If you take a stroll through the health section of any major store, you would come across rows after rows of self-proclaimed best supplements for men geared towards replenishing the body, maximizing your growth potential, and building lean muscle after a strenuous workout. As there is no one-formula-fits-all, not all supplements work for everybody. Since each individual has a diverse structure and nutritional needs, different people may respond differently to different supplements. However, the following list of best supplements for men show the highest return across the board and offer the greatest benefits:

Creatine

When we talk about the best supplements for men, Creatine tops our lists. This substance is found naturally within our muscle cells, especially around the skeletal muscle tissue, which incorporates about 95% of our body’s creatine store. The rest is scattered throughout the body in varying amounts. For the sake of dietary supplements, this naturally occurring metabolite has been reformed as Creatine monohydrate and has been used for the production and modulation of cellular energy. The benefits of loading up on creatine supplementation are:

• Enhanced high-intensity muscle performance
• Increased muscle cell volume
• The promotion of lean body mass
• Elevated glycogen storage
• Faster post-workout recovery

Typically, Creatine is preferred by Athletes when bodybuilding and weight training due to the incredulous rate at which it accelerates muscle growth. Another great perk of Creatine is that its consumption can be stopped at any time since it is produced by our bodies naturally. After you quit Creatine supplements, it hardly takes 3-4 weeks for the creatine levels of your body to return to normal.

Recommended Dosing: 5-10 grams of Creatine should suffice for most avid muscle builders. Ideally, half of the serving should be consumed with the pre-workout meal and the other half post-workout.

Beta-Alanine

We consume this natural non-essential amino acid through food sources rich in protein, such as meat and pulses. Beta Alanine has an amazing ability to bolster the intra-muscular levels of carnosine, which is why it is popularly used as a performance enhancer. When Beta Alanine is consumed in high doses, the carnosine levels are elevated  in as little as 4 weeks.

The rigorous workout sessions can sure make you break a sweat, but also make your body accumulate volumes of hydrogen, causing your PH to drop. Thus, high intensity exercises make you more acidic. This buildup of lactic acid decelerates muscle performance, causing severe fatigue, and shutting down the neural drive which may exacerbate into muscle failure in the long run.

Being one of the best supplements for men, Beta Alanine is celebrated for its ability to maintain the levels of Carnosine, thus preventing the buildup of hydrogen and the resulting acidity. Since this delays muscle fatigue, it empowers you to exercise more.

The perks of beta-Alanine supplementation include:

• Enhanced force output
• Works synergistically with creatine
• Heightened endurance
• Improved repeated sprint ability
• Delayed fatigue

Recommended Dosing: 2-6 grams per day, broken down in smaller doses, should be consumed throughout the day to prevent that familiar skin-tingling sensation.

Branched-Chain Amino Acid

One of the best supplements for men, used by bodybuilders and weight trainers to boost workout results and performance, is branched-chained amino acids (BCAAs). While there are 20 naturally occurring Amino acids in the body, only 3, i.e. Valine, Isoleucine, and Leucine, are considered BCAAs. These amino acids regulate the metabolism of protein and help to stimulate protein synthesis. BCAAs are needed by your body to speed up muscle recovery.

Similar to a whey protein supplement, BCAAs provide the right nutrients to your muscle tissues, thus boosting workout recovery. Once inside the muscles, BCAAs act as an energy source during rigorous exercise, working to replenish the nutrients depleted during intense sessions. Additionally, this supplement also alleviates pain and discomfort due to muscle fatigue. Since BCAAs keep your muscles fueled, they have also been known to enhance endurance in men.

Recommended Dose: 3-5 grams first thing in the morning and 3-5 grams pre- and post-workout should be consumed daily.

Glutamine

Glutamine is famous far and wide for its power to impede muscle tissue breakdown during sweat breaking sessions, which in turn elevates endurance and boosts strength thresholds. Weight trainers claim that they can train more frequently and lift heftier weights for protracted duration after consuming Glutamine supplements. When you push the limits of your muscles, it promotes the production of greater lean muscle in order to compensate.

When consumed in the form of supplements, Glutamine offers a host of benefits. Since it encourages the preservation of muscle tissue, it allows your body to burn fat faster. Your metabolism is as effective as the lean mass your body incorporates. Since your body sheds a lot of muscle mass during intensive training and endurance exercises, it is highly indispensable to slow down this loss.

Glutamine also provides a boost to your immune system. Training takes a toll on your entire immune system, not just your muscles. Therefore, Glutamine ensures rapid recovery for your entire body. Last but not the least, Glutamine elevates the plasma growth hormone levels in the body, which in turn accelerate the growth hormone.

Recommended Dosing: 5 grams first thing in the morning, 5 grams post-workout, and 5 grams before going to bed is sufficient.

Nitric Oxide Boosters

This commonly found molecule is naturally occurring within the body and is involved in a plethora of processes within the body. The process which affords the maximum benefits to muscle building is its ability to dilate blood vessels. This allows more blood to flow towards the worked-out muscles, carrying water, nutrients, blood vessels, and anabolic hormones, needed to replete the resources used up by the muscles.

This replenishes the energy source of the body during strenuous exercises, in addition to boosting muscle growth and recovery after exercise and improving the muscle pump. Nitric oxide boosters provide the amino acid known as Arginine, which is readily converted by your body to Nitric oxide.

ZMA

This award-winning combination of Vitamin B6, Magnesium Aspartate, and Zinc, makes an incredulous supplement for anyone training rigorously, such as bodybuilders and athletes. Athletes are often deficient in these critical minerals, which play an important role in aiding sleepy and maintaining the hormone levels within the body, since intense training can deplete the levels of IGF-1 and testosterone. In fact, after simply 8 weeks of consuming the supplement, athletes tout significant muscle gains.

Glucosamine and Chondroitin

Chondroitin and Glucosamine are naturally occurring substances found in our body. As one of the best supplements for men, it alleviates the pain associated with connective tissue and sore joints and promotes healing after strenuous exercise. The ability of the glucosamine-and-chondroitin duo to repair tissues sets it apart from other anti-inflammatory drugs. However, since joints have relatively poor blood circulation, it takes time for these supplements to work their magic.

Recommended dose:  The typical doses are 800 milligrams daily of chondroitin and 1200 of glucosamine.

Whey Protein Powder

Whey protein powder is an extremely important mass gaining supplement due to its ability to promote pushing synthesis. Whey is a milk protein incorporating a plethora of branched chain amino acids. Additionally, Whey also gets to your muscles faster and helps to digest fat and build muscles. Whey protein also contains Peptides which bolster the blood flow to the muscles. Whey protein should be consumed immediately after intensive training so that the blood, carrying important nutrients and oxygen, gets transported to the muscles.

Recommended dosing: Take 20 grams of whey protein powder 30 minutes before working out and take 40 grams within 60 minutes after training.

 

Which of these best supplements for men have you tried so far? Do let us know in the comments below!