Are Bodybuilding Supplements Really Necessary?

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People who love to be JustFIT always make use of their passion for fitness and healthy life. Because fitness and perfect health motivate them a lot. Perhaps, individuals who are interested in fitness and improving their physique take supplements to obtain a range of health benefits, from weight loss to muscle growth. Bodybuilding supplements make it much easier to get the essential nutrients to build your muscles and can even give you the benefit to enhance your training process when taken right and combined with a good diet plan.

Today, I’m going to talk about bodybuilding supplements, and their rank of importance (in my opinion). Before we get into the topic, let me first say the most important aspect of diet, you must eat 6-7 meals per day and each meal should contain protein and carbs. 3-4 of these meals should contain wholemeal foods like rice, salad, and chicken. The other 3-4 meal portions should contain a liquid form of protein like protein shakes and MRP’s.

Now, let’s dive into bodybuilding supplements!

1. What is Bodybuilding Supplement?

Bodybuilding supplements are dietary supplements generally used by individuals who involved in bodybuilding, weightlifting, mixed martial arts, and other athletic activities. The intent of using these bodybuilding supplements is to increase muscle growth, increase body weight, improve athletic performance, and for some sports, stimulate fat burning in the body to create better muscle definition. The most widely used bodybuilding supplements are high protein drinks, branched-chain amino acids (BCAA), whey protein, fat burners, creatine, glutamine, arginine, essential fatty acids, testosterone booster, HMB, etc. These supplements are either come as single-ingredient products or in the form of “stacks” products – mixtures of various nutritious supplements providing synergistic benefits. The use of these supplements will differ according to people’s health, training intensity, and fitness goals.

2. How Important are Supplements for Bodybuilding?

For individuals who work out regularly, the most important thing is getting the most out of it. This is where the role of bodybuilding supplements comes in. Gaining muscle and strength is one key benefit of bodybuilding. The three main ways for maximum muscle gain are; eating more calories than you burn out, consuming more protein than you break down, and a training program that is more aiming at your muscles. You can cover these three things by maintaining a healthy diet and bodybuilding supplements play a key role in that. So, here are the five important benefits of bodybuilding supplements:

High protein like Whey protein is salient for muscle gains and helps you maintain your body protein levels and exert powerful anabolic effects. It is more easily absorbed by the body than other proteins and also improves your appetite control.
Branch chain amino acid (BCAA) help you improve your muscle density and your recovery rate. They help in building new proteins after a hard workout session.
Consuming high-quality multivitamins and multimineral supplements create cellular conditions under which your athletic performance is enhanced and muscle growth can occur.
Creatine is a dietary supplement also produced by your body that helps improve your muscle strength and increase the water content in the muscle cells. Creatine also provides substantial energy for the muscle and other tissues.
Testosterone is responsible for your increased muscle mass. Studies show that intake of testosterone supplements can decrease fat mass increase energy and increase muscle size and strength.

These are some of the significant benefits that bodybuilding supplements provide and they highlight supplements’ pivotal role in helping the body function better during workouts and hence helping in bodybuilding and strength development.

3. Facts and Myths about Bodybuilding Supplements

Separating fact from myth can often be difficult in the supplements and bodybuilding realm. Everybody has an opinion, and often these opinions are based on rumors or misinformation. So, it’s time to separate fact from myth and learn the truth behind common bodybuilding and supplements myths you’ve probably already heard.

1) Protein Makes You Fat

Fact: Protein doesn’t make you fat. Only consuming an excessive amount of daily calories can make you gain more body fat. Consuming the right amount of daily protein will ensure maximum muscles gain. And, if you aren’t eating enough protein, you make it harder for your body to gain muscles.

2) Bodybuilding Supplements are a Waste of Money

Fact: There are many amazing bodybuilding supplements on the market that help you maximize your athletic performance and overall health. Don’t let the exaggerated claims of some salesmen keep you away from products that amplify your workout efforts.

3) I Maintain a Good Diet, I Don’t Need Supplements

Fact: A well-balanced healthy diet is a good start, but it doesn’t mean that you are fulfilling all of your body’s nutritional needs. Nutrient needs can change and fluctuate according to your age, health, stress, and the intensity of your workout training. So, supplements are the ones that fill your nutrient gaps.

4) All Bodybuilding Supplements are The Same Quality

Fact: Not all bodybuilding supplements are created equally. Different brands have different standards. Some brands rely on lower quality and purity of raw materials so they can provide supplements at a lower price. So, never buy supplements based on price. Instead, seek out the opinions of experienced people and research the best-selling supplement products.

5) Creatine Supplement is a Steroid

Fact: Creatine supplement is nothing like a steroid. Actually, creatine is a natural substance found in the human body that helps to supply primary energy to muscle cells. Creatine supplements are safe and natural, and steroid use comes with many potentially dangerous side effects.

6) Bodybuilding Supplements Boost Your Strength and Muscle Mass Even If You Don’t Workout.

Fact: While bodybuilding supplements can enhance your overall health, battle your stress, improve your sleep and boost your immune system, they are not magical pills that can turn you into a bodybuilder. Bodybuilding supplements help to amplify your training process, but they will not make you fit and stronger if you are not working hard in the gym.

7) Bodybuilding Supplements Cause Many Side Effects

Fact: The majority of ingredients contained in bodybuilding supplements are found naturally in the human body, or in the food we consume. So, supplements have very minimal side effects.

8) Creatine Supplement Causes Kidney Damage

Fact: Creatine supplement intake has been proven to be safe and non-toxic for individuals with a healthy kidney function.

9) Creatine Supplement Use Causes Muscle Cramps

Fact: Like the earlier one, this myth has also been studied and proven to be wrong. Actually, one research revealed that athletes who use creatine supplements experienced fewer muscle cramps, muscle tightness, injuries, strains, and dehydration.

10) Everybody Will Experience the Same Benefits from Bodybuilding Supplements

Fact: Each individual is unique, and no two individuals work out the same or eat the same. Often times you will find that certain supplements work better for some than others. In fact, it’s the case that one person will experience minimal benefits from one supplement brand, but receive great benefits from another supplement brand. So, don’t think that a supplement won’t work for you because it didn’t work well for your friend.

11) High Protein Diets are Unhealthy for You

Fact: There is no study or research to prove this claim that a high protein diet negatively impacts healthy individuals with proper kidney functioning.

12) Bodybuilders or Athletes Don’t Need Extra Protein

Fact: Studies reveal that individuals who are doing intense training do require extra protein. Exercises and hard workouts tear down your muscle tissue, and additional protein helps assist the body in repairing and rebuilding this damaged tissue. In addition, researches show that individuals who are not eating enough protein, actually lose their muscle tissue.

13) Fat Burners are Really a Waste of Money

Fact: Most of the popular fat-burning supplements contain ingredients that are effective at stimulating your body’s metabolism level and encouraging the body with burning excess fat. Combined with good weight loss training, cardio and a healthy diet fat burning supplements can assist in boosting your energy and metabolism during long periods of the weight loss process.

14) Our Body Can Produce Enough Amount of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Its Own

Fact: Actually, the body doesn’t produce omega-3 fatty acids on its own, meaning the body is incapable of producing them, and they must be obtained through the food we intake. So, supplements like fish oil provide the body with needed omega-3 fatty acids, and they’re very much beneficial to hard-training individuals who are on a limited calorie diet.

Essential Bodybuilding Supplements

1. Protein Powder Supplements

Protein provides the body with amino acids, which are important for muscle growth and are considered an essential supplement by many bodybuilders and gym-goers. As protein will help your muscles rebuild and recover from the stress placed on them during workouts. Since it’s a little inconvenient to eat protein six times per day, you can drink protein shakes occasionally. That’s when I’ll grab my shaker bottle, prepare my favorite protein shake, and drink. Sometimes you have no other options, and these quick nutrient-rich protein shakes can be a lifesaver. Most of the protein powder supplements are powdered forms of protein that come from plants such as soybeans, peas, hemp, rice, and potatoes, or animal protein like eggs, or milk (casein or whey protein). The protein powders may contain other ingredients such as added sugars, thickeners, artificial flavoring, vitamins, and minerals. Protein supplements help in gaining muscle mass, control your hunger-resulting in fat loss, and they’re the best protein source especially for vegetarians.

2. Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) Supplements

There are nearly 20 different types of amino acids that make up the different types of proteins in the human body. “Branched-chain” refers to the chemical structure of BCAAs, which is a group of three essential amino acids: isoleucine, leucine, and valine. BCAA supplements have been shown to increase muscle growth, reduce muscle soreness, reduce exercise-induced fatigue, and prevent muscle wasting (preserve your muscle mass). Your body cannot produce these essential BCAA amino acids on its own, so, you need to get them from your food and diet supplements. If you don’t supply your body with enough amounts of BCAAs, it will break down your muscles and tissues to get the energy; definitely, this is something you want to avoid.

3. Multivitamin and Multimineral Supplements

As of today, the soil is much more cultivated than it was in the past, which has greatly depleted the vitamins and minerals you get from the foods that grow in the soil and the animals that live off the soil. That’s why it’s recommended to take multivitamin and multimineral supplements.

Vitamins

All vitamins are required by our bodies for survival, as vitamins control the chemical reactions within the body to convert food into energy and living tissue. Vitamins like Vitamin C and all of the B Vitamins are water-soluble, you must take them on a daily basis since they are not stored in the body and vitamins like A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble, so, they’re stored in the body. Vitamins are vulnerable to heat, light, and chemical agents, so you must follow the appropriate food processing, preparation, and storing to get the nutritional value out of the meal.

Minerals

Minerals are much like a chemical form than vitamins. Also, they’re much more stable in food preparation than vitamins. Minerals are categorized as macro minerals – calcium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, magnesium, chloride, and sulfur), and micro minerals – (iron, zinc, copper, fluoride, iodine, chromium, selenium, molybdenum, and manganese). We need to take macro minerals greater than 100 mg per day and we only need “trace” amounts of micro minerals daily to suffice. Minerals are important to produce necessary hormones in our body.

Now, you know why it’s recommended to take multivitamin and multimineral supplements in the morning and night. Taking these bodybuilding supplements makes sure your body is provided with all the nutrients it needs for good health that you may not be getting from the foods on your diet plan. According to nutritionists your multivitamin and multimineral supplements should have Vitamin D, Magnesium, Calcium, Zinc, Iron, Folate, Vitamin C, and Vitamin B-12. Taking the multivitamin and multimineral Supplements helps you enhance your energy, maintain good muscle strength, boost your immunity, prevent nutrient deficiency, and reduces the symptoms of stress and anxiety.

4. Fat Burner Bodybuilding Supplements

The key ingredients used in fat burners are caffeine, green tea extract, L-carnitine, conjugated linoleic acid, chromium, forskolin, Yohimbe, Glucomannan, and Raspberry Ketones. And, they’re designed to stimulate hormonal reactions in your body that begin to breaking down body fat and using it as a fuel source to produce energy. Fat burner bodybuilding supplements can support fat loss by enhancing your metabolism, maintaining a healthy appetite, and minimizing your food cravings. They can also help you optimize your workout potential by increasing your energy and focus.

5. Creatine Supplements

Creatine Supplements are very popular among bodybuilders and athletes in order to gain muscle, enhance strength and improve athletic performance. Creatine shares many similarities with amino acids. In fact, your body can naturally produce creatine from the amino acids methionine, glycine, and arginine. Creatine has 1% of the total volume of human blood. Taking creatine supplements help your muscles produce energy during heavy lifting or high-intensity workouts, increase your body cells hydration, reduce protein breakdown -resulting in increased total muscle mass, and you can maintain optimal performance for longer.

6. Testosterone Booster Supplements

Like other bodybuilding supplements, testosterone boosters also don’t have a sterling reputation. However, there is a list of things that get change with age, one of those changes is in strength and muscle mass as we pass through our third decade. What’s to blame? Testosterone. Most men begin to experience a gradual decline in the testosterone hormone after the age of 30, and the amount of decline depends on various factors from body composition to stress level. This is where testosterone boosters come into play. Testosterone boosters typically come in powdered form and they contain natural herbs and other substances like fenugreek, zinc, magnesium, ashwagandha, and D-Aspartic Acid (D-AA) that are supposed to increase your natural production of testosterone hormone. Taking testosterone booster supplements stimulate muscle growth, efficiently burning off excess body fat, gives faster recovery from workouts, helps to build bigger and stronger muscles, increases your libido, etc.

7. Carbohydrate Powder Supplements

Although protein powder is a widely popular supplement among gym-goers, bodybuilders, and athletes, powder supplements providing other nutrients like carbohydrates can also be effective. Carbohydrate powder supplement can offer a wide range of benefits for athletic activities, as carbohydrates are your body’s primary energy source. Taking carbohydrate powder as a post-workout supplement can help you to sustain your testosterone levels, reduce excess calorie burning, improve your muscle recovery, and reduce the release of growth hormones. So, if you’ve trained hard, you can take carbohydrate powder as your post-workout supplement. Also, carbohydrate powder supplements are good for individuals who want to gain weight in order to reach their fitness goals.

8. Meal Replacement Supplements

In order to achieve your fitness goals in a healthy way, you need to maintain a balanced and nutritious diet, but sometimes our busy lifestyle or other circumstances make it hard to prepare a full meal. That’s where meal replacement supplements come in. Meal replacement bodybuilding supplements are meant to help you get a meal-worth of nutrients when you don’t have the time or access to enjoy a proper full meal. These supplements come in forms like shakes, bars, and powders. These lean protein and slow-release carbohydrate meal replacement supplements are perfect to eat on the go; all you need to do is boil water and allow 8 minutes to get it to cook.

Conclusion

Sports and dietary nutritional supplements is a growing industry, many stores, and online websites are offering these bodybuilding supplements, So, before you buy any products just make sure they’re legal, also, get advice from the Doctor who is taking care of you, he will suggest the right bodybuilding supplements for you.