Summer is fast approaching, and it will soon be time to put your form on full display. Is it ripped and ready to be showcased, or is some fine-tuning still in order? Before heading out to the nearest body of water in your favorite swimwear, you’ll want to be sure you’re physique is shredded to the max for optimal visual appeal.
Combined with your training and healthy eating plan, supplements can help to further enhance your body sculpting goals. By stacking the following four supplements into your nutritional mix, you’ll be better equipped to drop more body fat and build more lean muscle for that coveted chiseled, summer physique.
Pre-workout Formula:
Nothing gets your workout off to a better start, and propels you to the finish line better than a superior quality pre-workout drink. From increased strength and endurance to improved energy and focus, the benefits of a pre-workout formula are many when it comes to your overall mental and physical performance. For anyone serious about building lean muscle and getting ripped, pre-workout supplementation is essential.
The synergistic compounded formula in a pre-workout supplement provides the anabolic hormonal environment to supercharge your workout and give you a full muscular pump for vascularity. While the supplement industry is stacked with pre-workout powders and pills, there are a select few that stand above the rest. One product certainly worthy of the top spot in the pre-workout category is BPI Sports 1.M.R. The steady, lasting energy boost you’ll get from this product is well documented. No temporary spikes, just stronger muscles, and vein popping pumps that will have others take notice.
Since the goal is to get cut for the summer, your best bet is to go with a fast digesting protein that will keep your metabolism high and still allow you to recover from strenuous workouts. With a full spectrum of amino acids, whey protein will elevate insulin levels, which will further increase protein synthesis and mitigate muscle tissue breakdown while working out.
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 to get ripped for summer. Another no-brainer is to go with a highly respected, great tasting brand that’s packed with whey protein isolates for maximum muscle growth. That’s why we included Optimum Nutrition Performance Whey in our summer stack.
BCAAs:
There’s a good reason BCAAs (Branched Chain Amino Acids) are such a popular supplement in the bodybuilding industry – they work! Research shows that BCAA’s support everything from anabolic muscle growth to high-intensity endurance training. And, because they’re metabolized in the muscle tissue and not the liver, the 3 branched chain amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, and valine), reduce muscle tissue breakdown.
What’s more, BCAAs are especially helpful for maintaining muscle mass while on a calorie-deficit diet. And given that you’re mission is to get lean and shredded for summer, supplementing with BCAAs will enable you to increase muscle retention, while maximizing fat loss. We chose MHP BCAA 3300 for our summer stack because its higher levels of leucine, in conjunction with isoleucine and valine, allows for higher anabolic activity and optimal BCAA replenishment for serious trainers. It also has a timed-release delivery to provide a continual supply of these key amino acids for optimum anabolic and anti-catabolic effects.
What summer stack would be complete without a potent fat burner? To truly chisel your cannons and put the finishing touches on your summer 6-pack you’re going to need to ignite your fat furnace for some serious burning. When used in conjunction with a proper training and diet program, an effective fat burner can help you overcome those challenging fat burning plateaus while simultaneously ramping up your energy levels to make the most of your physical efforts.
Most bodybuilders looking to shed unwanted fat go with thermogenic supplements to increase their metabolic rate for greater energy expenditure. MuscleTech Hydroxycut Hardcore Elite is a super-thermogenic product that has demonstrated a great deal of success within the bodybuilding community for its unrivaled ability to help stimulate weight loss and significantly elevate energy levels. And for this reason, it’s a must for our summer stack.
