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How do I Choose the Best Weight Training Supplements?
Weight training supplements are used as a tool to assist the athlete in burning fat and increasing lean muscle. Some of the best legal supplements are creatine, nitric oxide, protein, and vitamins. These supplements allow the weightlifter to create more muscle gains in the gym.
Creatine is one of the most popular weight training supplements. It helps the body pump water into the muscles, which enables the athlete to perform harder during high-intensity training. Creatine has been used by the bodybuilding community for several decades. It is normally cycled in six-week intervals, two weeks loading and four weeks of maintenance. This is one of the best supplements for converting protein into valuable amino acids. This product is well known to help produce lean skeleton muscle.
nitric oxide (NOS) is a gas that is formed in humans to assist the body in breaking down amino acids. NOS supplements are a relatively new training aid that is designed to help blood circulation during a workout. The effects of NOS are to increase blood circulation, which makes more blood available for muscles during a workout. nitric oxide is one of many weight training supplements that are designed to increase energy during a workout, enabling the weightlifter to perform high-intensity training.
Vitamins are one of the fundamental supplements for an athlete. The endurance athlete's workout routine typically puts added stress on his body and depletes him of essential vitamins and minerals. A proper diet with vitamin and mineral supplements is important for the athlete to perform at peak levels. A multi-vitamin is normally adequate for a daily weight training supplement.
L-glutamine is an immune system supplement, which is important for endurance athletes and weightlifters. This supplement is one of the essential amino acids that the body uses to create muscle through protein synthesis. Performing extreme sports depletes the immune system, which leaves an individual susceptible to colds and infections. L-glutamine helps keep the body's immune fighting properties high, reducing the likelihood of illness.
High-carbohydrate energy drinks are good weight training supplements. These drinks help give the body quick energy that can be used during an intense workout program. These energy drinks come in a variety of flavors and are typically consumed 30 minutes before exercise.
Discussion Comments
Totally agree. A healthy diet can solve many (if not all) problems and help to meet all fitness goals. Not often touted in our instant-gratification culture.
Be careful not to 'wax luddist', though, for the great Romans also did not have transistors and internal combustion engines, so your manner of thinking may be a bit flawed. Supplements are to *supplement* a (healthy!) diet and lifestyle.
They are the result of our understanding and study of nutrients and can, just as many other advancements, help us to surpass our goals in ways Romans never thought possible.
The only weight training supplement you will ever need is a proper diet: vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, meats, eggs, and fish. That's it. Through Spec Ops trainer Mark Lauren's book, "You Are Your Own Gym," I've learned that it is possible and even probable to get in great shape only through the use of bodyweight exercises and proper diet. Need protein? Have an egg. Do you think Roman warriors took creatine?
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