We all know there is no secret formula to a successful fitness journey. It’s all about putting your time in at the gym and eating healthily. But even if your gym game is strong and your diet is clean, the gains that you are expecting may not be matching the efforts you are putting in.
The first question you should ask yourself is whether you are giving your body all the nutrients it requires. If you are not bulking up the right way, chances are that your muscles are not getting the specific amino acids and macronutrients they need. When that happens, it’s time to consider supplements.
Supplements are an addition to an already healthy diet and can help you meet your nutritional needs, improve nutrient deficiencies, enhance your athletic performance or achieve personal fitness goals. Whether you are looking for the most effective fat burn supplements, powerful vitamins or else, there are many different options available on the market and choosing one can be very confusing.
Moreover, trying to fit all of them into your health regimen can feel overwhelming and end up crowding your medicine cabinet. Also, they can do a number on your wallet. So, whether you are new to supplements or have been taking them for years, you may want to consider supplements packs.
Contents
What is a Supplement Pack?
A supplement pack is a combination of supplements that gives you the most value for your money. When you stack supplements properly, based on your fitness or weight loss goals, you capitalise on the synergetic power they have with each other and increase their effectiveness. You can find a wide range of supplements packs and choose the one that meets your health needs and fitness goals.
In order to optimise workouts and maintain peak performance, you need to tend to your entire body. Combining nutrients strategically can help you enhance your physical performance and recovery. That’s why it’s important to remember that your goal for supplement stacking should always be to stack supplements that work well with each other to create the best nutrient delivery.
By formulating your own pre-workout, intra-workout and post-workout supplements stacks, you can gain control of your supplementation and get more of your workouts. When stacking supplements, make sure to focus on one goal at a time. This way will avoid taking multiple compounds that have opposing effects and cancel each other out.
Choosing the right combination depends on your health concerns and whether you are looking for more muscle mass and endurance for intense workouts or you are looking for supplements or vitamins to boost energy and improve focus.
Whey Protein
Protein is the building block of all the cells in the human body and its main function is to build and repair muscle cells. You can get protein from the foods you eat (meat, eggs, beans), but a protein supplement can help you achieve your workout goals. Whey protein is rich in BCAAs (branched-chain amino acids), it digests quickly and its peptides boost blood flow. That’s why it’s the best protein to take before and after workouts. It will allow you to recover quickly, so you will be able to hit the gym the next day.
Creatine
If you want to build muscles, you need to exercise more intensely. Creatine can increase strength, enhance lean body mass and energy levels and help with fat loss. When taken before a workout, it provides energy, but when taken after a workout it can replenish and boost muscle creatine stores.
BCAA
Similar to protein, you can only get BCAAs through foods like red meat, chicken, fish, eggs and dairy. Leucine, isoleucine and valine are BCAAs that are considered essential because the human body can’t manufacture them. Taking BCAAs before a workout and during a workout can conserve your muscle BCAA stores, protect your body from catabolism, increase fatigue resistance and decrease recovery time.
Beta-Alanine
This is an amino acid that can boost the muscle-building effects of creatine. Stacking beta-alanine with creatine can significantly improve exercise performance.
L-Theanine
L-theanine is a naturally occurring amino acid in tea and when combined with caffeine it may help increase energy and cognitive performance.
Caffeine
Caffeine is known as the central nervous system stimulant and can give people the much-needed jolt. It has been also found that caffeine may enhance muscle strength when taken an hour before a workout.
Glutamine
This is an amino acid and you get it in your diet when you eat protein. A workout can stress your muscles and cause muscle damage. As your body repairs the damage, the muscles grow stronger and larger, but this process usually takes a few days. This means that you can work out only once or twice a week and it can be hard to progress with this frequency. Glutamine can speed up the recovery process, so you will be able to work more frequently and get closer to your goal every time.
Things to Consider Before Taking Your Supplements
Your supplemental needs are unique to you. We all have different sleep qualities, stress triggers, states of mind and emotions. Each input we experience can change the way our body uses and requires nutrients. For a supplement to work, all lifestyle and nutrition habits should be optimised first. Take a look at your health needs and fitness goals before you decide on the supplement stack that’s good for you.