Those of you who workout at home benefit from big time savings in terms of travel to and from the gym, and of course gym fee savings. However, if you don’t work out right it all counts for nothing. Here I will reveal the 3 big steps in each workout you do at home.

Get Best Mass Gain Programs for Beginner

1. Pre-Workout Secrets
In the build-up to the workout, you need to eat some good quality grains, complex carbohydrates, such as brown rice, wholegrain bread, and eat a meal like this about 1 to 2 hours before the workout. Also eat plenty of fruit before the workout, to give you extra hydration and nutrients, because high intensity exercise will create a small amount of free radicals. The other thing you need to do is prepare a bottle of cold water to keep by your side. Just before you proceed with your workout routine, you should perform some stretches and focus them on all the major muscle groups.

2. Workout

The workout you normally do may involve weights or just bodyweight exercises. Either way, in the home, I would recommend you to follow a system of high intensity exercise followed by short recovery breaks. The reason for this style of training is scientific. The result of high intensity exercise will propel your body systems to a new level of energy, and performance. The reason is that the body always prepares itself for the event similar to what it just experienced. If you expose your body to something challenging even if the high intensity exercise just lasts for a minute or two, that will cause your body to respond. Your body will build muscle and burn fat to get ready for this kind of challenge in the future. That is basically the core secret to

Get Best Mass Gain Programs for Beginner

effective exercise.

3. Post Workout

If you did a good workout, it will have caused you to sweat a lot. That’s great, because sweat helps to remove toxins from the body, and washes out dead cells, heavy metals, and wastes. This is why a shower is essential. After exercise you need to take a good shower, and wash off all the sweat. If you live near a sauna, you could go a step further, and take a sauna, and alternate between cold and hot baths for maximum muscle benefit. The final piece in the exercise puzzle is to take some high protein food intake within 30 to 45 minutes after exercise. This gives your muscles the building blocks it needs to replace fat with core muscle.

So, there it is. Follow the 3 step formula, and every workout you do will give your more bang for your time and effort. Look forward to lower fat percentage, higher muscle percentage, higher energy, and looking younger.

Get Best Mass Gain Programs for Beginner

In your bodybuilding experience you will perform thousands of reps, but if you cannot learn to do one properly, you will get nowhere. Using proper exercise form is the number one fundamental of not only achieving muscularity and strength, but also avoiding a serious injury.

Using proper form also makes sure your muscles as well as joints are in the strongest possible position. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen someone in my gym demonstrating horrible form that not only requires virtually no muscular effort, but increases the chance of them injuring themselves, and thereby resulting in more trouble caused.

Still, most people tend to do just that at least once in their journey to a fit physique. Some things cannot be helped – bad luck strikes in the gym as easily as outside it – but there are some steps you can take to tilt the odds in your favor.

Warm Up. This may sound like the king of cliches, but guess what? A large percentage of the bodybuilders out there are so eager to hit the bench press that they skimp on or ignore the warm-up altogether. This is a big mistake. Properly warming up will raise your core temperature, get your metabolism into gear and lubricate your joints in preparation for the actual workout. Simply put, your body is ready to tackle the big weights. Your warm-up should consist of 5 to 10 minutes of moderate cardiovascular workout on a treadmill or stationary bike, 5 minutes of light stretching and, as you get ready for the weights, 1-2 light sets before your “real” sets begin.

Stretch. Failure to stretch will make your muscle bellies shorten over time, making you less flexible. While it may seem like a minor aesthetic detail to get that slightly-hunched, gorilla-look, your muscles and joints become a lot more vulnerable. If a supporting muscle stiffens or becomes shortened, it will start interfering with the normal groove of your exercises. The cumulative effect over a couple of years can throw some serious curveballs at your bodybuilding efforts. In addition, stretching between sets flushes out lactic acid and byproducts while bringing in fresh nutrients, thus making you stronger for your next set. Finally, post-stretching helps you recover faster between workouts.

Balance. If you tend to go with exercises that allow the stronger side to overpower and take over some of the load from the weak side, you’re in trouble. Typically, most barbell exercises and machines with a single bar are guilty of this. On the other hand, dumbbells and machines where the two handles operate independently make this impossible. It is prudent to include exercises where the motion on both sides are controlled separately in every workout and, if uneven strength is already a problem, consciously holding the stronger side back until they have equalized.

Breathing Pattern. When performing intense exercise such as weight lifting, holding your breath can slow the rate of blood flow to and from the brain, causing the subject to faint. As a general rule, exhale while performing the positive portion of a rep, and inhale while performing the negative portion of the rep. Irregular patterns of breathing can damage the efficiency of our workout and in the long term, harms our heart.

Start It Slow. Always start your training programmes slow. It is to allow your body to get used to the way you train and the speed of your training. If you jump immediately to intensive training, your body will not be able to handle the pressure, and eventually it will malfunction and cause severe injury. Do not be mindful if you are an amateur, you should pay attention to your body more than the eyes on you.

The greatest safety you can learn is through the knowledge that you can absorb. To beat the man, you got to be the man! To overcome something, you need to understand. The more you know about bodybuilding, the lower chance you will be hurt.

Body building success results from persistent and consistent efforts. A two week adventure in the gym will just but excite the body but no substantial muscle mass will be accumulated in short periods of workouts, rather a life long venture into the gym is what makes body building champions. It is better said by those who say that body building is a lifestyle not an activity. There are two reasons for calling body building a lifestyle. For one, success in body building does not only result form what is done in the gym the truth is body building efforts must be extended from the gym into an individual’s life.

The diet must change and reflect the body building objectives. The activities that an individual engages in are evaluated and prioritized based on the significance and mostly ends up being dropped from the daily schedules so as to factor in enough workout time. The drinking barges with friends stop all over a sudden and the careless lunch festivities with colleagues become a thing of the past. Once you join a body building program, even your friends change gradually and you keep the company of those who share your passion and lifestyle. Within no time at all, you find yourself spending your time preparing and enjoying frequent meals that take a lot of time to put together. Successful body building is based on a particular strategy that details which exercises will be done in which workout session, with what intensity, for how long and hoe it will executed.

Strategizing success most times equals body building success. It is on strategy that a body builder has to decide how to ensure each exercise is effective in stimulating muscle growth. When the exercise has been executed to the point where the body part(s) involved can not do any other rep, that is the point called the exhaust point. There are strategies that specifically concentrate on exercises done before the body part(s) has reached the point of maximum exhaustion. These are called pre-exhaust techniques. The techniques involve the compound set of light single-joint movement exercises performed after heavy multi-joint movement exercises. For instance, a body builder who after a set of bench presses will pick a dumbbell immediately for several flyer’s.

There are three benefits that accrue from a post-exhaust routine the first being the ability to extend the workload volume of a single set while not compromising on the due intensity of the set. A post exhaust technique helps a body builder to develop pure fast-twitch group of muscle fibers with the heavy compound-movement exercises and then extend the stimulation to the intermediate fat-twitch group of muscle fibers with a lighter single-movement exercise. In essence these results to a more comprehensive workout that reaches out to the whole body and all essential body parts. The body building industry is full of skinny guys who have been in the trade for ages and have not even an ounce of muscle. These people will be so swift to explain why they don’t accumulate muscles despite being in a body building program for all these years.

Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA) are essential for human life, and essential for building muscle. Every bodybuilder should have a firm grasp of what they are, how they work, and why they are required for building new muscle. Additionally, supplementation with synthesized BCAA supplements should be considered as bodybuilders enter advanced status and their presence in the body is absolutely crucial for keeping existing, as well as adding new, muscle mass.

Basics

BCAAs are required for human life. They include L-leucine, L-Isoleucine and L-Valine as well as others. They play a key role in nitrogen retention as well as protein synthesis for brain, organ, and muscle functions. BCAAs compose 1/3 of all muscle protein. For the bodybuilder specifically, they are the anti-catabolic agent which slows protein from breaking down in the body, thereby allowing the body to add and keep muscle. They conduct this function both during intense exercise, as well as during the remainder of the day. Additionally, their ability to preserve glycogen in the muscle allows for higher energy during the workout. They are absolutely required for bodybuilding success.

Supplementation

BCAAs can be taken in liquid form or in pill form. The pills are very large and hard to swallow. The liquid form is very handy for specific delivery timing. Latest trends include consuming BCAAs during a workout in order to allow them to affect muscle tissue while it is actually most engorged with blood. This theory is relatively new and is currently being studied a great deal. It’s widely established that BCAAs are very important for muscle growth and recovery, so the hypothesis that they are even more useful when more blood is in the region to deliver them makes logical sense.

BCAAs are universally recommended for anyone who engages in weight training. They can be consumed adequately with a well-varied diet, but for advanced bodybuilders, supplementation is almost required due to the great deal of muscle being supported by these BCAAs. Recommended dose is 5 grams per serving, pre-workout and post-workout. Get your BCAAs if you want muscle at the highest level!

If you want to gain weight, you need to focus on how you’re eating. After all, gaining weight is all based upon your nutrition.

In order to gain weight, you must first create a calorie surplus in which calories are either used for building muscle or they are stored away as fat.

So, if you want to gain weight, you must first look at the way you’re eating, before you look at your training or the supplements you take.

Here are 5 simple, proven things you can do to gain more weight in less time.

1. Eat a large breakfast

Start the day off right by eating a large breakfast. In fact, you want to consume most of your daily calories early on in the day and reduce them as the day goes on.

So the largest meal each day should be breakfast and they should get smaller as you go.

Your breakfast should be high in protein, moderate in carbs, and low in fats. A large breakfast will jumpstart your metabolism and give your body the nutrients it needs, when it needs them.

Never train on an empty stomach, that’s the fastest way to lose muscle possible. If you train in the morning, the bulk of your calories should come after your workout, not before. It’s tough training in the morning if you have a full stomach.

2. Eat often and eat a lot

You need to eat many meals throughout the day, spread apart by about 3 hours. This way, you have a steady, constant stream of nutrients that your body can use for muscle and tissue growth.

Eating often will also help your body use the calories you’re taking in for muscle mass growth and will be less likely to store them as body fat.

3. Take in a lot of protein

Your body requires protein to build muscle mass. I’m sure if you want to gain weight, you’d like most of it to be muscle mass and not fat.

Protein is responsible for building muscle. Try and get 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight. So if you weigh 150 pounds, you want to eat at least 150 grams of protein, preferably more.

For each meal, try and get 30 to 40 grams of protein from quality sources like chicken, tuna, fish, turkey, eggs, lean red meats, dairy, and meal replacements.

4. Consume a pre-workout meal

To gain weight, you need calories. You also want to protect yourself from muscle tissue breakdown.

If your body needs nutrients during a workout, it will break down muscle tissue to get it. But by supplying your body with nutrients before a workout, you give it the raw materials it needs for fuel, so it will not break down muscle tissue.

Take 12 ounces of grape juice or Gatorade and to it add a scoop of whey protein, 5 grams of creatine, and 10 grams of glutamine.

This pre-workout shake is guaranteed to help you gain weight.

5. Get the proper post-workout nutrition

You want to take another one of these shakes right after training, to supply your muscles with the nutrients they need to build new muscle mass.

At this time, you also want to replenish the lost glycogen in your muscles. The best thing to do for post workout is to drink another juice/protein/creatine/glutamine combination. You want to have about 50-75 grams of carbs and 35-50 grams of protein right after your workouts, depending on your size.

About an hour after training, eat a solid, whole food meal that’s high in protein and complex carbs. Like breakfast, this is an important part of your daily nutrition because your workouts really depletes your body of needed nutrients and this is the perfect time to replace them for proper muscle recovery and growth.

These 5 tips will help you gain weight fast and also help you increase your muscle size and strength. If you’re not gaining the weight you want, you’re probably not eating the best way possible.

Who doesn’t want to have a lean and muscular physique like that of the ones we see in body building competitions? If you want to learn how to get lean muscle fast, though; you must first understand there is no shortcut to having such an amazing body. Body building requires you to set goals and stick to very intense physical exercises to achieve those goals – it requires dedication

Many bodybuilders want to get massive because it is a signature of successful bodybuilding. If you are not fully aware of the procedures needed to be followed in order to get massive you will end up spending a lot of time in the gym. That is the reason why many bodybuilders end up using steroids. They hope that when they use steroids they will be able to increase there muscle mass fast.

The first step in how to get muscular fast is most definitely the most important one, especially for skinny hardgainers who struggle to gain weight and muscle. Proper nutrition is the key to gaining muscle mass, and the reason why many folks fail. To get muscular you’ll need to up your calorie intake – to at least 3,500 calories per day for an average male.

This may seem like a lot, but split over 6 meals per day it is achievable. It goes without saying that the best way is to get as much of this protein from natural sources like lean meats, fish, egg whites, nuts, beans and pulses. Using a good quality protein shake like a 100% Whey isolate, is a great way to give yourself the extra protein boost you need, particularly when used as a post-workout drink.

In gyms everywhere, you will see people doing bicep curls after bicep curls. If someone were to ask them to show their muscles, they will most likely flex their biceps. How about you? Well, since you are reading this article, then you must have known that to own huge muscular arms, you must build huge triceps.

Sure, it has been a year or several months and you have been training like mad, taking supplements eating right and you still have only marginal gains and plenty of surprised faces when you tell people how long you have been going to the gym.

rain like it’s the last workout you are ever going to do. That means moving swiftly from exercise to exercise, giving it your all for every set and rep, timing your rest periods and making sure you commit to them. This will increase the intensity of the workout making it more beneficial and it will also decrease the amount of time spent in the gym. There are so many people who go to the gym 3-4 times a week, but don’t put in 100% effort when they are there, and so they see very little results. Create a hard working attitude and you will get muscular very quickly.

Bodybuilding can be defined as the pursuit of lean muscle mass. The importance of a proper diet to accomplish this goal cannot be understated. In fact, many experts argue that diet can account for up to 90% of a person’s success at building their body. Fortunately, there is an easy-to-follow meal plan that works like magic to burn fat and gain muscle.

In this day and age of fad diets and trendy diets and so on, it is important to note that bodybuilding involves a lifestyle. Regular, intense and goal-oriented training sessions combined with an intelligent approach to eating will promote the development of a muscular physique that most trainees desire. Discipline, patience, persistence and consistency are required. All of these attributes are favorable and can lead one to success in not only physique goals, but also in personal and professional pursuits.

When an individual adopts bodybuilding as a lifestyle, the physique improvements can be maintained over the long term. A steady, consistent and daily approach will prevent the agony of short-term weight loss followed by a quick regain of weight and the accompanying depression and feeling of hopelessness. Training and eating like a bodybuilder works, becomes habit-forming and eventually gives one a real sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

We like to adhere to the KISS (keep it simple, smart guy) principle when it comes to meal plans. So let’s not going to get too technical. We’re just going to lay it out for you. First of all, you should eat smaller meals, 5-6 times per day, 2 ½ -3 hours apart. This will keep your metabolism going and provide your muscles (stimulated by short, intense workouts) fed with nutrients required for growth. These meals will consist of protein, carbohydrates and fats.

Proper protein intake will vary according to age, gender, goals and so on. Generally speaking, each meal should contain between 25-50 grams of protein. A rule of thumb is that a healthy male trying to promote lean muscle mass should ingest 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight. Therefore, if your body weight is 200 pounds, a daily intake of 300 grams of protein (6 meals with 50 grams of protein each) would be required. The key is that if you are training hard, you need protein.

Sources for protein include lean meats, fish, egg whites, low fat cottage cheese and whey protein. Avoid fatty meats and try to grill your meats and do not fry them in fat. Remember to include a protein selection at each meal.

When discussing carbohydrates, it is vital to distinguish between the different types of carbs. For this discussion we will identify 3 different types of carbs: complex carbs include potatoes, yams, bread, cereals, grains, pasta and rice; simple carbs include most fruit and veggie carbs which include most vegetables and leafy greens.

Fats are also a necessity but should come from the following sources: extra virgin olive oil, flax seed oil, nuts (almonds are best) and fish oil. The diet is very simple. For every meal, choose a portion from the protein group, the complex carb group and the veggie carb group. A good rule of thumb is that a serving size for your protein and carbs should be about the size of your fist. Have a serving of fats at 2-3 meals per day and only have simple carbs first thing in the morning at breakfast and immediately following your workout. Actually, it’s critical to have a post workout shake with whey protein and a simple carb like a banana. Bring it to the gym with you and have it while the sweat is still on your body.

Now to fine tune this diet you can do this: if you are trying to increase muscle mass and not worried too much about losing fat, eat as above. However, if you wish to accelerate fat burning, do not eat complex carbs at your last 2-3 meals of the day. Lean protein (chicken breast or fish) and salads or chunky veggies (broccoli and asparagus are excellent choices) will do the trick.

Let’s take this one step further. Here is a magic formula for extreme lean muscle mass and fat burning. For three days in a row, come hell or high water, only eat complex carbs first thing in the morning (a serving of oatmeal will do it) and immediately after your workout. On the fourth day, eat a ton of carbs. Actually cheat on this day. Eat whatever you want, but ensure that you eat sufficient protein and lots of complex carbs. This is the time to eat pizza, pasta, cake and so on.

This three day off, one day on carbs has produced fantastic results in many bodybuilders. We like it because any cravings we can put off until our “carb” day (which isn’t really that far off in the future) and then indulge at that time. The secret is to remain strict on the low carb days. This takes planning, preparation and discipline. You can do it. Once you start to see the results you get from this carbohydrate manipulation, you will find it much easier to stick to it.

This meal plan should produce such dramatic results so quickly that your friends will be asking you what you are “on”. The real secret is daily discipline. Take it one day at a time. Eat right according to the principles outlined above, manipulate your cab intake and train with intensity focusing on basic, heavy movements. This is the bodybuilding lifestyle. Engage in it and change your life, long-term and for the better.

Your goal may be weight loss, weight gain, bodybuilding, toning, endurance, walking or running, interval, circuit training or sports-specific. But first a warm up is always the first phase of an exercise program followed with a pre-exercise stretching before going to main workout. To gain muscle mass, your goal should be body building.

Here is a sample bodybuilding workout that can be used by anyone aspiring to join a Mr. Muscles competition or just simply wanting a body similar to Arnold Schwarzenegger. This routine is in the premise that the person has no serious medical ailments and can do weight lifting.

Warm up. The 10-15 minute warm up could be a jogging or a walking with or without the use of a treadmill. The warm up allows a gradual redistribution of blood flow to the active muscles. Also, It increases the stretchability of the connective tissue in other muscle components.

Do a 10 – 5 minute stretching. Stretch the part of the body to be worked on. A couple of different stretches are available depending on the targeted body part that will be worked on.

Some of the different stretching maneuvers include:

Neck/Cervical Spine Stretch. With left arm at side and shoulder down, slowly bend the chin to the chest and turn toward the right shoulder. Use your hand weight and stretch by the left shoulder. Repeat the step on the other arm.

Triceps Stretch. Bend the right elbow and use the left arm to push the bent elbow up and behind the head until a stretch is felt on the other side of the raised arm. Do again the step with the other arm.

Do a 20-minute cardio proper or weight training. To achieve a total gain on the muscles, the routine should consist of weight exercises with 8 to 12 range of repetitions with weights heavy enough to complete the number of repetitions. Allow to rest between sets to allow the body to recover the normal breathing.

For muscle gain, the recommended rest is 3-5mins per set on a one to two hours every other day while one to two hours working on a different routine. A one day rest is needed for the worked out body part to enable recovery and form of the muscle. So for the gym buffs that are always present in the gym make sure that you are working on a different set of muscle group or body to part to allow healing time of the previously worked out muscle.

Sample bodybuilding workout:

Back/Biceps: Bent-over barbell rows, One-arm dumbbell rows, E-Z bar preacher curls, Hammer curls, Close-grip cable rows, One-arm cable curls, Standing barbell curls, Lat pull downs

Chest/Triceps: One-arm triceps extensions, Skull Crushers (Lying French Press), Incline bench press, Cable crossovers, Pectoral flyes w/dumbbells, Flat bench dumbbell press, Triceps Press downs

Cycle 1: Whole Body, Cardio, Whole Body, Cardio, Whole Body, Cardio, Rest

Cycle 2: Chest, Triceps, Shoulders, Cardio, Back, Biceps, Calves, Cardio, Hams, Glutes, Abs, Cardio, Rest

Cycle 3: Chest, Triceps, Back, Biceps, Cardio, Legs, Abs, Shoulders, Traps, Cardio, Rest

Do these cycles for 4-6 weeks or until you see results.

Cool down. The 10-15 minutes cool down can be a jogging or a walking to slowly bring your body temperature at the normal level.

Post-stretching exercise for about 5-10mins.

The four most effective bodybuilding workouts that should be included in the routine are bench press, squats, military press, and dead lifts.

So you mosey into the gym, dressed for success, but you’re just not feeling it.  We all have those days.  Our bodies are rested and ready, but the mind just can’t get there.  What to do?  Here are the top 3 motivational techniques to get the most out of a workout.

Find a partner.  There is a reason that having a training partner helps you get big, other than the obvious spotting duties.  Each feeds off the other in a variety of ways.  If you have the resources to have a paid trainer, they serve a similar function.  Bottom line on days you mentally wander, having someone to scream at you is a very good motivator.  Though partners don’t have to scream to motivate. If you train alone, on down days, slide up to someone you know, or don’t know, and work in with them on some sets.  Just having someone standing by you will provide some incentive to work harder than you might have otherwise.  This brings me to the second motivator.

Compete.  This is my favorite.  You don’t have to ACTUALLY compete with someone to do this.  What I do is pick out a couple people who are busting it big, and from a distance I try to “match up”.  They don’t know I’m doing it, or maybe they do.  Doesn’t matter.  But I use their energy to kick start myself.  A variation on this is sometimes I focus on some schlub who thinks they have it happening, and I use my ego to say to myself “no, THIS is how you are SUPPOSSED to do it”.  Speaking of ego.

Ego.  The evil twin of competing.  Part of what allows the newb to do what they are is to have the ego working.  The “watch me” mentality.  I have no idea, when I’m focused, on what’s happening in the gym around me.  To get myself to that point I envision EVERYONE in the gym is looking at me.  Got to make a scene now.  Can’t give this session a walk through.

The beauty of these little mind games occurs post workout.  Often going in unfocused and lacking motivation, after employing one of these little tricks on myself, I walk out having had a better workout than if I were focused from the start.  Such is the power of the mind.  Use it to your advantage.

What to take after you work out!

All of these questions…

What is the best supplement to take post workout? What makes the most difference in recovery? What is the best supplement to build muscle? What is the best supplement for muscle growth? What is the best post workout shake? What is the best post workout supplement? What is the best post workout drink? What is the best post workout recovery drink?

These are all variations of the same question which I will try and answer in this article. I have prioritized the top supplements that I feel are necessary for maximum post workout recovery and growth. These questions are popular among bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts. I feel for pre-workout, the best supplement would consist of a creatine/NO mix with many cofactors. That will be the topic of a separate article, but for this article we will consider the most effective supplement to take after working out that will build muscle and increase muscle growth.

Our perfect post workout supplement should contain a variety of ingredients designed to aid your muscles in maximum recovery and anabolism (build up) while reducing catabolism (muscle break down). When deciding on a formula, timing of delivery is something to consider, which is why we see separate products for both pre and post workout. Post workout, your muscles are in the perfect state for growth and absorption of key constituents. If you can harness the power of this anabolic window, you will see growth of your muscles that surpasses those people that do not use post training supplements. Post workout is the best time to hit your key anabolic window and if you have taken a pre-workout NO product it gives you even more benefit as the nutrients are delivered with more vigor and speed than the body’s ordinary state.

Don’t fall into the trap of fancy sounding names and exotic ingredients. The best supplement for muscle growth and recovery is one that includes some basic ingredients that are commonly found together in precise ratios. Also, don’t be afraid of a little carbohydrate in your post recovery drink either, since carbohydrates are invaluable for increasing nutrient uptake and even ketogenic dieters can benefit from the minor lift in muscle glycogen. Seven grams of dextrose isn’t going to knock you out of ketosis but will aid in your ability to increase nutrient uptake. Stay away from products that use Maltodextrin, since this is a useless sugar in my opinion. Maltodextrin is the slowly digested maltose plus dextrose which gives NONE of the benefits of dextrose yet still provides useable carbohydrates. Companies wrongly put this in supplements because it is a lower glycemic carbohydrate compared to straight sugar, but that is actually a bad thing in the case of supplements. Maltodextrin supplies a slow delivery of sugar which ruins the anabolic effect of taking nutrients in with dextrose yet still will do damage on ketosis. Also, maltodextrin tastes horrible, so it is a double dose of useless! Pure pharmaceutical grade dextrose is the perfect carbohydrate source for our post workout drink. So, look for a post workout product to include 7-10 grams of dextrose to take advantage of the anabolic window.

The first big ingredient that our body needs to recover after a grueling workout is essential amino acids. Unfortunately many people take a protein shake after their workout, but this is really not hitting the anabolic window in time to make maximum use of this critical time. Protein shakes must go through metabolism and breakdown by the body. They are great for a quick meal 45 minutes after your workout, but the perfect post workout (meaning right after you work out except for the advanced bodybuilding specialist who will be addressed at the end of the article) drink is something that will be absorbed right after you work out and is not dependent on your stomach and intestine enzymes to process (many people have low levels of enzymes because of the standard western diet). We will want to take a essential amino acid blend that includes high doses of essential amino acids yet still remains in the hydrolyzed state. Hydrolyzed amino acids are partially digested proteins that break the protein into peptides (which are small chains of amino acids). You will want to pick a product with low molecular weight peptides (**search “Small Chain Hydrolyzed Amino Aids” to find a good product that includes the best source of these amino acids) since low molecular weight peptides are exactly what the body needs and they are in the perfect state for absorption. Small chain peptides have been shown in scientific literature to have much better absorption than both singular amino acids and large protein peptide chains. This will ensure that you are getting the highest quality supplement available. The Small Chain Hydrolyzed Amino Acids will cost a little more than standard predigested protein, but the extra money isn’t much compared to the benefits. Small Chain Hydrolyzed Amino Acids will flood your muscles immediately with nutrient building molecules at the time when your muscle is in the perfect anabolic state. This combined with the dextrose will refuel your muscle with the building blocks to take full advantage of the muscle building state of the muscle after intense exercise by preventing the tear down of muscle cells for raw materials and offering substantial nutrients for the building of new muscle tissue! Essential amino acids are the most important ingredient post workout and will offer both the newbie and experienced trainer that edge when building muscle (especially for those of us who tend to over train).

The next key ingredient to our post anabolic support complex is the amino acid L(+)-Leucine or commonly know as Leucine. Leucine is proven in many scientific papers to be the only anabolic amino acid available to bodybuilders. This amino acid and it’s derivatives are a mixed bag though since taken alone and in high doses will actually have the opposite effect. We need to supplement our essential amino acids with Leucine to increase the anabolic effect without interrupting normal cellular metabolism. Leucine comes in many forms but to ensure that you get pure Leucine in the form that is perfect for our needs, look for products containing pharmaceutical grade Leucine or better know as L(+)-Leucine (search L(+)-Leucine for the products that contain only the highest grade of Leucine available today. Leucine is a staple in the supplement industry and although the data on Leucine is dependent on the circumstances and age groups, I tend to think that the bulk of the research shows that L-(+)-Leucine is a critical addition to any post work out program for the intense bodybuilder. It has many years of positive science behind it along with years of anecdotal reports of effectiveness. L(+)-Leucine is the second key ingredient in our post workout metabolic arsenal. L(+)-Leucine stimulates a metabolic pathway called MTOR that increases anabolism and muscle growth, for this reason I give Leucine a high rating in my perfect anabolic post recovery drink.

The two amino acids that are used up in intense exercise are Glutamine and its cofactor amino acid L(+)-Alanine (**search L(+)-Alanine for the pharmaceutical grade of Alanine). Now, this isn’t the popular Beta-Alanine which is really great pre-workout for buffering lactic acid, this is the L form of the essential amino acid Alanine. Beta Alanine is all the rage in the supplement industry and rightly so, but let’s not forget our friend L-Alanine. Both Glutamine and Alanine have been shown to increase muscle glycogen stores which helps expand muscle fascia and increase recovery for the next workout. Both Glutamine and Alanine are extremely good for the gut, which is a side benefit since so many bodybuilders take little care of their intestinal systems. Supplementing with both Glutamine and Alanine will help increase the ability to absorb other nutrients. They seem to work synergistically in both the muscle and the gut, helping boost one another. Glutamine is a staple among bodybuilders and has decades of positive anecdotal evidence. Both Glutamine and Alanine are heavily metabolized during and after workout however supplementing with them doesn’t have an effect on muscular levels until the next workout, so supplementing them during the perfect anabolic window is the best possible way to increase muscle cellular glutamine. You will get some Glutamine and Alanine in your amino acids but the addition of both amino acids will give the gut the raw materials it needs and spare the complete use of these amino acids in the intestinal tract.

A small amount of Creatine is a good addition to a post workout product for many reasons, but I will highlight one key reason and talk about it in addition to Potassium in a post workout product. Creatine should ideally be obtained in a pre-workout drink along with a Nitric Oxide potentiator and many can be found on the internet. Hopefully your pre-workout NO supplement contains Beta Alanine and supplemental Arginine. The creatine in the post workout formula isn’t there for the lactic acid buffering effect or the ability to recharge ATP, it is there to perform one major function…draw water into the cell. Both Potassium and Creatine draw water and therefore other nutrients into the muscle cell, making them more nutrient friendly and able to accommodate more amino acids and cofactors. The best creatine for increasing cellular fluid levels is straight creatine monohydrate. There are many benefits for straight creatine monohydrate but this one effect is what we want with a post workout product. About 1000mg of creatine monohydrate should provide a positive effect on cellular water levels along with 99mg of elemental potassium. This combination primes the body to accept the nutrients above in the perfect anabolic state.

The final key ingredient is probably the most important and it has to do with manipulating the “other” anabolic hormone in the body, insulin. Insulin manipulation is nothing new, many products contain insulin potentiators or even insulin mimetics. Insulin potentiators increase the effect of insulin receptors in the cell. Prescription products like Glucophage™ are used to give this effect and nutrients like chromium will also perform this function as will alpha lipoic acid. Insulin’s job is to take amino acids and sugars from the bloodstream into the muscle cell. This is why insulin is prized among the elite mass monsters for its effect on muscle growth. Insulin mimetics are often found in products on the market. These act like insulin with one key difference. Most of them like Cinnamon extract, Gymnestre and Hydroxy-Leucine only shuttle sugars into the muscle cells without helping push the essential amino acids into the muscle. If you take one of these products you may actually do more harm because they prevent the insulin spike from consuming carbohydrates, yet do not shuttle the amino acids into the muscle like insulin does. There is one insulin mimetic on the market that actually performs its job much better than the rest and it is available in some pre-workout products as well as a solo herbal product (if your pre workout formula doesn’t contain momordica or “bitter melon” then you can purchase it in capsules to take along with your pre workout formula). This essential supplement is Momordica Charantia or bitter melon extract. It is the only product designed to shuttle both amino acids and sugars into the cell. It is the perfect insulin mimetic since it actually acts like insulin in the body, which is perfect for the bodybuilder since we are more concerned with shuttling amino acids into the muscle than sugars. Bitter melon is the better choice for people looking to take advantage of optimal post workout supplementation.

The final ingredient is pure water. I try and drink at least 20-30oz of water post workout to enhance the anabolic effect of the products I am taking along with keeping cellular water levels at the perfect ratio. Make sure you consume at least 20oz of water with your post workout supplements.

Never underestimate how quickly the body can absorb nutrients. Anecdotally, I can tell you that I often feel a beer in less than 5 minutes after consumption (yes, I drink beer occasionally…I am human) and I also notice the effect of my niacin supplement (the flush) and beta alanine (also a flush) sometimes within 5 minutes of taking the supplement. This amazing effect baffles me, since the beta alanine for example have to be absorbed and transported to ultimately act on my nerve cells over miles of capillaries and prior to even reaching the small intestine. So, contrary to popular conception, absorption of nutrients must start in the stomach and it must have an immediate effect on blood levels. This is why we must time our post workout product immediately after training. For the elite athlete during intense training I highly recommend you consume this cocktail as a sipping drink all during your workout and then take another larger dose right after working out. This will impart maximum benefit even though it may cost a little more.

All of these supplements can be bought in powder form, so you can make your own cocktail or you can buy one of the commercial products on the market that include some or all of these ingredients. Make sure you use only the best products on the market like standardized momordica and pharmaceutical grade singular amino acids, along with Small Chain Hydrolyzed Amino Aids. This will ensure that you get the best possible ingredients for your cocktail. This cocktail can be altered slightly to eliminate the dextrose for ketogenic dieters, but I think 10g of dextrose isn’t going to through you out of ketosis and should provide a benefit over sugarless formulas.

So to answer the questions… What is the best supplement to take post workout? What makes the most difference in recovery? What is the best supplement to build muscle? What is the best supplement for muscle growth? What is the best post workout shake? What is the best post workout supplement? What is the best post workout drink? What is the best post workout recovery drink?

The answer is a supplement that you can take every day, that tastes good and is convenient. It is one that has the measures of recovery that you need and feel is the best. My formula is not the only formula as many people have their own ideas of formulas that work, but this is the best post workout recovery supplement I know. The only other thing that one could add is two tablespoons of Glycerine, which is found at any pharmacy.

I hope this article helps you make some sense of the post workout products on the market and helps you pick truly the best product for recovery and building muscle. While there is not one “best” product for building muscle, this cocktail will give you a potent anti-catabolic along with a slight anabolic effect from the momordica and Leucine. I hope this article helped you. As always, be peaceful, kind and good to others and happy lifting!

Copyright 2007