For the majority of weight trainers the key to bigger lifts often comes down to supplementation. Incorporating the right mix of supplements into your nutritional plan will up your odds of greater success while hoisting greater weight. With that said, here are a few must have supplements to help maximize your powerlifting efforts.
Creatine
We listed Creatine first because it’s first on so many weight trainers’ lists when it comes to naturally building muscle mass, strength, performance and muscular endurance. Creatine plays a key role in the transfer of energy to the muscles by converting to phospocreatine. This process allows the body to produce more ATP which aides in weight training by giving your muscles a short burst of energy. Simply put, creatine supplementation is imperative for anyone looking to construct lean muscle mass! As an added bonus, numerous studies on creatine show it to be safe and effective as any natural product on the market. When looking for the best quality creatines, we suggest Universal Nutrition Creatine, and Con-Cret Concentrated Creatine
Protein Powder
When it comes to the development of new muscle tissue, protein powders are the way to go. These supplements offer an inexpensive and convenient way to add calories and protein to your diet. The most popular form today is whey protein, which comes from milk. Comprised of reasonably short chains of amino acids, whey is quick to digest and get absorbed. Additionally, it has a close to ideal ratio of amino acids to support muscle growth. Throw in the popular opinion that Whey protein products usually taste better than most other protein forms, and it’s a no brainer that Whey is the way to go. Another no-brainer is to go with a great tasting brand that’s packed with Whey protein isolates for maximum muscle growth like CytoSport Muscle Milk and VPX Protein Rush!.
Joint Support
After a serious session of hardcore powerlifting, it’s likely you’ll be feeling the effects of the rigors put upon your body. No doubt you already know that lifting heavy weight can be brutal on your joints. Regular use of a good joint support formula is essential to reducing inflammation in your joints. This will relieve pain and lessen your chance of injury. A joint support formula generally features a combination of Gelatin, Collagen, Glucosamine, and Chondroitin. Even after just two weeks of taking it, you’ll notice dramatically less joint pain and inflammation and will require fewer over the counter pain relievers to combat the symptoms. Two excellent joint support supplements you should consider include TwinLab Recovery Joint Fuel, and All American EFX Joint Rehab. Both work wonders in supporting the body’s natural inflammation response.
