Top 10 Supplements for Building Muscle Mass

Although this blog is intended to highlight the best supplements for mass building, we must reiterate that supplements alone are not the key to building muscle. Building muscle requires an adequate amount of food, from high-quality sources, with a big focus on protein. A good measure for protein intake is the recommended 0.8g-1.2g per pound of bodyweight. You should also have a mix of both complex and simple carbs, and healthy fats. 

 

A balanced diet is the key to building muscle. Anything extra you add, is just that: extra. It is also important to time your meals appropriately, as at certain times you will benefit from having specific macros more so than others. Be sure to check out next weeks blog on meal frequency and timing. 

 

These supplements are not intended to replace a well-balanced diet, only to enhance the healthy food and training habits you have developed. 

 

Whey Protein

 

Your body requires amino acids, especially Essential Amino Acids (which include BCAA) to build and repair muscle. Your body does not naturally produce these EAAs, but you can acquire them from food. Whey protein is an excellent source of EAAs (including BCAAs) and is a particularly great source of leucine.

 

Leucine is a very special BCAA because it turns on muscle protein synthesis through the mTOR switch. Whey protein contains a high leucine concentration, more so than soy, wheat, or casein protein. To optimize muscle protein synthesis, you need approximately 3-4 grams of leucine per meal. Therefore, 30-40 grams of whey protein can help build mass. 

 

Beta-Alanine

 

Beta-alanine is a great supplement for powering up your workouts. It can improve your workout performance and help build lean muscle. Beta-alanine is a non-essential amino acid whose role is to increase muscle carnosine levels, which helps reduce lactic acid buildup, improving contractile force and decreasing fatigue. Beta-alanine can be found sold alone in powder form, and also can be found in many pre-workouts (both powder and liquid form).  Beware of the tingling though- high doses of beta-alanine can cause a sensation of tingling, usually in the face, neck, and hands. It’s not a serious condition, and many use the tingling sensation to acknowledge that its really time to work out. 

 

Creatine

 

Creatine is a good way to add muscle quickly, but you will gain some water weight along the way. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing- creatine will pull more water into your muscles, making the muscles bigger and fuller. Creatine has been shown to increase strength and muscle gains compared to training alone.  Be sure to use creatine monohydrate powder. Liquid creatine and creatine ethyl-ester (CEE) has been shown to break down in your blood stream. 

 

Citrulline/Arginine

 

Citrulline can be produced from the release of nitric oxide (NO) from arginine or can be produced in the gastrointestinal track from glutamine. Supplementation with citrulline has been shown to increase lean mass, increased muscle strength, and improve time to exhaustion during exercise. Increasing arginine will increase NO, which can lead to increased blood flow (and better erections). 

 

Melatonin

 

Melatonin is actually a hormone secreted in the pineal gland of the brain. Its role is to elicit sleep physiology using the circadian rhythm. Melatonin can improve deep sleep, during which your body repairs itself from your training. The recommended dose of melatonin is 2-mg, and some research has shown that a dose of 5mg can improve growth hormone levels. 

 

HMB

 

Along with increasing muscle growth, its crucial to prevent muscle breakdown. HMB (beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate) is a metabolite derived from leucine (an EAA). Leucine is particularly good at preventing muscle breakdown. Research has shown a reduction in muscle damage, especially in younger or untrained individuals. Research has also shown a significant increase in lean body mass in participants who used HMB vs the placebo group. For this study, fat loss was about the same, and HMB only had a slight difference on muscle strength. 

 

Phosphatidic Acid (PA)

 

Phosphatidic acid (PA) is a lipid messenger that signals the stimulation of mTOR, increasing muscle protein synthesis. An 8-week study showed significant improvements in resistance training (vs the placebo group) in actions like leg press, bench press, push-ups, vertical jump, agility time; and also increased peak power output, muscle girth, and lean body mass. The recommended dosage is 750mg daily, and in the study mentioned above, participants took 450mg prior to training and 300mg immediately after training. 

 

Vitamin D

 

Studies have shown that vitamin D supplementation can increase muscle strength, and high vitamin d levels are associated with reduced injury rates and improved sports performance. If that’s not enough, a study from 2011 concluded that vitamin D supplementation can increase testosterone levels. 

 

Furthermore, vitamin D deficiency has been linked to insulin resistance formation, so increasing your serum levels of vitamin D can reduce insulin resistance. If you’re not too keen on risking your chance of skin cancer from laying out in the sun or tanning beds, don’t worry! Vitamin D is easily accessible in pill form, as well as through food like fatty fish, egg yolks, mushrooms, and fortified foods (like milk, cereal, oatmeal, and orange juice). 

 

Caffeine

 

Many pre-workout supplements contain caffeine as a key ingredient. Some studies suggest caffeine can improve focus, helps with muscle recovery, and decrease exertion limits. You don’t have to take a fancy pre-workout or a pill to get a good amount of caffeine either, an 8oz cup of black coffee contains 91mg of caffeine, and your average pre-workout contains 150-200 mg. 

 

Healthy Fats

 

Dietary fat has been long feared, but science and research has shown that overall, consuming fats isn’t a bad thing, in fact it can do a lot of good. The “good” fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats) increase the HDL, the “good” cholesterol. HDL leads to increased production of growth hormone, which in turn triggers more amino acids, the building blocks essential for building muscle tissue. Not to mention that testosterone, a key player in the muscle-building process, is derived largely from cholesterol. So ditch the low-fat diet, and start getting in your healthy fats! 

 

Closing thoughts

 

It’s not only the ingredients of the supplements that you take that matter, but also the quality. When choosing a supplement, be wary of obscure brands, and always look for clear and precise labeling. Avoid supplements that do not list the ingredients or their amounts. Because more is not always better.