What are muscle supplements?
Muscle supplements are intended for athletes and those looking to support their physical performance. They often contain ingredients like proteins, vitamins, minerals, and herbs that can contribute to muscle growth and recovery.
By providing your body with specific nutrients after physical exertion, you help your muscles relax and recover after exercise.
Natural muscle supplements
A natural muscle supplement contains only naturally occurring ingredients. Your body can easily recognize and utilize these ingredients, such as vitamins and minerals.
A healthy diet generally provides the nutrients your body needs to fuel its workouts. But sometimes supplementing your muscles can be helpful. When you exercise frequently, your body needs not only more fuel but also specific nutrients that play a role in muscle maintenance and recovery.
Types of supplements for muscles?
When choosing a supplement, I recommend keeping your personal needs and goals in mind.
Natural muscle supplements can contribute to your performance in several ways:
1. Muscle function
These nutrients play a role in maintaining supple and strong muscles:
- Calcium
- Potassium
- Magnesium
- Vitamin D
2. Muscle recovery
After exercise, your muscles experience minor damage. To repair them, you can focus on the following in your diet and muscle supplements:
- Proteins to support rapid muscle recovery after exercise.
- Carbohydrates that contribute to the recovery of normal muscle function (contraction) after very intensive and/or long lasting physical exercise leading to muscle fatigue and depletion of glycogen stores in skeletal muscle.
3. Muscle growth
Is your goal to build more muscle mass? Then choose:
- Proteins that contribute to the growth of muscle mass
- Ashwagandha KSM-66 , good for muscle mass growth. *
4. Endurance
Do you have a long training session or competition planned? Then supplements containing certain herbs can help with your endurance, such as:
- Ginseng , good for endurance in athletes *
5. Protecting healthy tissues and cells
Antioxidants protect the body by neutralizing free radicals before they can cause damage. Examples of powerful antioxidants are quercetin , found in red, green, and purple plants, and resveratrol , found primarily in grapes, apples, and berries.
Although exercise temporarily causes oxidative stress, it strengthens your body's antioxidant defense mechanisms in the long run. (1) Regular exercise therefore contributes to better balance and helps protect healthy cells and tissues.
Claims marked with (*) are health claims awaiting European approval.
How do you choose the right supplement?
So the best natural muscle supplement depends mainly on your specific goals.
In addition, I advise you to ensure that the nutrients are present in an easily absorbable form , so that your body can utilise them optimally.
For optimal results, follow the recommended dosage and directions for use to achieve optimal results and minimize side effects.
Sources Used
- Simioni, C., Zauli, G., Martelli, A. M., Vitale, M., Sacchetti, G., Gonelli, A., & Neri, L. M. (2018). Oxidative stress: role of physical exercise and antioxidant nutraceuticals in adulthood and aging. Oncotarget , 9 (24), 17181–17198. https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.24729
