Over the last few years, the trend of fitness has picked up the pace. It should be taken as a positive sign because people have finally realized the severity of problems like obesity. However, the mushrooming of gyms has also introduced the trend of pill-popping.
Nothing to take away from the benefits of supplements, but you need to know more about them than what a typical salesperson would like to tell you. If not, supplements will have little to no critical influence on your physique. Worse still, they might harm you in the long run. So before incorporating any nutrition supplements in your diet plan, here is what you should come to terms with:
WHEY PROTEIN
It is the most popular supplement among fitness freaks. The logic behind this is not difficult to crack. When someone joins a gym for bodybuilding, he asked to consume proteins carrying a low quantity of calories. This practice fuels muscle building goals, and that’s where whey proteins spring into action.
The intake of whey proteins must be in an extraordinarily measured proportion. Going by the standards set by health experts, our body does not need more than one gram of protein for one pound.
It is also pertinent to mention that whey protein works as both post and pre workout supplements. Adding carbohydrates is also recommended by gym trainers to make the most of whey protein.
CREATINE
If creatine goes out of stock, the muscle-building world will immediately come to a standstill. Albeit hypothetic, this statement speaks volumes about the importance of creatine. In the past, it labeled as a substance that could be a bad influence on our kidneys. However, well-established research has declared it a baseless claim.
Typically, an average adult needs anything between 1 to 3 grams of creatine daily. But, like a proper bodybuilder pup, if you like to engage in intense exercises, you should set the threshold of 10 grams per day.
Since creatine boosts energy level and aids the recovery of lost phosphate, you can consume it after as well as before training. Many workout supplements need to be cycled on and off every once in a while. Luckily, that’s not the case with creatine.
GLUTAMINE
Although glutamine performs multiple functions in the human body, it mainly plays a vital role in the process of protein synthesis. So how can you come to know whether glutamine is your cup of tea or not? Well, as a rule of thumb, if you aim to lose weight, then you may not need to entertain this supplement. But it is a must ingredient for someone who likes to indulge in serious weight lifting.
As for dosage, the average estimation goes 5 grams per session – both pre and post-training.
CAFFEINE
A fair proportion of people take caffeine early in the morning. You guessed it right. I’m talking about coffee. So whether you happen to be a regular gym-goer or not, the odds are, your body is already well-encompassed with caffeine. Apart from triggering our mind to wakefulness, caffeine is very handy at a variety of things.
To begin with, it underplays the perception of pain. A sufficient amount of caffeine rewards your body in the form of high endurance of pain, which is very important for an athlete. It need not stressed that no athlete could make his mark unless he subscribes to the “never give up” mentality. In addition to that, it also marginalizes your fatigue rate.
The experts of the opinion, your body, must have 6 milligrams of caffeine for every 2 pounds of its weight. That’s a pretty straightforward equation, isn’t it? You should walk the tight line of the said quantity to capitalize on the maximum benefits of this ever-important compound.
MAGNESIUM
If there is any workout supplement that sounds too good to be true, it has to be none other than magnesium. In all likelihood, you might have come across people who were all pumped up after getting their gym membership but bid farewell to the gym very early in the piece due to muscle tension. That’s a telltale sign of magnesium deficiency.
According to a careful estimation, our body requires about 10 to 20 percent additional magnesium during gym hours. Depending on the magnitude of exercises, the percentage might increase. If you are looking to grow your muscles, your magnesium consumption should touch the threshold of 350 milligrams daily at a minimum.
GREEN TEA EXTRACT
Green tea extract is a go-to supplement for those who are interested in losing a few pounds or a lot of pounds for that matter. Often, people make it a point to sip green tea before getting on with their quota of exercise. That’s not a bad thing to do for any stretch of the imagination. But green tea is never going to be the substitute for green tea extract supplements.
People typically opt for the supplements which are well-stocked with EGCG. The reason being, it saves you from going to the bathroom over and over again.
THE FINAL VERDICT
All the workout supplements have the backing of science concerning their vast and varied advantages. But every individual has different goals when he hits the gym. You can only meet these goals once you have in-depth knowledge about workout supplements; otherwise, all your effort and fortune will go down the drain.
