Bodybuilding Tips and Tricks

When it comes to building muscle mass, Testosterone is, and always will be, king. High testosterone levels will help you pack on tons of muscle and burn fat, always a good combination. In addition to some natural ways to boost your T levels, we can use supplements to help us out as well. Actually, even our testosterone boosting supps can be natural…

Tribulus Terrestris is an herb that has been used in the traditional medicine of China and India for centuries. In the mid-1990s, Tribulus Terrestris became known in North America after Eastern European Olympic athletes said that taking tribulus helped their performance. Tribulus is a great way to boost your testosterone levels naturally without steroids or some of the other nasty stuff you may be tempted to try. When I’m supplementing to raise testosterone, I use Biotest Tribex Gold. I think it’s one of the best Tribulus Terrestris supplements out there. Be sure to follow the cycling instructions (given on the bottle) and get ready for some massive gains!

I just recently started using BSN NOExplode and I love it. It’s contains a great “cocktail” of supplements including creatine and elements that increase nitric oxide (NO dilates the blood vessels to allow more oxygen and nutrients to be delivered to the muscle tissue) and lots of other great stuff. In addition to the physical benefits this product provides, I’ve been noticing an increase mental focus during my training sessions which is *always* a good thing =) Check out the product info page here for more details and pick up some NOXplode today for some intense workouts and results.

The important thing to know about Arginine is that it is converted into nitric oxide (NO) in the body. Why do we care about NO as a bodybuilder? Well, because NO is involved in, among other things, the process of vasodilation, which is the process that increases blood flow to muscles. Supplementing with L-Arginine can provide you with some terrific pumps in the gym, as a large amount of blood is forced into the muscles, allowing for better delivery of nutrients and oxygen. Since I’ve started supplementing with Arginine, I feel like my muscles are about to pop they are so full and pumped during my workout. It’s great! As the icing on the cake, Arginine can also help to boost growth hormones as well.

Dosage: Take 3-5 grams in the morning, before workouts and at bedtime. Arginine works best when taken on an empty stomach so try to take it an hour before a meal or a pre-workout protein shake.

The brand I’m currently using:
NOW L-Arginine, 120 Tablets

Glutamine is one of the most plentiful amino acids in the body and great addition to your supplement “tool box”. Supplementing with L-Glutamine will:

- Aid in muscle recovery and growth
- Buffer fatigue-inducing chemicals that occur during exercise so you can workout harder and longer
- Promote normal digestion and immune function
- Insure that your muscles are not broken for fuel (catabolysis) in order to access the stored glutamine

Here’s the brand Im currently using:
NOW L-Glutamine Caps, 240 Capsules

Dose: Start out with 2-3 grams a day. Eventually, you want to work up to work up to 5 grams, taken in the morning, before and after you workout, and at bedtime.

Simply put, L-Carnitine promotes fat burning. L-Carnitine encourages the body to burn stored fat for energy rather than carbohydrates. It does this by forcing fat into the muscular cells. Carnitine is the only nutrient that can transport fat to the part of the cell that will burn it, the mitochondria. If you can’t get fat into the mitochondria, you can’t burn it. So without carnitine, no fat burning can occur. Optimal carnitine levels, on the other hand, allow the body to burn fat at an optimal rate.

In addition to it’s help with fat burning, benefits of supplementing L-Carnitine include:

- More energy to exercise and increases endurance and performance
- Increased energy levels
- Decreased cholesterol and triglycerides
- Reduced food cravings
- Better heart and liver health
- Promotion of healthy circulation

Dosage: In order to maximize the fat burning capabilities of L-Carnitine, take 3-5 grams before and after your workouts. Here’s the brand I’m currently using:
NOW L-Carnitine, 1000mg/100 Tablets

You’ve probably already heard of Creatine; it’s one of the most highly touted bodybuilding and athletic supplements to come around in the past decade. Studies have shown that it can significantly increase muscle size and strength. Basically, what it does is provide you with quick energy that you need for powerful muscle contractions and it also allows your muscles to hold more water…which makes them stronger and fuller…which ultimately stimulates additional muscle growth. The specific brand I use is:
IDS Muscle Volumizer, 30 Servings, Fruit Punch
(of course, you can choose whichever flavor ya like!)

I particularly recommend this brand because it’s formulated in such a way as to eliminate the gastric distress (cramping, etc.) that some people experience when taking creatine. As far as dosing, you should take 3-5 grams of creatine before and immediately after your workouts.

What you ingest before and immediately after workouts is extremely important. Here are some useful supplements I recommend taking pre- and post-workout.

Before workouts:
20 grams of whey protein
3-5 grams of creatine
5-10 grams of branched chain amino acids (BCAAs)
3-5 grams of arginine
3-5 grams of glutamine
40 grams of slow-burning carbs

Immediately after workouts:
20-40 grams of whey protein
3-5 grams of creatine
3-5 grams of glutamine
5-10 grams of branched chain amino aceds (BCAAs)
60-100 grams of fast-burning carbs

You may have noticed certain amino acid supplements with the letter “L” stuck on to the front of them (i.e. L-Glutamine, L-Carnitine, L-Arginine, etc.). What does the “L” mean? The “L” stands for Laevorotatory, and refers to the stereoisomer that rotates plane polarized light to the left. Regardless of that chemical mumbo jumbo, the bottom line with these things is still to take them regularly as part of your bodybuilding training regimen. But now you have some obscure knowledge to impress your friends with.

Here, in my opinion and in no particular order, are the 6 most important bodybuilding supplements you can take. If these aren’t a part of your supplement regimen, you should seriously consider adding them in to maximize your training and development.

Arginine - Boosts growth hormone and is readily converted into nitric oxide. Nitric oxide increases the blood flow to muscles, allowing better delivery of nutrients and oxygen to muscles. Dosage: 3-5g in the morning, before workouts, and at bedtime. Take on an empty stomach.

Creatine - One of the most popular supplements around, creatine provides quick energy for powerful muscle contractions and allows muscles to hold more water, making them fuller and stronger which leads to more growth. Try a titrated form of creatine if the standard form causes bloating and/or digestive distress. Dosage: 3-5g before and after workouts

Whey Protein - One of, if not the most, important bodybuilding supplement, protein provides the amino acids you need to build muscle protein, whey protein is fast-digesting and a good source of branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) leucine, isoleucine, and valine. Dosage: 20g before workouts and 20-40g after workouts; additionally, aim for 1-1.5g of protein per pound of bodyweight per day

Glutamine - Aids in recovery and muscle growth, buffers the fatigue-inducing chemicals that form during intense exercise, essential for normal digestion and immune function, protects muscles from being broken down for fuel (particularly useful on a “leaning down” diet). Dosage: 2-3 g initially, then work up to 5g taken in the morning, before and after workouts and at bedtime.

Multivitamin/Mineral - A relatively unglamourous, but still very important, supplement, a good multivitamin helps provide you with the adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals required to build muscle. Dosage: take one does with food two times a day (you may also want to try taking some extra B vitamins and/or the antioxidant vitamins C and E in addition to the multivite)

Fish Oil - Reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke, prevents muscle breakdown, helps regenerate and grow muscle, enhances joint tissue rebuilding and encourages fat loss. Dosage: 1-3g twice a day with food