It is often said that going to the gym or exercising – contributes to half of your success and the other contributing factors are all a matter of diet and nutrition. The best way to get nutrients into the body is to eat healthy foods. However, modern food production methods produce inadequate nutrients and that has necessitated the intake of nutritional supplements.
If you are a fitness enthusiast, you definitely need supplements and the following have been proven to be effective. As one personal trainer in London Soho recently told Healthynewage Magazine: “We facilitate the right process, but supplements like SARMs and protein, really enable people to experience the results they are after”.
Well, that little list that personal trainers share with their followers for thousands of dollars, need not be such a big secret and neither should it be expensive– here it is:
1. Fish oil
Fish oil contains omega-3 fatty acids in the form of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Both have been found to decrease the risk of heart disease. In a study involving elite female soccer players and published in The Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, DHA produced noticeable motor benefits and helped to improve decision-making and reaction time. In another study published in The Journal of the International Society of Sports, omega-3 fatty produced neuromuscular improvements in endurance athletes.
2. Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARMs)
Non-steroidal SARMS act on hormone receptors in a targeted way, helping people to shed fat and build muscles. Research has found them to substantially increase voluntary strength and muscle mass in healthy but androgen-deficient older and young men. This study has confirmed that athletes can take them to gain strength build muscles and increase bone density. They are better than steroidal predecessors in that they are less likely to affect the hormones while they work. That is why they are more acceptable among athletes. But if you want to buy SARMs, ostarine or cardarine, be sure to look out for good quality products, with several good, legitimate reviews. Most stores are located in the UK and Canada and many ship globally to countries where the products are legal.
3. Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs)
Branched chain amino acids are another wonderful supplement for athletes. Individual amino acids affect muscle growth in different ways and branched chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine and valine) have been found to be the most important of all for athletes. They stimulate the building of protein in muscles and are suspected to reduce muscle breakdown. BCAAs are particularly great for body builders who need to build muscle mass while removing fat. They help body builders in four different ways. BCAAs, especially leucine, stimulate protein synthesis better than whole protein intake. They also increase the cells’ capacity for protein synthesis and reduce the rate of protein breakdown by interfering with the system that breaks down proteins. They also increase workout intensity by preventing secretion of serotonin, and the result is that the athlete does not feel too tired after working out.
4. Vitamin D
Vitamin D is essential for health and is particularly useful for athletes. Deficiency of vitamin D is linked to inflammatory injury, risk of acute illness, stress fracture, muscle pain, muscle weakness and suboptimal muscle performance. Therefore, athletes who suffer from such conditions will benefit from taking vitamin D supplements. Research has found that this has potential to improve athletic performance in vitamin D-deficient athletes and can prevent a number of acute and chronic medical conditions. This is not new, since in the early 20th century, trainers and athletes believed that ultra-violet radiation benefited athletic performance. There is evidence that vitamin D plays a role in skeletal muscle in terms of performance and recovery from injury in otherwise healthy athletes.
5. Caffeine
Caffeine is great for fat burning, weight loss and performance enhancement. As it is metabolized, it breaks down into three compounds that stimulate the brain, the heart and the muscles, affect vasodilation, trigger fat oxidation, open up ventilation and block receptors. That way it gives the consumer a surge of energy, and improves performance. While it enhances sport performance, its effectiveness depends on the physical condition of the athlete, mode of exercise and the duration and intensity of exercise.
Endurance athletes have particularly found caffeine to improve performance. In one study, it helped cyclists to ride farther than placebo, improving performance by 4 to 5%. Besides improving endurance, caffeine has also been found to improve strength performance in trained power and strength athletes.
6. Creatine
Creatine has been a favorite subject for research and found to enhance muscle strength and muscle building. It plays a role in the conversion of food into energy in body cells and keeps cellular functions in balance. There is evidence that it helps in sports that require sudden bursts of activity such as sprinting and weightlifting. It possibly helps to increase muscle mass in some people. Current scientific evidence supports the taking of creatine supplements for short-duration and maximal intensity resistance training and has not found any adverse effects in the short term.
These supplements seem safe based on research findings:
So far, health and performance benefits have been noticed and no adverse effects have been found in athletes that take these supplements. That said, consulting with your Doctor should always be a priority.