Finding the Right Weight Gainer

If you’re a serious bodybuilder who wants to go beyond the basic healthy toning of many people, and you really want to seriously bulk up, then eventually you will need to look for a quality weight gainer. Weight gainers are often used by competitive body builders and professional athletes. You need to consume more calories than you naturally burn in order to build extra muscle mass onto your frame.

Weight gainers can help, since people in exceptional shape who have a lot of muscle already are going to have a naturally high metabolism and thus might need some extra quality calories and protein in order to bulk up even more. There are several things that you will need to consider when searching around for the best quality weight gainer. When looking at all the ingredients and nutritional information on the majority of weight gainers, you’ll find a lot of the same traits: high number of calories, a small bit of fat, high doses of protein, and large amounts of carbs.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because the best and easiest way to build muscle is increasing calories, protein, and carbs. That being said, there are certain weight gainers that are better than others, and often times you can figure one from the other by making a closer inspection. Some of the most important things to look for are protein quality, carb breakdown, and sugars.

“Protein Quality”
Not all proteins are considered equal, and the same is true with the types of proteins that you can find in a weight gainer. When looking for the perfect weight gainer to take your bodybuilding to the next level, consider the quality of proteins that the weight gainers have in their make up. Look for whey powder, which is generally the greatest of the proteins and is far better than soy. Casein is a high quality protein, but it digests slowly, which usually doesn’t work for most people’s goals.

“Carb Breakdown”
The carb breakdown of any given weight gainer is very important, as well. There are many different places where carbs can come from, but the different sources of carbs can be vastly different. Some weight gainers get most of their carbs from sugars (not a good idea-and not at all healthy).

A good weight gainer is one whose main source for carbohydrates comes from maltodextrin. This is the carb base that will refill muscle glycogen stores most quickly, which is what you want in a quality weight gainer that is being used in conjunction with a bodybuilding regiment. Sugars are bad because this leads to a very high spike in your body’s insulin, which is followed by the type of crash that can cause migraines, fatigue, shakes, and upset stomach.

Stay away from the sugar heavy weight gainers and you will definitely be healthier in general, as well as happier with the results that you can achieve with a quality weight gainer that relies on better carbs and proteins.

Amino Acids: The Building Blocks

Amino acids are often referred to as being a fancy word for proteins, but this isn’t quite right.  Amino acids are involved with proteins, actually.  Amino acids are the building blocks of protein.  Without essential amino acids, proteins can’t effectively work in the body.  There are many specific supplements that are even aimed towards helping those building blocks.

Amino acids naturally come from protein rich foods like meat, fish, dairy, and certain vegetables such as legumes.  Taking a supplement that helps the amino acids in your body is going to help your muscles, your bones, and help your boy absorb and use protein more effectively and efficiently.  Amino acids are absolutely essential to the human body, as they are needed (like protein) for muscle repair, growth, and development.

In addition to the obvious and well recorded benefits that amino acids have on the body, it’s not just professional bodybuilders who can enjoy the benefits of an amino acids supplement, but amino acids also play an active role in keeping emotional moods normal, concentrating, attention, aggressiveness (keeping in check, or becoming more so in appropriate situations), and even sleep.  Consumed protein is broken down into amino acids, at which point they go to work.

Amino acids are in everyone’s body, and are a necessary part of having a healthy physical body.  If you’re wondering what people might need amino acids supplements, aside from bodybuilders, there are actually several groups of people who might want amino acid supplements.  Some individuals who find amino acid supplements helpful include vegetarians, people afflicted with certain allergies, people affected by stress caused fatigue, or hypoglycemia.  In this case some extra boost to the amino acids can make a huge difference in helping individuals out.

The good news is also that supplements usually only have to be taken for short periods of time.  The odd thing is that to get the full amino acids out of food that the body needs, the body needs to already have amino acids in order to process the new ones.  Once levels go back to normal, often times there’s no need to take more supplements, although even healthy individuals can still benefit immensely.

Amino acids are called the building blocks of the body for good reason, as without them no one could be healthy.  These work in processing every single enzyme in the human body, as well as building and recovering muscles among many other things.  If you are a bodybuilder looking for a little bit more, then amino acid supplements might be the right way to get that last little bit of boost, and for individuals who maybe just need a little bit extra to get healthy, this could also be the answer that you’ve been looking for.

Amino acids are an essential part of every human body, and the more you know about them, the more aware you can be of the benefits.

Creatine Kinase - A More Modern Form of Creatine

While creatine monohydrate is one of the most common forms of creatine that is found in the body and used as a supplement for bodybuilders and any individual looking for a little extra boost for their workouts.  Creatine Kinase, sometimes abbreviated CK, and also known as Creatine Phosphokinase (CPK), is a type of creatine that is found in the body and is an enzyme that is naturally absorbed by muscles, but unlike creatine monohydrate creatine kinase is not the same thing, and should not be mistaken for the creatine that is found in supplement form.

Creatine kinase is found in the body naturally, and is all right as long as it is found in small amounts.  It can appear in the body in higher amounts after an intense workouts, since creatine kinase often times occurs when muscles are torn or damaged, as they will be after a major weight lifting work out as the muscles work to recover.

The problem with creatine kinase is that in higher amounts it can be a sign of damage to the muscular system or the brain.  Because of this, often times blood tests are taken searching for creatine kinase because CK can be an indication of potential heart attack, muscle diseases, or potential stroke.  The same is true with neuromuscular disorders.  Elevated levels of CK can be a dead give away to something being seriously wrong.  In normal circumstances, CK helps to heal the muscles after a workout, but when the CK levels remain elevated when they shouldn’t that’s potentially a dead giveaway.

CK tests are often used to evaluate different types of neuromuscular diseases, and there are five different ways in which they can be used:

1.    To confirm a specific muscle problem that is suspected before more obvious symptoms confirm the diagnosis.
2.    To see if muscle weakness is caused by a muscle or nerve problem as opposed to regular soreness.
3.    To tell the difference between potential disorders that have similar symptoms but different CK readings
4.    To try to detect possible “carriers” of neuromuscular disorders.
5.    To try to keep close tabs on a disease that is known to fluctuate or shift throughout different phases.

Creatine kinase (CK) is not the same as creatine monohydrate, and the two should not be confused.  Monohydrate is the base of the popular supplement that has helped dieters and bodybuilders maximize their workout effect.  CK is a natural enzyme, but it is one that often times is used to indicate possible bad news.  Knowing the difference between these two “creatines” can make a huge difference in understanding the importance of each in any given conversation.

Minerals: Essential to Your Body’s Survival

Minerals are often clumped in with vitamins as something that is necessary for your body’s optimum health.  In this sense that definition is true: minerals are necessary for optimum health.  Many minerals are even considered essential minerals, as in the human body must absolutely have them to survive.  So what exactly are dietary minerals?

Dietary minerals are the chemical elements that your body requires to live (as do most living organisms) that are present in most organic molecules.  Translation: they’re the chemicals in your body and the bodies of most animals that keeps everything functioning the way it should so you can live happy, healthy, and normal.  The actual word “mineral” confuses many people, and it’s an archaic term from a time when science didn’t understand the functions of the body as fully as they do now.

Minerals, like vitamins, can be provided naturally through food, and can also be ingested through various supplements that are available to bodybuilders and the common public as well.  While the differences between vitamins and minerals is hard to describe (and some are the same), minerals are an absolute necessity for good health, and even life itself.  There are 17 minerals that are just essential for a human body to live and function.  Some have obvious and well known uses, others aren’t as well known but remain necessary.  Those 17 essential minerals are:

#1 Calcium: Everyone knows about calcium, which is used for muscles, heart, and building bone.  This mineral is where dairy products shine.

#2 Chloride: This is what produces the acid in your stomach, and is mostly acquired in your body through the intake of salt.

#3 Cobalt: This is also known as vitamin B12 and can be found in concentrated supplement form.

#4 Copper: Copper is a critical part of many enzymes that the body needs to function a full capacity.

#5 Fluorine: This is related to the word fluoride, which more people will be familiar with.  This mineral is what allows tooth enamel to form, allowing us our ability to chew food and eat.

#6 Iodine: Iodine is the mineral required for thyroid regulation.  An iodine deficiency is what causes goiters, which are often a problem in older age.

#7 Iron: Protein may build the muscles, but iron is what makes the protein work.  Iron is one of the most essential of the minerals of the body.

#8 Magnesium: Required for bones, this element tends to decrease in older age.

#9 Manganese: Think of this mineral as an enabler for enzymes.

#10 Molybdenum: Works with oxidation of cells in the body.

#11 Nickel: Helps strengthen bones and keeps them healthy.

#12 Phosphorus: This mineral is another part of keeping bones healthy, but phosphorus also helps the body create energy, and also assists in a wide array of other functions.

#13 Potassium: Potassium is actually an electrolyte that is extremely important in keeping the electrolyte count balanced and using sodium and water with maximum effectiveness.

#14 Selenium: This mineral is the ultimate enabler of antioxidant enzymes in the human body.

#15 Sodium: Is an important electrolyte and works hand in hand with potassium.  One of the most well known minerals

#16 Sulfur: Critical in working with certain amino acids in the body.

#17: Zinc: Zinc is one of the most important minerals and works with several enzymes to keep the boy healthy.

These are the seventeen essential minerals that help the human body function, and taking quality multi-vitamins will help keep your mineral levels healthy.

Glutamine - Amino Acid Supplements

Glutamine (also often referred to as glutamate, or glutamic acid) is one of twenty amino acids in the human body found in the normal genetic code of human beings. Glutamine is often referred to in areas of weight lifting and bodybuilding because there are glutamine supplements that are supposed to help fuel the body, as well as help to prevent the immune system’s vulnerability after highly physically demanding events like marathons or triathlons, or anything similar in nature.

Glutamine is often times recommended to individuals training to be endurance based athletes for high level competitions. The reason for this comes from scientific studies that were done after several people noticed that many of these great long distance athletes had a bizarre tendency to catch a cold or get sick after a competition. This seemed really strange for individuals who were in such amazing health. Why did these people tend to get sick, and why did it seem to consistently take place after these major competitions?

The reason that endurance athletes often catch colds or a minor flu after completing a marathon, or any similar high stress endurance event, is because glutamine levels are very low after such an athletic event, weakening the body’s immune system and causing the athlete in question to be particularly vulnerable.

Basically this is how glutamine works: glutamine is used by cells of your intestines for fuel. When the intestines don’t have as much fuel, this can cause the body to be especially weak and the viruses and bacteria that cause colds will find your body a much more hospitable host at this point. Using glutamine supplements can help endurance athletes to help lower their chances of catching colds or illness after a high stress major event like a triathlon. In addition to this, for some individuals glutamine has shown some effectiveness for dealing with certain digestive conditions.

While studies are still relatively new on glutamine and glutamine supplements, there is at least some evidence that these supplements can help keep the immune systems of endurance athletes slightly healthier and more likely to fight off colds, stomach flus, and other basic pains and discomforts. Because of these effects, glutamine has also been used because of its promise in helping more seriously sick individuals have an appetite and heal after or during treatments that are hard on the body, such as chemo.

While scientists are spending time on this use for glutamine supplements, glutamine has been used for bodybuilders for a variety of reasons. Many believe that glutamine is an excellent way to treat overtraining syndrome, and can also increase recovery from workouts, although actual studies are at best, mixed, on whether or not this is actually true and effective.

While glutamine supplements may help out certain types of athletes, it’s hard to say what the exact effect is for each individual will be, but the studies we have say that it does appear to definitely help endurance athletes from getting sick after a major event, and that’s where its best application may very well lie.

Creatine: One of the Most Popular Supplements

Creatine is one of the most popular supplements out there for bodybuilders and weight lifters of all types. For a while creatine had some bad press, and so for many people who weren’t paying close enough attention, they might still think badly of creatine, but that only shows that they haven’t been paying attention. Creatine used in conjunction with ephedera caused some serious side effects, but that was mostly on the ephedera. Creatine itself is safe and healthy, and should be considered by the serious bodybuilder.

Creatine has been seen as a top notch way to help stimulate muscle growth and is a well known supplement that has been used from world famous bodybuilders to pro athletes like baseball legend Mark McGwire. What’s ironic about this fact is that creatine was not initially meant to be mainly a muscle builder, but an energy booster.

That’s right, creatine is both a muscle stimulator and a muscle builder, giving you the best of both worlds: a supplement that encourages muscle growth and extra energy. There are several reasons why this happens. The muscle growth begins because creatine allows you to perform more work as a natural result of the additional energy. In addition to this, creatine has an affect of stimulating increased protein synthesis.

This are good bonuses that you receive by adding creatine to your regiment, but there’s even more good points. Another being that when there is an abundance of creatine phosphate being stored in your body’s muscular system, the muscles will store even more water in its cells and become “super-hydrated.” When your muscles are super-hydrated, that basically means your muscle is heavily volumized. The more heavily your muscles are volumized, the more they will encourage the synthesis of protein, and stop the breakdown of protein.

When this increased protein synthesis is combined with serious weight training, you will experience strong muscle growth. Other studies show that not only is this a benefit of creatine, but also that creatine causes actual muscle tears from working out to repair themselves more quickly.

Concerns about creatine should be laid to rest by one other simple fact: creatine is a natural part of mother’s milk in human women, and creatine is a required substance for the embryo to develop into a baby. Creatine might be called a supplement, but this is one of the closest things to a natural supplement that you will find with powdered supplements, and the many benefits of creatine are wide spread and well known.

There shouldn’t be any worry about using this quality supplement. Creatine is a great way to add not only a boost of energy for the entire day, but also to add an extra kick to your weight lifting regiment and give you a boost in those body sculpting exercises. If you’re looking for that little bit of help to break through a plateau and get yourself closer to the body that you want then creatine could be that extra little boost your need to get over the top.

Health Supplements: A Wide Array of Choices

The term “health supplements” can refer to a wide array of vitamins, supplements, powders, and other extras that can be used to help enhance your health or bodybuilding regiments. These can refer to basic or advanced multi-vitamins, to whey protein powder or fish oil gel capsules. Some will be completely natural, others won’t, but the good news is that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of quality health supplement products out there and if you are looking for a specific boost to one part of your diet plan or another, chances are that there is a quality supplement out there that matches exactly what you’re looking for.

Natural vitamin supplements are some of the most popular health supplements. These include all types of vitamins. There are health supplements that focus on only one vitamin, or one set of vitamins, like A or B vitamins, and then there are the popular multi-vitamins like Centrum that are there to provide the daily needed amounts of a wide range of vitamins.

There are also herbal supplements. Herbal health supplements can vary widely from fish gel pills, since fish oil has been shown to be excellent for the health of the heart (and possibly a boost to the body’s fat burning ability). Herbal supplements could refer to green tea, St. John’s Wort, or a wide array of natural herbs that are thought to have some kind of an effect. Some of these will be meant to add vitamins, others to aid weight loss, while others still are there to boost immunity and/or general health. Herbal supplements cover a very wide variety of health issues.

There are specific health supplements that are also designed for very specific purposes. Creatine, for example, is designed to boost your energy and also help aid in the building and recovering of muscles from intensive workouts. Whey protein is a near perfect protein supplement that gives your body tons of digestible protein to help strengthen all your muscles. This is far different than say a colon cleanser, or “internal cleanser,” which is basically a laxative designed for you to purge all the bad out of your system to clean up your body and put you in better health.

As you can see, “health supplements” is a very broad term that can encompass a wide range of different pills, powders, vitamins, and other forms. There are dietary supplements and bodybuilding supplements, and everything else under the sun. There are even supplements that are designed specifically to get the synapses in your brain to fire more rapidly, therefore in theory improving the level that your mind is working on and your ability to study and remember things.

There are so many choices, but in the end the health supplements you want are the ones that specifically address the areas that you want help in, and if that means a few supplements, don’t be afraid to take more than one. I take a multi vitamin, a fish oil gel tablet, and a green tea supplement every day, and the extra boost absolutely makes my day.