The Supplements You Need to Maximize Your Workouts
If you are spending time in the gym, it is likely you will want to make sure you are maximizing your results. Whether you want to lose weight or bulk up, adding supplements to your daily regimen can give you that extra edge.
To gain muscle, three criteria must be filled: eating more calories than you burn, consuming more protein than you break down, and a strenuous exercise program that challenges your muscles.
To lose weight, you must consume fewer calories than you burn, whether that is through diet, exercise, or both.
With the market saturated with supplements, it can be difficult to find quality products that will help you get the results you are working towards, here are a few you can count on.
Most effective supplements for building muscle
Protein
Adding extra protein to your diet is essential for those who are just beginning their fitness journey, those ramping up their workout routine and are trying to bulk up, and those recovering from an injury. Research shows the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for protein is insufficient when trying to optimize muscle building and fat loss.
Signs you are not getting enough protein are being unusually fatigued, feeling weak when lifting weights or doing other strenuous activity, or are recovering from an injury slowly.
Protein supplements offer a convenient way to increase your protein intake.
Protein is the building block of bone, muscle, and skin. The body also needs it to produce hormones, enzymes, and other essential chemicals.
In 2018, the British Journal of Sports Medicine reviewed data from 49 different studies with 1863 total participants and found that dietary protein supplementation significantly increased changes in strength and muscle size during periods of prolonged resistance training and was equally effective in both men and women. Additionally, many studies published on PubMed Central report that taking protein supplements after exercise can aid recovery by reducing muscle damage and improving muscle performance and muscle protein synthesis. However, too much protein over extended periods of time can damage the kidneys and liver and affect the body’s bone and calcium balance.
With so many protein supplements on the market, it is difficult to determine the most effective type, but the general consensus is that whey protein is the most effective.
Whey protein
Whey, a milk-based protein, is generally considered the most effective of the protein supplements. It digests quickly and is easily absorbed. Whey also aids fat loss by promoting feelings of fullness and decreases the loss of lean muscle mass when dieting. It also has been shown to increase muscle protein synthesis – the process by which your muscles grow – more than other types of protein, specifically casein and soy. Specifically, whey protein facilitates muscle growth because it contains high amounts of the amino acid leucine, which turns on the processes in your body involved in building muscle. NRG’s Whey Protein Isolate powder is the purest form of whey protein. The filtration process used removes almost all fats, sugars, and carbohydrates, ensuring that this supplement is a pure and fast-digesting source of protein.
Fish oil
Fish oils are an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential for the muscle recovery process. Rigorous resistance training can cause microscopic tears in muscle fibers, which leads to muscle damage and inflammation. While a small amount of inflammation is important, too much can delay your recovery. Studies published on PubMed Central found that omega-3 fatty acids may help reduce muscle soreness after exercise and speed up your recovery process. If you do not eat three to four servings of fish a week, NRG’s Omega-3 Fish Oil supplement is a must-have. It contains 100 percent pure fish oil and will increase muscle recovery, burn fat, increase energy and performance, enhance bone and joint health, and support a healthier immune system, cardiovascular health, brain health, and nerve function.
Vitamin D3
Vitamin D, also known as the sunshine vitamin, develops naturally in your body in response to sun exposure, but sun exposure can be hard to come by for many reasons. In the Midwest, sun exposure in the winter months is at an all-time low. But even when the weather supports ample outdoors time, many of us work indoor jobs, which restricts the amount of sun we are able to get on a daily basis. Even if you do spend plenty of time outdoors, it is likely you are using sunscreen to protect your skin, but any sunscreen with an SPF of eight or higher blocks the ultraviolet B rays that generate vitamin D production. Research has even shown that about half of all Americans are chronically deprived of vitamin D.
The benefits of vitamin D are widely studied and supported by the science community. Vitamin D has long been associated with bone, brain, and heart health, but studies now suggest that high levels of vitamin D help with workouts, as well. A study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found that higher levels of vitamin D are associated with greater exercise abilities. Specifically, vitamin D is a muscle builder; it binds to receptors found on muscle cell membranes and in muscle cell nuclei. When it binds to these receptors, it increases muscle contraction and protein synthesis, which is the buildup of muscle protein.
Two main forms of vitamin D exist, D3 and D2, the former is almost twice as effective at increasing blood levels of vitamin D as the latter, so you will want a vitamin D3 supplement. NRG’s Vitamin D3 also contains vitamin K2 and calcium, as they all maximize each other. K2 maximizes the effect of D3, D3 helps the body use calcium, and K2 directs calcium to storage in the bones.
Turmeric Curcumin
Turmeric just may be the most effective nutritional supplement in current existence. Science has recently started backing up what Indians have known for thousands of years – it truly contains compounds with medicinal properties.
The compounds are called curcuminoids, the most important of which is curcumin. Curcumin is the main active ingredient in turmeric and has powerful anti-inflammatory effects and is a strong antioxidant. However, turmeric only contains a small amount of curcumin, so to get the full benefits of curcumin you will need to take a supplement and pair it with a fatty meal for better absorption.
Turmeric curcumin has a slew of health benefits. It provides antioxidant defense, reduces inflammation, improves the immune system and energy levels, helps relieve pain and protect against illness, balances cholesterol and blood circulation, boosts anti-aging effects, and reduces joint pain stiffness, just to name a few. NRG’s Turmeric Curcumin supplement also contains ginger to provide a powerful antioxidant boost and inflammation defense.
How to find a supplement you trust
Supplements are not regulated by the FDA, so finding a supplement that lists its ingredients, their amounts and does not include harmful additives can be difficult. All of our clubs offer NRG Active supplements. These products are guaranteed to be created from pharmaceutical-grade supplements manufactured in FDA-registered labs with the labels identifying every ingredient within the product, this ensures you know exactly what you are getting. Visit one of our clubs to pick up your game-changing supplements today and start maximizing your workouts and, more importantly, your recovery.