Sports Nutrition Supplements

The other day I was asked on my facebook fan page about what the most popular sports nutrition supplements that athletes are taking today.

I thought this was a great topic to write a blog article about since there have been some serious advancements in the way these supplements can enhance our performance both in the gym and with sports while staying away from the side effects that the old school supplements were so prevalent with.

Now with all supplements you’re going to have to weigh out the pros and cons and maybe even run a few tests to see what really works for you as what works for your friends may not work for you.

Sports Nutrition Supplements: Truth About Creatine

Creatine (monohydrate) is a natural sports supplement which most definitely had the greatest buzz in the 90’s. If you haven’t heard of it or thought it was just for serious male athletes then let’s take another look at it.

We often obtain creatine from meat so vegetarians are usually found to have lower levels of creatine in their muscles which is something to take note of for those of you who don’t eat meat on a regular basis. Where creatine really comes into play with regards to sports performance is by helping with the transfer of energy molecules which in turn results in an increase of our maximal power and performance in high intensity exercises by as much as 15%.

So what does this mean for us? If supplementing with creatine can increase our efforts in our gym and take us to the next level then not only will our bodies produce more muscle but we will also be able to burn fat at an accelerated pace. Sports wise we can hit harder, run faster & perform at our best hence why creatine is a staple supplement of any serious athlete.

What about Creatine Ethyl Ester? A lot of supplement companies have tried to come out and say that they have created newer more advanced formulas to allow creatine to be absorbed by your muscles and therefore give you better results. The problem is that most of these studies are unfound as they have not been conducted by a second party within a double-blind study environment.

So should you take Creatine? If you haven’t yet, regardless of whether you are a man or women, try it out and give it about 2 weeks to see results as there is some time required for your body to absorb the creatine and create a store for when you exercise. After a couple months you can give a 2 week break to reset your muscles. Top pure creatine monohydrate supplements in the market include: ProMera Health Con-Cret & Fusion Purple K

Sports Nutrition Supplements: Nitric Oxide

One of the most popular and best selling supplements in the past few years are labeled as Nitric Oxide enhancers. What this basically means is an amino acid known as Arginine which we convert naturally into Nitric Oxide. So what is the benefit?

Nitric Oxide increases blood flow to muscles an in turn provides more nutrients allowing them to become larger when subjected to stress. For any athlete this means that with a greater nutrient supply we also have the ability to recover and grow our muscles faster.

Without a doubt the top seller in the industry for the past several years is BSN N.O.-Xplode 2.0, whose primary ingredient is Arginine. I’ve personally found this one to be not as effective as USPLabs Jack3d, and both include Creatine and Vitamin B’s for a very powerful boost. If you are however looking for a low priced pure Arginine supplement then NOW L-Arginine is the next best highest rated alternative.

Sports Nutrition Supplements: Energy Drinks

There are a ton of energy drinks in the market including Gatorade, Red Bull, Monster and probably over a hundred others, but what does the scientific research show?

Some of you may not consider Gatorade as an energy drink but it’s high carbohydrate content coupled with electrolytes makes Gatorade a decent supplement for those who are training in long endurance sports include running, biking, rowing and anything else which is generally over an hour long.

With regards to Red Bull, Monster and energy drinks in this category the primary ingredient is caffeine and then there is a ton of other so-called “performance enhancing” ingredients. Unfortunately, most of these are unfound and sugar is the other big culprit.

Some energy drink manufacturers have come out with zero sugar alternatives which are a little better and VPX Redline is one of these which has gotten some pretty incredible positive eviews.

Just remember with these to take them earlier on in the day otherwise they will give you an energy boost but they will also keep you awake all night!