Fitness Uncovered » Muscle Building Supplements

Best Bodybuilding Supplements By Vince DelMonte

admin — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:57:12 +0000

When you walk into a supplement store looking at bodybuiding supplements, it can get really hard to know which ones you should be investing your money in. Bodybuilding supplements are all tailored to do slightly different things – boost protein intake, build muscle, help speed recovery, give you more energy for at the gym, and so on.

By learning which muscle building products are going to actually help you, you will save a lot of money in the process.

Here are the top bodybuilding supplements that Vince DelMonte, muscle building coach recommends to his clients.

For more information about Vince’s Muscle Building Program, please visit his website.

====> Click HERE for No-Nonsense Muscle Building

Best Muscle Building Supplements – These Are Worth Your Money

admin — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:57:32 +0000

If you’re like most people looking to build muscle, you’ve given some thought to one of the many muscle building supplements out there. But, which are the best muscle building supplements? Which are the ones that will actually help you progress through your program? Which are the ones that won’t just burn a hole in your wallet?

Getting a firm grasp over the many varieties that are available will be important before you start investing. Here are what I consider to be the best muscle building supplements.

Best Muscle Building Supplement #1: Fish Oil

Most people wouldn’t consider fish oil a muscle building supplement per say, but I feel it will be incredibly beneficial towards your goal. Everyone – and I mean everyone should be taking fish oil. Perhaps the only people who wouldn’t need to worry are those who eat a diet very high in fatty fish or who are eating other sources of omega-3 fatty acids (walnuts, flaxseeds, etc).

Fish oil is going to help prevent diseases, keep the body responding to carbohydrates in an appropriate manner, help you build more lean muscle mass, and just promote overall good health.

3-6 grams per day. This is #1 on my list.

Best Muscle Building Supplement #2: Protein Powder

Next up we have protein powder. Meeting your protein requirements is going to be absolutely essential if you want to build muscle. Make no mistake about it, if you’re short in amino acids, you aren’t going to be able to even maintain what you have, little own build new mass.

Some people grossly over-estimate how much protein you need to build muscle, so don’t get too carried away. 1-1.5 grams per pound of body weight is exactly where you want to be.

Protein powder makes it easy to meet these needs and is great both before and after a workout when you need a quick digesting source. Plus, with all the different flavors and varieties out there, taste should no longer be an issue.

Best Muscle Building Supplement #3: Creatine

If you’ve been reading about muscle building supplements, you have without a doubt hear of creatine. When used properly, I do feel that creatine can be beneficial. One thing to keep in mind with this one though is that it itself is actually not going to make you gain weight (like many people think).

Rather, creatine helps you work harder and it is that hard work that will help you build muscle. Unless you are putting in the work, taking creatine won’t automatically you build muscle – you may gain water weight, but that’s not your goal anyway.

Creatine is best used for individuals who are performing very intense physical activity, which includes weight lifting.

Best Muscle Building Supplement #4: Caffeine

Another supplement most people wouldn’t think about and one that many would consider a ‘fat loss supplement’ instead, I do think that caffeine has some purpose in a muscle building program.

Basically, caffeine can help you workout at a higher intensity and let’s face it, when trying to build muscle, high intensity training is the name of your game. If caffeine helps you do this, it’s good to take.

Whether you choose to get your caffeine from caffeine pills, a morning cup of coffee, or one of those energy drinks (which you have to watch in terms of sugar content – just a warning), it can help with your workouts.

Best Muscle Building Supplement #5: Food

Finally, it had to be mentioned. I’m a big proponent of eating for building muscle rather than filling your cupboards with too many supplements. Before you start looking to some of the fancier products out there (Nitric oxide, growth hormone boosters, and so on), make sure you’re eating enough food.

Nothing is going to help you grow if you aren’t eating enough calories, so don’t expect your supplements to work magic. Food is what the body uses to form new muscle tissue, so without that food being supplement, the body just can’t complete the process.

Carbohydrates, protein, and fat all are important on a muscle building diet, so don’t cut out any of those.

While this list is certainly not exhaustive – there are many more supplements out there that I’m sure will help you get good results, these are the five that I could consider key. If you have a limited budget, these are the ones I would invest in.

Want to know more info about muscle building supplements?

Check out Vince DelMonte’s Supplement Files:

—-> No-Nonsense Supplement Watch

My Favorite Protein Powder

admin — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 15:09:41 +0000

If there’s one question you hear quite often it’s people asking what protein powder they should buy. For the newcomer to fitness, they might be slightly scared to give protein powder a shot as most think it tastes downright terrible.

If you choose wisely though, this isn’t the case at all.

It’s also important to keep in mind that there are a wide variety of types of protein powder out there, all of which will serve different functions. As you get to a more advanced level with your training, you may find that you wish to purchase a few different varieties of protein powder to take at different times during the day (after your workout, before bed, as a meal replacement shake, etc).

But, still, taste is a high priority for most. After all, feeling like you have to pound back that protein shake before your taste buds can actually register the taste is likely something you’d rather not experience.

So what’s my personal recommendation?

Below are two of my absolute most favourite protein powders. I would highly recommend investing in either one of these if you’re looking for a great tasting, well-mixing protein powder to get started with.

PVL Chocolate Peanut Butter

If you’re a fan of peanut butter, you’ll love this protein powder. I’ve read countless reviews on this one and only have ever seen one person state that they didn’t like it. It mixes great with water, milk, oatmeal, or into cottage cheese (one of my personal favourites).

Click here to purchase PVL Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Powder

Syntrax Matrix Vanilla

The second favourite protein powder on my list is Syntrax Matrix in Vanilla flavour. I’ve tried their Chocolate flavor and am not as big of a fan (it’s still decent though), but the Vanilla taste just like an ice cream milk shake in my opinion. It also mixes great in water, milk, with juice (for a creamsicle kind of flavour), or you could even mix it with other fruit-flavored protein powders for a creamer version of that protein power (I really like it with Syntrax’s Nectar line).

This protein powder is also a casein variety so it will digest slightly slower in the body so it makes it a really good one if you’re planning on using it before bed or during the day when you want the amino acids to be released over a longer period of time.

Click here to purchase Syntrax Matrix 5.0 Vanilla

So there you have my two personal favorite protein powders. There are so many out there to choose from that it can be a struggle at times knowing which one will be best for you. Getting second hand opinions though should help make the decision slightly easier.

Have a personal favorite? Please share it with us in the comments section.

Should You Cycle Creatine?

admin — Wed, 27 May 2009 15:50:48 +0000

Creatine is one of the top muscle building supplements that people use to help them reach their goals faster. The main benefit that creatine is going to provide is enabling you to work harder in the gym by always ensuring that your creatine phosphate stores in the body (which are the main molecules that supply energy to the working muscles) are topped off. When these start to run low, that’s when you’re really going to notice fatigue is starting to set in during your workouts.

One question many people have with regards to creatine however is whether it should be cycled.

With many supplements, cycling them proves to be very important since you don’t want the body to get used to the supplement for a given period of time, making it less than effective. With a few other supplements, a big reason for cycling it is because it can start to really wear on the body over time, running down your CNS.

Since creatine is a supplement that is essentially just replenishing a molecule that the body does get from food (most people will not get it in large enough proportions from food to make a difference however), it does not pose the risk of the body getting far too used to it.

Instead, what would happen is if you simply stopped using it, you wouldn’t have as high of creatine phosphate stores in the muscle cells, so fatigue may start to set in.

For this reason, cycling creatine is not necessary if you would prefer not to. If you were to take a break from your training and not perform any high intensity exercise (which is what relies on creatine phosphate), then it would make sense to stop taking it.

If you’re continually working out hard though, then it will be in your best interest to maintain your intake of it.

Do You Need Protein Powder To Build Muscle?

admin — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 03:44:44 +0000

One question that many individuals will the goal of building muscle ask themselves is whether or not they must be taking protein powder to get optimal results. For many, the thought process is that there is something about protein powder that just sparks better muscle growth.

This isn’t the case.

While protein powder can definitely help you build muscle, it alone is not just going to work some sort of magic on your body. You need to keep things in context.

Total Protein Needs

The first reason protein powder can help you build muscle is simply because it can help you meet your protein requirements for the day. In order to optimally build muscle, I would recommend taking in, at minimum, one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day. While you can take more than this if you like, taking 4-5 grams per pound a day is not going to make you build muscle any faster, if anything, protein intake at that level is just going to hinder your results.

Anywhere between 1-1.5 grams/lb is sufficient and safe to consume. If protein powder makes it easier to meet your needs, then you’re better off. It’s typically better to consume real food when you can, but if it means the difference of not meeting your needs or meeting them, go with that protein powder. This factor in particular really applies to vegetarians who often are short on their protein intake due to food selection.

Total Calorie Needs

Next up, along with meeting your protein needs, using a protein powder can also make it easier to meet your total calorie needs as well. Since liquid calories do not fill you up in the same manner as solid food calories do, if you’ve got exceptionally high calorie requirements, supplementing your usual meals with one or two protein shakes can be a good way to get those calories in.

If you don’t meet your daily calorie requirements, you aren’t building muscle.

Speed Of Digestion

In some instances, it will actually be preferable to choose a protein powder over solid food. This will be most notable right before and after the workout period when you want something quick digesting so the amino acids can get into the blood stream ASAP.

Most solid food-form protein does take a slightly longer time to digest, so opting for a good whey concentrate will speed this process up.

The Convenience Factor

Lastly, protein powder is convenient. For those who are students and can’t cook in their dorm rooms or simply have a busy career that doesn’t allow for much food prep time in the morning, a protein powder can help you maintain balance throughout the day and fill gaps when you can’t get a good solid source in.

Keeping some protein powder in your desk along with some nuts or whole grain crackers can make for a much better afternoon snack than something out of a vending machine. There’s no denying that many people do enjoy the convenience factor of protein powder.

So, keep these points in mind. Must you consume protein powder to build muscle? Certainly not. Will consuming protein powder make building muscle easier – chances are, yes. Just don’t get yourself mixed up – protein powder does not contain some type of magical ingredient that will have you growing muscle overnight.

The Truth About Bodybuilding Magazines – Vince DelMonte Speaks

admin — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 00:55:15 +0000

Ever wonder if what you’re reading in the hottest bodybuilding magazine is really going to help you get the results you’re looking for?

Have a look at this. You might think twice next time.

For more information about Vince’s Muscle Building Program, please visit his website.

====> Click HERE for No-Nonsense Muscle Building