The most commonly taken muscle building supplement, by a long way, is protein. When you perform a strenuous exercise such as weight lifting, you actually damage your muscles as the muscle tissue tears slightly. It’s when the tissue reconnects, that it reforms as a stronger and bigger muscle and you gain muscle size. This recuperation process uses the natural stocks of protein that your body gets from the food you eat, and stores away; if you increase the amount of protein available by taking a supplement, you can help the muscle to grow back even bigger and stronger still.

The easiest way of taking a protein supplement is by drinking protein shakes. You buy these as a tub of powder, and mix a measured amount with water to make an easy to consume shake-like drink. It’s recommended to drink two shakes a day – one in the morning to build up a stock of protein in your system, and one just after you workout to give your body an additional boost when it needs it most.

The effects of protein shakes can be incredible – it’s scientifically proven that these kinds of supplements will help you grow muscle. Some of the more popular brands can be a little expensive though, so you’d be wise to check out some of their competitors too. Make sure that the brand you settle on contains whey protein, as this is the purest form of protein available and ideal for use in these kinds of supplements. Another common ingredient in these drinks is creatine, which acts as a pre workout energy supplement giving your muscle additional stocks of energy so you can workout for longer at a higher intensity. Finding a protein shake that contains a number of supplements in one drink, is a great way of getting everything you need to make the most of your time at the gym in one go.

Experienced bodybuilders know that muscles develop during sleep and not while they are being worked out. The reason for this is that the reconstruction of the body and nourishment of the muscles happens while you are snoozing.

Rest and relaxation of muscles are equally essential to spending time in the gym lifting weights and working out. Without time off, you can destroy the growth of your muscles and even lead it to its death. You will reach the state considered as catabolic where your immune system weakens and you will be prone to infection, virus and eventually illness.

You have to make sure that your weightlifting workout routine gives time for each of your muscle to recover. But, there is no specific recommended time for recovery since every person’s ability to regenerate is different. Generally speaking, beginners are suggested to workout up to a maximum of 4 times every week without working on the same set of muscles twice in the same week. On the other hand, more experienced body builders can work out for five or six days continuously in one week.

Getting enough rest means sleeping well. You need to sleep at least 7 hours daily in order for your muscles to grow. An indication that you have given enough time for your muscles to recover is when you do not feel any soreness caused by working out.

In order to maximize the development of your muscles while resting, fuel them with the right nutrients. Nourish your muscles with sufficient amount of protein. It is best to take a good quality protein drink before sleeping as this will help grow your muscles.

Spending plenty of time in the gym to build your muscles must be balanced with the right amount of rest. Combining these two properly will develop your muscles to their fullest.

Naturally formulated Powerfull supplements help to naturally stimulate testosterone production in the body. Due to our environment, with so many processed foods and products that we use, hormonal imbalance runs rampant and can be found in most people. Looking into the use of supplemental Powerfull can help men balance their testosterone through decreased estrogen and naturally producing more testosterone. A healthy side effect of balancing testosterone in men is increased blood flow, increased mind to muscle connections, and better sleep. This means that sleep will be more effective in securing energy for the body and in turn improve the quality of workout sessions during the day. Increased testosterone produced naturally will come with the benefits of increased muscle development without the side effects of using steroids.

The health industry has raised the bar for health supplements by striving to formulate supplements that are naturally formulated with ingredients that have very few negative side effects and maximize the benefits of their formulas. This means that you can exercise and know you are getting the most out of your hard work.

The great benefits of NO are theoretical, because although nitric oxide supplements have been unquestionably proven to cause vasodilation that causes better circulation, the product doesn’t actually GROW muscle tissue. So why take nitric oxide supplements? The main reason that bodybuilders take a NO supplement is to increase stamina, reduce fatigue and allow the muscles to recover better with better oxygenations and blood flow around and to the tissue. Muscles can grow because they are less fatigued, less inflamed, less damaged…but NO isn’t a muscle builder, and will have no effect without intense workouts. Taking nitric oxide supplements will not change the body composition but create the environment where an athlete can increase repetitions, perform for longer periods of time without tiring quickly. Those who want a nitric oxide supplement will look for formulas containing arginine alpha-ketoglutarate which is shortened as AAKG.

What about HMB as a muscle growth enhancing agent?

HMB is metabolite of essential amino acid leucine that’s responsible for muscular cellular cholesterol production and is why HMB (beta-hydroxy-beta methylbutyrate) has been thought to aid in building muscle mass. However, there’s a catch to the HMB supplementation theory…it really only works at the initial stage of workouts, when muscles may get sore easily and require repairing via collagen production. Beta-hydroxy-beta methylbutyrate reduce breakdown of muscle tissue during the initial delicate phase –when muscles are not accustomed to a workout routine. Therefore, prolonged use of HMB is not effective unless workouts are alternated in such a way as to create a pseudo-first time damaged muscle effect. This is a tricky way to build muscle mass and requires a plan to target certain muscle groups, then leave them, work on others, then return to muscles in a manner that produces a perpetual strain on muscles, that then, with the help of HMB, causes more increase in growth. It must be taken into account that HMB supplements will only have a positive effect when an athlete is actively training. Taking this supplement during down time is pointless.

I know some people shy away from the harder legal anabolics and others may simply be looking for a non hormonal alternative to pro hormones and pro steroids. Still others are looking for ways to jack up the testosterone without resorting to steroidal anabolics because it has been just a short time after their last cycle.

For all of you there is an alternative and that is the non hormonal anabolic stack or NHA stack.

These are combinations of sports supplements meant to raise testosterone and decrease estrogen levels naturally through the use of herbal extractions, amino acids and other natural supplements. NHA stacks can be a great way to help boost hormone levels in the body without introducing chemical steroids and precursors.

Over the next few posts I want to discuss several possible NHA stacks and weigh the pros and cons of each. Stay tuned for more and let me know what your favorite NHA stack is so I can be sure to discuss it here.

Orastan-E is a very safe prosteroid in that it is not a c17-methylated or c17-alpha alkylated prosteroid. This makes it less toxic much safer than the prior generation of legal steroids. Orastan-E will not cause a huge spike in liver enzymes, nor will it show up for athletes on a drug screen. This is a huge improvement since most of us lift weights because we care about our bodies and want to keep them healthy, not fill them with poisons.

In theory Orastan-E is supposed to give gains in strength, size and hardness. In practice it primarily affects muscle hardness and density, much like the steroid Winstrol. Orastan-E is a great finisher to a cycle, especially a cutting cycle. The compound in Orastan-E is likely the best legal steroid available for increasing muscle hardness and body recomposition.

Unfortunately, just like Halodrol-50, Orastan-E has been discontinued by Gaspari Nutrition. The good news is the exact same compound is still available as a legal steroid sold under other names.

Orastan-E™ ([3,2-c]pyrazole-5alpha-etioallocholane-17beta-tetrahydropyranol): 25mg

Alpha Lipoic Acid provides other benefits to weight lifting athletes. It has been shown to increase the uptake of glycogen to the muscles. This increase contributes to an increase in cell volume, making your muscles look pumped and bigger. Increased cell volume has also been shown to lead to increased protein synthesis.

Alpha Lipoic Acid has also been shown to affect the way our bodies use B vitamins and thus is vital to the production of energy from protein carbohydrates and fats. This affect creates a nutrient partitioning effect which leads nutrients to be channels towards lean mass and away from fat tisue.

Finally, ALA will help enhance the efficiency of many different supplements. One in particular is Creatine. ALA will help enhance the absorption of creatine into the muscle cell by providing a transport vehicle by it’s unique ability to mimic insulin.