Supplements in Bodybuilding, Is it worth it?

Bodybuilding entails a systematic workout regimen, a proper balanced diet designed to meet your bodybuilding needs, and good supplementation to compliment your nutrition requirements.

The best bodybuilding supplements are those that will enhance your bodybuilding efforts to promote muscle building, and performance-enhancing gains.

In this post, you will get to know why supplements are used in bodybuilding, and how to dose supplements. You will also know if beginner bodybuilding supplements is right for everyone as well as the potential risks and disadvantages of dietary supplementation in bodybuilding.

I. Why are Supplements used in Bodybuilding?

Bodybuilders buy bodybuilding supplements online for thre primary reasons. The first is to aid weight loss or promote fat burning, the second is to stimulate weight gain or muscle building, and the third is to enhance athletic performance.

The best bodybuilding supplements for bulking will stimulate your testosterone, human growth hormone (HGH), Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) hormone, and collagen production.

They will also boost your rate of nitrogen retention as well as your body’s ability to promote C1INH and C4 protein synthesis in your skeletal muscle tissues. These bodily functions will inevitably lead to weight gain and skeletal muscle growth.

The best cutting supplements tend to boost your rate of metabolism. By doing so, your body tends to heat up in a process known as thermogenesis. But your body’s natural reaction to thermogenesis is to promote a homeostasis body temperature through the stimulation of your sweat glands to increase your perspiration and cool down your high body temperature. The continued heating and cooling frequency of your body will cause you to shed excess fat deposits in a process known as lipolysis which then leads to weight loss.

The energy fuel produced from the burning of fat deposits in your body will be put to good use as a source of energy for your high-interval intensity training (HIIT) and weight training regimen.

Supplements that promote athletic performance tend to boost your body’s supply of oxygen-rich blood by increasing your red blood cell (RBC) count. With increased RBC, your body will be supplied with not just sufficient amounts of oxygen to improve your focus, endurance and stamina, but also nutrients to improve your energy, power, and strength.

In addition to this, the oxygenated blood flowing through your skeletal muscle tissues will go a long way in slowing down the accumulation of muscle fatigue causing lactic acid in your muscle tissues.

II. How to Dose Supplements?

While everyone has different dietary requirements, the Food and Drug Administration or FDA has set a Daily Value (DV) benchmark for the vitamins and essential mineral supplementation for the average person.

As a bodybuilder, your specific daily vitamin and mineral needs would be dependent on several factors including your age, sex, body weight, individual health needs, and respective bodybuilding goals.

The table below shows the FDA approved DV for both vitamins and minerals.

III. Can everyone take a supplement?

You typically would get your daily nutritional requirements from your meals, especially if you are on a balanced diet and eat clean. However, as you engage in bodybuilding activities, your daily nutritional requirements will increase. Your daily macros of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats will change based on your bodybuilding needs.

Also, your daily essential mineral and vitamin requirements will need to be augmented to meet your bodybuilding needs. Bodybuilders have a greater need for supplementation, but not everyone can take a supplement for one health reason or another.

This is why you are required to consult with your physician before taking any supplement. If you suffer from a digestive disorder, anemia, allergies, or any medical condition that could make your use of supplements detrimental to your health, it would be advisable to steer clear from unprescribed supplementation.

IV. What are the potential disadvantages of Supplements?

Even the best bodybuilding supplements consist of active ingredients with potent physical effects on the body.

While you should be just fine if you take only the recommended dose of supplements for your bodybuilding efforts, you may put yourself at risk of minor or severe side effects if you misuse or abuse supplements by taking high dosages.

An overdose of supplements can lead to headaches, nausea, acne, vomiting, and osteoporosis. In extreme cases supplements may be hazardous to vital otgans like the kidneys and liver.

Final Thoughts

In closing, it is important to note that similar to vitamins, there are other supplements that play an equally essential role in helping bodybuilders meet their bodybuilding needs. Some of these supplements include:

Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAA):

BCAA tends to promote the synthesis of C1INH and C4 protein in skeletal muscle tissues and boost muscle growth in addition to helping to preserve skeletal muscle gains achieved from weight or strength training.

Essential Amino Acids (EAA):

EAA helps with your recovery after resistance or high-interval intensity training (HIIT). EAA also stimulates skeletal muscle tissue repair by boosting protein synthesis.

Glutamine:

Glutamine will help to prevent or limit the breakdown of skeletal muscle tissues during and after training. Glutamine also curbs muscle fatigue experienced during HIIT.

Omega-3:

Omega-3 is an anti-inflammatory supplement that helps curb and reduce inflammation of the joints. In addition to this, Omega-3 also promotes sound cardiovascular health while also aiding lipid balance which is absolutely essential to recovery.

It is worth noting that as a bodybuilder, you will increase your bodybuilding success when you maintain a proper balance of workouts, nutrition, and supplementation. It is also important to note that one cannot work without the other.

Supplements provide your body with the needed minerals and vitamins that you may not be able to get in adequate supply from your daily meals.

Also, your energy requirements during your training sessions means that you have a greater need for supplementation in order to replenish the minerals and vitamins that are expended whenever you exercise.

But before you start ordering for bodybuilding supplements online, you need to have a chat with your trainer and go for a thorough medical checkup. This way you will be able to know what supplements will be ideally suited to your bodybuilding needs and if you are healthy enough to workout and use supplements to begin with.

In addition to supplementation, you may also want to consider cycling on androgenic-anabolic steroids (AAS) to aid your bodybuilding and performance-enhancing efforts.

You can get the best bodybuilding AAS from UPsteroid and you can also get free consultation from an IFBB PRO right here today.