If you are new to the world of bodybuilding, one of the first things you will probably notice is how many supplements are out there. When reading product descriptions, you may be completely inundated with words like “extreme” and “massive”. With so many products with similar descriptions, how do you know what to choose? Hopefully this article would give you some basics on how to choose the right body building supplements for you.
What are Your Goals?
The first and most important thing to think about when choosing supplements is to consider what your goals are. Although some supplements can be used anytime, quite a few products used during the “bulking” phase are completely unsuitable for “cutting” and vice versa. So ask yourself, “what do I want to achieve?”.
Supplements for Any Phase
Some supplements are good for any time of the year, regardless of your goals. These include a group of supplements known as “pre workout supplements”. Most of these contain stimulants such as caffeine, as well as other ingredients to increase muscle pump, endurance, and boost power. All these things combine to help you get the most out of your work out. Let’s also not forget about the humble multivitamin. People who undergo regular intensive exercise require more vitamins and minerals than other people. Be sure to keep your levels topped up with a multivitamin to feel and perform at your best.
Supplements for Bulking
If you have decided that now is the time to get huge, then there are a couple of supplements that you should consider. First and foremost, you need extra calories and protein. It is difficult to grow muscle if you do not have excess calories, and it is impossible to grow muscle without protein.
There is a category of protein powders called “weight (or mass) gainers”. These generally have lots of carbs and protein to kick your body into weight gain mode. Combine this with your regular weight training, and you’ll be on your way to packing on the muscle.
Supplements for Cutting:
If now is the time for getting shredded then it is also time to change up your supplements. It is important to never drop protein from your diet, even if you are trying to lose weight/fat, because it helps to prevent muscle wasting. However, sticking to a weight gainer might be counter active to what you are trying to achieve. Consider switching to a protein without added carbs, such as a blended protein, whey protein isolate, or hydrolysed whey (listed in order of increasing protein quality). Better yet, you could even use a fat loss protein. Not only are these low fat and low carb, but they also contain ingredients to boost your metabolism and help you burn fat. Combine this with discipline and a nice clean diet, and you’ll be on your way to showing off your six pack.
Bio:
MrSupplement is the largest & most trusted supplier of sports nutrition supplements in Australia. But more than this MrSupplement also provide Australia’s largest database of articles, videos & quality information pertaining to weight training & workouts, sports nutrition, supplements & sports psychology.
Before wasting your money on a pile of bodybuilding supplements you really need to work out what you are hoping to achieve. Don’t lose sight of the fact that sound nutrition forms the basis of any muscle building program and no amount of supplementation with the latest and greatest products will make up for bad eating habits.