Multitasking is a corporate buzzword that has made its way into the lexicon of our daily lives. Our days (and nights) are so jam-packed with work, going to the gym, and spending time with friends and family that we often try to do all those things at once. We talk on cell phones while driving, and we e-mail on our laptops while surfing the web and catching up on our Netflix watchlist. But is all this juggling really efficient?
Research says no. Doing multiple things at once reduces productivity—not just in the office, but outside as well. Depending on the complexity of the job, most people can’t focus enough on any one thing to actually do it well. Translation? We suck at multitasking, but your supplements may not.
Here’s a list of 13 hardworking, multitasking, efficient ingredients that should be part of everyone’s supplement stack.
ESTABLISHED REP: Fat-burner, energy booster, pain reducer. The world’s most popular drug is also a bodybuilder’s best friend. Caffeine gives you a near-instant energy boost while helping to burn bodyfat. Caffeine can also blunt muscle pain and sharpen mental acuity.
GROWING REP: Strength booster. In addition to giving you a solid pre-workout buzz, 200 mg of caffeine can immediately boost your strength by about 5 pounds, as researchers recently found when they gave trained lifters caffeine about an hour before workouts.
DOSE OF TRUTH: To get immediate strength, go with 200-400 mg of caffeine 1-2 hours before training.
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Whey Protein
ESTABLISHED REP: Muscle builder. Few supplements are as effective at building muscle as protein, and whey is the big daddy of the protein powders because of its ability to drive muscle growth and aid recovery.
GROWING REP: Vasodilator. Arginine may be the biggest pump-enhancing supplement on the block, but it has some surprising company: whey protein. Whey contains peptides (small protein fragments) that are very similar to those that inhibit angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), which increases the constriction of blood vessels. By inhibiting ACE, these peptides allow for increased blood vessel dilation, enabling greater blood flow to exercising muscles. This enhances the delivery of nutrients (such as the amino acids in whey), anabolic hormones (such as growth hormone and testosterone) and oxygen to muscle during exercise.
DOSE OF TRUTH: Stick with our usual recommendation of 20 grams of whey protein immediately before workouts to boost blood flow to muscles and encourage muscle growth. Just make sure to have your arginine a full 30 minutes before taking your whey, as it may blunt the effects of arginine.
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Tribulus Terrestris
ESTABLISHED REP: T-booster. This herb increases testosterone production, which leads to spikes in strength, making it easier to pack on new muscle.
GROWING REP: Vasodilator, insulin mimicker, antioxidant New published research has uncovered that tribulus is capable of more than just altering testosterone levels. It turns out that tribulus also improves blood flow by enhancing dilation of blood vessels. This means that when taken before workouts, tribulus can boost blood flow to working muscles by increasing nitric oxide (NO) in a manner similar to arginine and by inhibiting ACE in a manner similar to whey protein. Research also suggests that tribulus may act as an insulin mimicker and increase the uptake of glucose by muscle cells. This is good news because insulin is important for stimulating muscle growth. In addition, tribulus acts as a very potent antioxidant and can even lower cholesterol levels.
DOSE OF TRUTH: To get all these benefits from tribulus, take 250-750 mg with breakfast and 30-60 minutes before workouts.
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Forskolin
ESTABLISHED REP: Fat-burner. You’re probably familiar with the active compound, coleus forskohlii (forskolin), produced by the Indian Coleus plant, because it stimulates the release of body fat to be burned for fuel.
GROWING REP: Muscle builder. Forskolin can also help you gain muscle by increasing your testosterone production by almost 20%.
DOSE OF TRUTH: Take a coleus forskohlii supplement standardized for 20-50 mg of forskolin, 2-3 times per day with food.
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Carnitine
ESTABLISHED REP: Fat-burner. Carnitine has always been known among bodybuilders for its ability to carry fat into muscle cells, where it’s burned for energy.
GROWING REP: Androgen receptor manufacturer, vasodilator, recovery aid Science is finding that carnitine’s value goes far beyond shuttling fat to the furnace. Research from the University of Connecticut (Storrs) has discovered that subjects taking carnitine have a higher content of androgen receptors in muscle cells. Those receptors are what testosterone needs to bind to in order to initiate muscle growth—so the more receptors in muscle, the more testosterone that can incur growth. The same lab also found that carnitine increases blood flow to muscles during exercise, similar to arginine, whey and tribulus, and it enhances muscle recovery.
DOSE OF TRUTH: Go with 1-3 grams of carnitine (in the form of L-carnitine, acetyl-L-carnitine or L-carnitine-Ltartrate) with breakfast, before workouts and immediately after workouts.
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Glutamine
ESTABLISHED REP: Muscle preserver, recovery aid, immunity booster. The amino acid glutamine is a major multitasker. It supports immune function, preserves muscle mass, fights fatigue and replenishes glycogen stores.
GROWING REP: Fat-burner. Ever thought about taking glutamine to burn fat? According to new research, you should. Two recent studies from Iowa State University (Ames) report that supplementing with glutamine significantly increased metabolic rate, or calories burned, and the amount of fat burned during exercise and at rest.
DOSE OF TRUTH: To boost your metabolic rate and increase fat-burning, as well as take advantage of all the other benefits of glutamine, take 5-10 grams with breakfast, 30-60 minutes before and immediately after exercise, and before bed.
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Creatine
ESTABLISHED REP: Muscle and strength builder. Creatine is one of the most effective bodybuilding supplements ever. Comprised of three amino acids, creatine provides the quick energy needed for powerful, explosive activities such as lifting weights. It boosts strength and recovery between sets, which allows you to get more reps, and increases muscle mass.
GROWING REP: Antioxidant, CFS reducer, skin and brain protector, Parkinson’s alleviator Research is showing that a good thing just keeps getting better. Creatine provides antioxidant protection, helps reduce the effects of chronic fatigue syndrome and protects the brain against damage. New research from the National Institutes of Health finds that creatine also lessens the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. There’s more: Although summer may be over, you can prep for next year’s beach season by loading up on creatine. That’s right, it has been shown to protect the skin from sun damage.
DOSE OF TRUTH: Take 3-5 grams of creatine before and after workouts and with breakfast on rest days. Most lifters would never think to take creatine to assist brain function or to protect skin from sun damage, yet it does both.
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Arginine
ESTABLISHED REP: Vasodilator. The amino acid arginine can boost NO production because it’s converted to NO in the body. The result is increased blood vessel dilation, which allows for greater blood flow to muscles while exercising.
GROWING REP: Angiogenesis initiator, fat-burner. Sure, the widening of blood vessels is a great benefit for those in search of a pump, but it’s not the only way arginine increases blood flow to muscles. New research from Japan reports that arginine actually stimulates the growth of blood vessels that lead to muscle fibers. The more blood vessels supplying a muscle fiber, the greater the delivery of blood and consequently nutrients, oxygen and hormones to the muscle, which leads to more strength, less fatigue and a fuller pump during the workout, as well as greater recovery and growth afterward. As if that weren’t enough, a new study presented at the 2007 annual meeting of the National Strength and Conditioning Association reported that four weeks of arginine supplementation significantly decreased body fat.
DOSE OF TRUTH: Go with 3-5 grams of arginine three times per day: before breakfast, 30-60 minutes before workouts and just before bed.
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Vitamin C
ESTABLISHED REP: Immunity enhancer, recovery and amino acid synthesis aid. With all of the documented benefits of vitamin C, you’d think there would be nothing new to be discovered. After all, vitamin C boosts immune function, helps collagen growth, aids amino acid synthesis, strengthens blood vessels and helps heal injuries. But, amazingly, there’s more.
GROWING REP: Fat-burner, vasodilator. For lifters, vitamin C can provide a host of additional benefits, including fat loss, report Arizona State University (Tempe) researchers. Study data also shows that vitamin C can boost NO levels, which increases blood vessel dilation.
DOSE OF TRUTH: To get all of the benefits (new and old) that vitamin C can offer bodybuilders, take 1-2 grams per day with food.
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Echinacea
ESTABLISHED REP: Immunity booster. Derived from a flowering herb called the Coneflower and native to the Rocky Mountains, echinacea was once a popular remedy for the common cold and flu.
GROWING REP: Appetite enhancer. Echinacea is commonly used to boost the immune system, but research has found that it can also boost appetite. Echinacea contains compounds called alkylamides, which interact with receptors in the brain that are involved in appetite control, thus increasing hunger. While we normally advise you on supplements that decrease hunger, which can aid fat loss, many lifters have the opposite problem—an inability to put on weight. If you’re a hardgainer, you need to eat to grow, and taking in a sufficient amount of calories can be cumbersome.
DOSE OF TRUTH: Having trouble consuming enough to grow? Consider taking 800-1,200 mg of echinacea immediately before meals for up to about 8 grams of echinacea per day.
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Melatonin
ESTABLISHED REP: Sleep aid. This well-known sleep aid has helped countless stressed-out bodybuilders get some rest at night. It also provides antioxidant protection to help your muscles recover.
GROWING REP: GH booster. No bodybuilder has ever considered taking melatonin in the middle of the day, let alone right before a workout. Why would you want to make yourself sleepy before training? Yet when melatonin was taken pre-workout, it was shown to significantly boost levels of growth hormone (GH)—without sleepiness or a decrease in alertness—which is a plus for anyone trying to gain mass. That’s not so strange when you consider that melatonin is actually a hormone that regulates levels of several other hormones in the body.
DOSE OF TRUTH: To boost GH levels, take 0.5-5 mg of melatonin 30-60 minutes before workouts.
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Chromium
ESTABLISHED REP: Fat-burner, muscle builder. A mineral found in such veggies as broccoli, potatoes, and green bean; chromium was once a popular bodybuilding supplement due to its ability to aid fat loss and enhance insulin function, which means it can help you get lean and grow muscle.
GROWING REP: Cortisol blunter. New research shows this essential mineral can also blunt cortisol. British researchers found that subjects taking chromium supplements for about a week had lower cortisol levels after a stressful event. This makes it an ideal supp to take after hard exercise, which can stress the body and increase cortisol levels.
DOSE OF TRUTH: Taking 200-400 mcg of chromium picolinate with food in one or two doses, with one dose immediately before workouts, can keep cortisol levels lower following workouts, which means testosterone can do a better job of encouraging muscle growth.
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Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs)
ESTABLISHED REP: Protein synthesis stimulator, energy booster, muscle preserver. BCAAs are a group of three aminos (leucine, isoleucine and valine) that effectively stimulate protein synthesis – the growth of muscle. They even provide energy during workouts, aiding fat loss and boosting the immune system by sparing glutamine levels.
GROWING REP: Cortisol blunter, DOMS reducer. One of the newfound benefits of BCAAs is their ability to blunt the catabolic hormone cortisol following workouts. Since cortisol blocks testosterone’s anabolic effects and leads to increased muscle breakdown, keeping its levels low helps to increase muscle growth. Other research has found that a BCAA supplement taken 15 minutes before workouts decreased delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).
DOSE OF TRUTH: Go with 5-10 grams of BCAAs immediately before and after workouts.
