Muscle mass supplements are a boon for someone who plans to gain muscle mass quick. So, today in this article, let’s talk about the supplements that have shown scientific evidence to gain muscle mass. We are going to review in this article those supplements with a level of evidence (those that have demonstrated efficacy).
Before we begin, we must emphasize that supplements are not the primary component in gaining muscle mass. It is, in reality, the least important factor (it will not account for more than 5 percent of the total). You should be aware that you can grow muscle mass without using supplements if you base your diet on whole foods. However, if you are already in charge of the fundamentals of your diet and training, it may be prudent to seek additional assistance. Let’s get started!
1. Whey Protein
We know that whey protein is more biologically valuable than egg protein. By better biological value, we imply more essential amino acids, more bioavailability, and a faster rate of intestinal absorption. Protein supplements are nothing more than a substitute for real food in meeting your daily protein requirements. Which are 1.5-2.5 g/kg/day if you train to develop muscle growth. Does that mean that a protein shake can substitute for the protein in real food? Obviously not. However, if you wish to incorporate it into one of your meals, eating it with milk (or water) and creatine, which we will discuss later, is more than advised.
What Are The Types Of Protein?
The fundamental types of whey protein are:
- Concentrated protein (amino acid purity around 25-85%).
- Isolated (purity around 85-95%).
- Hydrolyzed (95-100%).
Without a doubt, the most expensive is the hydrolyzed (due to its higher AA purity and higher absorption speed), which we only recommend if you have a food allergy or lactose intolerance. If this is not the case, you can perfectly opt for a concentrate in volume and an isolate in definition to maximize the results.
2. Casein
It serves the same purpose as whey protein. Casein is derived from milk as well, accounting for the majority of its composition (80%), with whey protein accounting for the remaining 20%. The primary distinction between whey protein and casein is the rate of absorption, which is faster in the case of whey protein.
Taking advantage of this difference, the supplement industry makes business out of it by selling casein as a protein for pre-sleep consumption on the grounds of “take it at night, so you don’t catabolize.”
Physiologically, this argument does not hold because you do not lose muscle mass during sleep. The body is sensitized to muscle mass gain by the action of the hormone GH, which boosts IGF1, and we already know that this is a major activator of the mTOR pathway.Remember that one of the pillars of muscular growth is rest. True, some researches place casein in a favorable light in this aspect. However, when casein is compared to a non-caloric placebo in these experiments, it is not surprising that those who consumed casein maximized their muscle mass gain.
3. Creatine Monohydrate
It has been scientifically proven to be the most effective ergogenic aid for increasing muscular growth and strength, because it helps to keep phosphagens’ energy source functioning for a longer period of time.
It Has No Adverse Effects
To present, no research has proven that long-term usage can have any negative impacts. Even at levels much in excess of the recommended daily dosage of 3-5 g/d.
The Charging Phase Is Not Necessary
The fast-charging phase of 20g/day for a week is just recommended if you want a faster impact, but it is not required. It is more than enough to take 5g each day for an unlimited amount of time.
Great Value For The Price
It is a supplement that is reasonably priced. If you decide to purchase it, be sure it bears the Creapure stamp.
Optimize Training And Promote Recovery
It acts on several of the anabolic cell signalling pathways in addition to promoting muscle recovery. All these benefits lead us to optimize our training and to be able to get closer and closer to our MRV (maximum recoverable volume) in better conditions.
4.HMB (Beta-Hydroxy Beta-Methylbutyrate)
We already know that Leucine is essential for hypertrophy. One of the three BCAAs is leucine (isoleucine, leucine, and valine). These three amino acids are linked to an increase in muscle mass, particularly leucine, which acts as the spark that ignites the fire that is muscle protein synthesis.
The issue is that leucine has no impact unless it is combined with the other required amino acids. Furthermore, there is a leucine threshold in muscle cells, which means that no matter how much leucine we give, we will not have a bigger anabolic impact.
How To Take HMB?
This supplement has been found to increase muscle mass with a minimum effective dose of 1.5g per day in a range of 1.5-3g per day. Doses of 6g/day did not show greater benefits in the studies analysed and a range of 1.5-6g/day constitutes a safety interval.
5. Beta-Alanine
Beta-alanine is a non-essential amino acid (humans can synthesize it from others) that, when combined with histidine, forms the dipeptide carnosine. Carnosine has an intracellular buffering action, which means it delays medium acidification. Increasing the availability of beta-alanine raises intracellular carnosine levels.
This is related to a delay in muscle fatigue, thus being able to improve performance by increasing the number of repetitions we do, increasing the volume of training and therefore, higher levels of hypertrophy.
It is also true that the highest effect of beta-alanine is obtained in sports that last 1-4 minutes on average. That is, it may be more effective in other activities such as athletics than in bodybuilding. A dose of 4-6g per day for a month appears to be best for fully loading carnosine stores. Taking it alongside creatine appears to increase the latter’s absorption.
6. Caffeine
Caffeine is a popular supplement. It’s in coffee, tea, guarana, and dark chocolate. Caffeine is a well-known substance due to its numerous studies demonstrating its efficacy in enhancing athletic performance and assisting fat loss.
It has been demonstrated in tests to boost maximum strength, endurance, and average power with doses ranging from 3 to 9mg/kg taken 30-90 minutes before training. It has also been demonstrated in endurance athletes to preserve glycogen, which is a limiting factor in activity when it is depleted below particular levels.
Caffeine has been demonstrated to improve both medium-low and high-intensity exercise performance, making it suited for all audiences. Caffeine can assist you with those last repetitions that always cost and even some more when it comes to gaining muscle mass.
This improvement in performance translates into more training volume and, as a result, more hypertrophy. If we also take caffeine in the form of coffee, its benefits will be even more helpful to our health, because coffee is an excellent source of polyphenols and antioxidants.
7. Carbohydrates
High carbohydrates in the diet (around 55-60% of total macronutrients) are known to provide higher athletic performance than diets with lower carbohydrate levels. We have already mentioned before that muscle glycogen depletion during sports practice is a predictor of muscle fatigue. The more glycogen is saved during exercise, the longer it can be prolonged and therefore the higher the performance we will obtain.
Consumption of this carbohydrate can help high-intensity or long-duration workouts (more than 2 hours). In order to favor a bigger supply of high-quality energy for a longer period of time in the first scenario, and to save glycogen in the second case.
The most frequent method is to ingest it in the form of gels or drinks containing simple sugars, in which case caution is advised owing to the danger of diarrhea caused by the osmotic force of glucose. In terms of muscle mass gain, if your workouts are not longer than 2-3 hours, it’s not a good idea to consume them.