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Sports Supplements to Gain Muscle Mass

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Qamar Zaman

Sports supplements are effective for gaining muscle mass, but they are not the only mechanism to achieve this goal. In fact, they won't do any good if you don't optimize your diet and training. It is also important to get adequate night rest to promote muscle adaptation after exercise. Initially, it should be noted that of the wide range of sports supplements currently offered on the market, only a few have solid evidence. Among the most effective can be named creatine, caffeine, nitrates, and beta alanine. Now, they are not essential, rather just a complement.


How to gain muscle mass without sports supplements?

When seeking to generate an increase in muscle mass, it is essential to guarantee the approach of a hypercaloric diet. Otherwise, new tissue cannot be built, and the muscle adaptations will not be efficient. Of course, you don't have to go too far. An excess of about 300 calories per day is enough to achieve good results. On the other hand, it will be decisive to cover protein requirements. They can exceed 2 grams of protein per kilo of weight per day in some circumstances, as confirmed by a study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition.


There are also sports protein supplements to achieve the requirements. But they are not totally necessary since it is possible to satisfy them through food. The importance of micronutrients should not be underestimated either. For example, a vitamin D deficiency negatively affects muscle strength values, which causes less intense training and inefficient adaptations. In this sense, it will be key to ensure that this element is maintained in the body in adequate ranges.


How to train properly?

It is not only necessary to eat well to increase muscle mass. Training must be optimized. Otherwise, the expected results will not be experienced. To do this, it will be necessary to ensure a high intensity of work, in addition to a certain progression. If there is no increase in the loads used, the body will get used to it and stop adapting. There are two basic mechanisms for hypertrophy as mechanical strain and metabolic stress. The best results are experienced when a combination of both is proposed in the different work sessions. It will also be essential to stimulate the muscle in different ways, varying the angles, the number of repetitions and the exercises used, among other factors.

Sports supplements help to gain muscle mass, but they are not essential. Some like creatine have a lot of evidence in this regard. They help to gain strength and recover better after a demanding effort, which allows chaining a greater number of sessions with a high level of intensity. But the truth is that it is possible to hypertrophy without the use of sports supplements through a correct combination of foods in the diet. In fact, ergogenic aids are more necessary for advanced or elite athletes than for the general population.

In the latter case, it will suffice to complement a good feeding program with another adequate strength program. It is not necessary to tread so finely to achieve excellent results. On the other hand, it should be noted that many substances and products are marketed that do not have the necessary evidence. They are totally inefficient, despite the associated marketing strategy. In this sense, if the interest is to supplement, it is advisable to first consult a nutrition specialist to receive professional advice and not waste money on products of dubious origin.


Can you gain muscle mass without using sports supplements?

As you have seen, it is possible to gain muscle mass without taking muscle supplements. These help to achieve the objectives, but they do not work miracles. The important thing is to promote healthy lifestyle habits, optimize the diet and propose an adequate training that causes adaptations at the muscular level. Keeping your vitamin D levels in the right range and getting at least 7 hours of sleep each night will make a difference. To finish, we must bear in mind that lean mass gains are greater when the person starts from a sedentary lifestyle than when we talk about trained athletes. As the level of activity increases, it becomes more difficult to continue building tissue.

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