Bodybuilding Supplements Guide - Part 2

The Most Basic Supplements

In the previous part, I pretty much grouped supplements into a "regulars" and "non-regulars" category. The regulars category are the most basic supplements, that if you were to start using some type of supplements, these would be it: protein, creatine, and glutamine.

Protein Supplements

There are several types of protein supplements: whey protein, casein protein, protein blends, egg protein, and soy protein. With all the different brands and varieties out there, it gets pretty confusing. Luckily, we got articles on all of the on the site here somewhere. ;-)

Whey protein is the staple supplement of bodybuilding. Whey is one of the best proteins with a PDCAA score of 1.14, and a biological value of 100. Being a very fast absorbing protein, whey is the choice supplement for immediate use right after workouts.

Besides its many benefits for bodybuilding, many studies have show many health benefits of using whey protein:

"A growing number of studies has found whey may potentially reduce cancer rates, combat HIV, improve immunity, reduce stress and lower cortisol, increase brain serotonin levels, improve liver function in those suffering from certain forms of hepatitis, reduce blood pressure, and improve performance, to name a few of its potential medical- and sports-related applications. Whey also has an exceptionally high biological value rating and an exceptionally high Branch Chain Amino Acid (BCAA) content." - Will brink

We have tons of info and articles on whey protein, so not much more needs to be said here. Some of these articles below will provide you with more in depth information:

• About whey protein
• Protein supplements comparison guide
• Whey protein processing methods
• About soy protein

In the following parts of this supplement guide section, we'll get into more details about which supplements are worth using.

Creatine Monohydrate

Creatine is another staple of bodybuilders, but like with various supplements, some users blindly use it without really understanding what creatine really is, or how it really works. Which is why I get questions such as "will creatine make me fat?", or "will creatine cause my balls to shrink?", or "will creatine stunt my growth?".

The answer is "NO" to all of above.

First of all, creatine has no nutritional value, so there's no way it can make you fat, and it won't do anything for you, if you don't have a good diet and workout program in place to begin with. Creatine helps by increasing the amount of ATP available in your body - ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is the fuel for your muscle contractions.

The ATP releases a phosphate molecule to become a diphosphate (ADP), thus supplying energy for your muscle contractions. Creatine then gives one of its phosphate to the ADP making it an ATP again - so by supplementing creatine, you increase your body's ability to generate ATP, which is what gives the extra energy and endurance many creatine users experience.

There are pure creatine Monohydrate powders, usually quite cheap nowadays, and then there are creatine formulas like celltech, V12, phosphagen etc... During my bulking cycles, I like to use cell tech creatine... Well, not the real store bought one, which is just a little rich for my blood, so I make my own homemade celltech, which has worked excellent, and also tastes fantastic!

What is cell tech? It's a "creatine delivery system" - its creatine monohydrate mixed in with a lot of dextrose, in a ratio of 5g creatine to 35g of dextrose. (Dextrose is a simple carb). I'm not going into details about this, since I have 2 other articles covering this.

• Cell tech review (Learn about how it works)
• Homemade cell tech (then make it yourself and save a wad of cash)

You can learn more about creatine in these articles:

• General creatine monohydrate information
• Creatine side effects
• Creatine cycle and loading

L-Glutamine - Amino Acid

Glutamine is the other "regular" supplement in my stacks. L-glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in your muscles, consisting of over 61% of your skeletal muscle, and it is also the primary nitrogen transporter. Glutamine has many benefits:

• Help improve recovery
• Increase growth hormone output
• Help boost the immune system
• Replenish declining glutamine levels from workouts
• Prevent muscle catabolism
• Read more about glutamine here.

>> Continue to part 3

>> Click here for whey protein supplements
>> Click here for Prolab Creatine, or Dymatize Micronized Creatine
>> Click here for L-Glutamine
>> Click here for Optimum Nutrition 100% whey protein
>> Click here for 100% egg protein
>> Click here for Pro Complex
>> Click here to order Optimum L-Glutamine
>> Click here to order Prolab N Large 3