nitric oxide, amino acids, and more!
Choosing the appropriate supplement can be difficult due to all the different supplements out there, and even more challenging to find out which are the best. To help with this decision, here is a list of every type of muscle-building supplement in order from worst to best:
- Creatine – There’s nothing special about creatine because it helps your muscles contract by giving them more energy during a workout. It’s not an essential supplement if you don’t do intensive workouts.
- Whey protein – This is the cheapest and easiest bodybuilding supplement. It’s a byproduct of milk, and the only difference in whey proteins is that some are pure whey (they are very high in protein) while some are lower in protein.
- L-Arginine – L-Arginine is an amino acid made from the amino acid lysine, and it’s not just one amino acid but a category called “nitric oxide donors.” Nitric oxide is a gas that helps relax muscles, dilate blood vessels, increase cGMP levels, improve athletic performance and boost NO levels in the body. It also has effects on blood pressure and glucose levels.
- Essential amino acids – This category of amino acids is essential as your body can’t make them independently. They are essential for muscle building, and sometimes people take a single amino acid called L-Glutamine, which helps with muscle recovery.
- BCAAs (Branched-Chain Amino Acids) – BCAAs are among the essential amino acids for muscle building and repair because they help reduce muscle protein catabolism. Leucine, Isoleucine, and Valine are the main ones used in muscle building supplements. You can take them separately or in a mix if you want added benefits like improved digestion, endurance, and recovery.
- Multivitamins – These don’t build muscle, but they do supplement your diet with essential vitamins that you can’t get enough of through just your food. It’s always a good idea to have a multivitamin and some type of fat to aid absorption.
- Electrolyte supplements – Without these nutrients, muscle cells would stop contracting and start leaking water, causing cramps, heart failure, and death. Even if you’re doing cardio, these nutrients are still essential to stay hydrated, and they’ll help prevent muscle cramping. You can take them with or without food so pick the one that fits your schedule.
- Glutamine – This is a supplement used in diet plans to eliminate the “after meal” slump that people go through after their fat-burning window closes. Glutamine floods your muscles with amino acids, which help repair and build new muscles even when you’re not working out.
In conclusion, regardless of which supplement you choose, you should avoid supplements that aren’t based on science. They’re usually a waste of money and only do more harm than good. There are a lot of great free resources available for people to learn about the benefits and risks of each supplement, but if you want cheaper, quicker results, than supplements are just not for you.
