A great bodybuilder once said lift smarter, not more.

Body building is 60% diet, 25% workout, 10% rest, and 5% su lementation.! "owe#er, t$at%s not to say su lements are com letely useless& t$e 'uote%s ur ose is more to stress t$e im ortance of diet and ro er e(ercise t$an anyt$ing else. )it$out a ro er diet and e(ercise rogram set u , su lements will do little in your ultimate goals, w$ate#er t$ey may be. *f you%#e gotten t$e foundation of nutrition and e(ercise down, $owe#er, su lements can be a big boost in getting you w$ere you want to go. +ne of t$e biggest mistakes eo le make w$en going to t$e gym is eating rig$t before working out. ,our digesti#e system is a muscle too, and if your body is using blood to digest your food, it won%t be able to gi#e an am le amount of blood to t$e ot$er muscles in your body t$at you%re working out. *nsulin is a ma-or key to muscle growt$. *ts uses are lentiful. it not only increases rotein synt$esis, but also $el s re#ent rotein breakdown. As if t$is is not enoug$, it%s also one of t$e biggest, if not t$e biggest, nutrient trans ort $ormones of t$e body. *t allows cells to trans ort energy and roteins, in t$e form of glucose and amino acids, to t$e muscles, t$roug$ t$e lasma membrane. *n addition, by consuming some form of carbo$ydrates ost/workout t$at $a#e a $ig$ glycemic inde(0de(trose being o timum wit$ a 1* of 1000your insulin le#els s ike, w$ic$ allows your muscles to be more rece ti#e to carbo$ydrates, meaning t$e carbs you eat are more likely to be used towards muscle growt$, rat$er t$an being stored as fat. 2$is may sound like your A3 Biology class, but it%s essential to understanding w$y you s$ould be taking certain su lements. Because of its many functions related to muscle de#elo ment, it%s crucial to increase insulin le#els in t$e body before and during your workout, and re lenis$ing t$em after your workout. Before your workout, it%s good to $a#e a carbo$ydrate drink, in t$e form of de(trose. 4e(trose is sim ly a sim le sugar0no un intended. 1atorade is filled wit$ 55 grams of sim le carbs in t$e form of de(trose. *t%s best to $a#e de(trose in li'uid form, as it%s digested 'uicker and easier as a li'uid. 4e(trose is c$ea to buy in bulk0 you can find it for around 62 a ound0but it%s ob#iously e(tremely sweet, and usually doesn%t taste good mi(ed wit$ anyt$ing considering t$e amount needed to consume. ,ou%re best off getting 1atorade in owder form, w$ic$ is essentially ure de(trose wit$ fla#oring. 7inally, to t$e good art. o timum consum tion would be 50 1rams re/ workout to raise insulin le#els, 80/85 1rams during workout to kee insulin le#els raised, and 80/85 1rams ost/workout to s ike insulin le#els and re lenis$ glycogen stores in t$e muscles. A o ular su lement many students $a#e been using recently is B9:%s :+/ ; lode. Ad#ertised on tele#ision and widely dis layed in many nutrition stores suc$ as 1:<, :+/; lode claims to gi#e users an enormous um ,! t$e feeling of tig$tness and swelling of muscles during work out, as well as e(tra fuel and focus. At closer ins ection, we can see t$at t$e main acti#e ingredients are. =/Arginine, <reatine >t$yl >ster, 4e(trose ?to $el trans ort t$e creatine@, and a strong dosage of caffeine. Anowing t$is and t$e rice of :+/; lode, it mig$t be better to buy t$e ingredients se arately in

bulk. =/Arginine is a semi/essential amino acid t$at is used in trans orting nitrogen used in muscle metabolism, w$ic$ is w$at ro#ides t$e great um ,! as well as t$e :+! art of :+/; lode.! *t can be boug$t online in bulk for a relati#ely ine( ensi#e rice, alt$oug$ t$e taste is awful w$en consumed se arately. <reatine is a widely known su lement t$at is used in $el ing to better $ydrate muscles and im ro#e water retention, as well as transforming used A43 back into A23. Alt$oug$ t$e caffeine will $el in increasing focus during workouts, it also restricts blood #essels, somet$ing t$at can $arm t$e trans ort of nutrients. 2$e caffeine will $el as a stimulant, but t$e lacebo effect is also in lace $ere, making you ut ma(imum effort into t$e workout. +ne of our 4amien seniors says :+/; lode $as $el ed me become more mentally focused to us$ t$roug$ my sets and us$ myself to my full otential.! *f you%re low on cas$ flow, or -ust laBy, :+/; lode could be somet$ing to look into, as it $as all t$e ingredients toget$er, and a good fla#or. "owe#er, if you%re s$ort on cas$, you mig$t want to look into urc$asing =/Arginine and 4e(trose se arately in bulk, and ossibly e#en <reatine. 2$ere%s no doubt t$at you will $a#e better and more sustained workouts, wit$out $a#ing to gi#e u on your last sets because of fatigue. *t%s im ortant to note t$at =/Arginine does not $a#e any effects t$at make you bigger,! but rat$er, it gi#es you more energy and ca ability to work $arder during your sets, in turn $el ing you gain muscle. Anot$er key su lement t$at%s im ortant to take before and during your workout is Branc$ed <$ain Amino Acids ?B<AAs@. 2$e B<AAs are art of t$e eig$t essential! amino acids t$at your body does not roduce, making it necessary to consume t$em t$roug$ your diet or su lements. 2$e t$ree amino acids resent in t$e B<AAs are =/ =eucine, =/*soleucine, and =/Caline. 2$ese t$ree must be resent for muscular growt$ and de#elo ment at t$e molecular le#el to take lace, as t$ey make u 55% of your muscle mass. An absence in any of t$e t$ree will most likely cause muscle loss. 4uring a workout, w$ile lifting, your body often uses t$e t$ree aminos as energy, w$ic$ would lead to a deficiency, leading to muscle loss. 2aking B<AAs as a su lement before and during workout can $el re#ent your body from using your muscles as a source of energy. 2$ey%re a#ailable in bot$ ill and owder form, but t$e ills usually re'uire a ridiculous amount er ser#ing siBe, ?sometimes u wards of 6 ills er ser#ing@ and are usually more e( ensi#e. 2$e owder can be boug$t in bulk relati#ely c$ea ly. "owe#er, beware. t$e owder tastes awful, and is $ard to mi(. *t mi(es ade'uately wit$ 1atorade due to 1atorade%s acidity. A recommended dosage would be. 5 1rams before workout, and 5/D 1rams during workout. =ast but certainly not least is =/1lutamine. 1lutamine is anot$er amino acid, but a non/essential! one, meaning your body already creates it. *t%s im ortant in t$e functions of t$e immune system, as well as being a source of fuel for cells around t$e intestines. *t ser#es a wide array of ur oses, including being con#erted to glucose w$en t$e body re'uires more for energy, $el ing decrease catabolic action in t$e muscles, similar to t$e one of t$e functions of B<AAs. 4uring workouts, glutamine le#els decrease greatly in t$e body, creating t$e need to re lenis$ t$e stores to $el t$e immune system, sim ly to maintain,! to make sure t$e body is not #ulnerable to illness. Eany studies $a#e also s$own t$at su lementation of 1lutamine can increase t$e body%s secretion of "uman 1rowt$ "ormone greatly, w$ic$ $el s su ort muscle growt$ and

metaboliBe body fat. 1lutamine is also a#ailable in owder form, and is often fla#ored. Fecommended usage would be. 10 1rams immediately following workout, and 10 1rams 2 $ours ost/workout. +ne #ery im ortant t$ing to note is to not take 1lutamine and Arginine at t$e same time, as t$ey use t$e same rece tor, and essentially cancel eac$ ot$er out. *t%s best to take Arginine re/workout, and glutamine ost. 2o sum u , a recommended dosage of e#eryt$ing would be. 5 1rams of Arginine 50 minutes re/workout, 50 1 of de(trose wit$ 5 1 of B<AAs 10 minutes before workout, 80/85 1 of 4e(trose and 5 1 of B<AAs during workout, 80/85 1 of 4e(trose, 20 1 of 3rotein, 10 1 of 1lutamine immediately after workout, and 10 1 of 1lutamine, 80 1 of 3rotein 2 $ours ost/workout. 2wo of t$e best sites to urc$ase su lements online are. bulknutrition.com and bodybuilding.com