Your fitness journey is incomplete if you don’t venture into the world of supplements. But it’s also normal to get overwhelmed with the many supplements available today.
The supplements to build muscle, increase energy, boost focus, improve strength, and more are all different. So, you should know your fitness goals before you choose supplements.
For example, to gain muscles, you should know the best supplements for muscle gain.
In this article, I will share everything about building a supplement stack to make reaching your fitness goals easier.
What is meant by Supplement Stacks?
Supplement stacks are when you group different supplements to boost your performance. The components of the supplement stack complement each other. They fall into three categories:
Pre-workout stack: This stack is used before a workout to give you energy for your workout. It has ingredients like Creatine and caffeine.
Intra-workout stack: These supplements can be used between workouts and might contain branched-chain amino acids (BCAA). These provide energy to the muscle cells without the process of digestion.
Post-workout stack: You need to help your body recover after a heavy workout session. These supplements not only aid in the replenishment of your body but also help in muscle growth.
Advantages of taking supplements
You might wonder why you take supplements at all. Here is why:
- It can prepare your body to reach your fitness goals.
- They fill the nutritional deficiencies of a diet.
- Improve strength levels
- It might boost the immune response
- Improves the recovery of the body
- It can boost protein synthesis.
Creating Stacks for Specific Goals
Putting together supplements to build a stack cannot be random. You need to know what ingredients complement each other so they don’t harm your body.
Each stack will have a different impact on your body and workout sessions. Therefore, I have put down different fitness goals and supplements that go hand in hand here!
Muscle Building Goals
If you’re looking for supplements for muscle growth, consume Natty AF from Swole AF, along with nutrition and training for building muscles.
If you want to build a supplement stack for muscle building, it should always have the best supplements for muscle growth, like the following:
Creatine:
This is one of the best muscle-gaining supplements as it increases muscle ATP production and strength and improves workout performance.
With Creatine, users can expect to gain approximately 10 pounds of muscle or more and experience at least a 10% strength increase with consistent use.
Beta-Alanine:
Beta-alanine is one of the star muscle growth supplements that significantly enhances its muscle-building effects. Studies have shown that subjects taking beta-alanine alongside Creatine gained more muscle mass and lost more body fat.
Whey Protein:
As a complete protein source, whey protein is an excellent choice for pre-and post-workout muscle gain supplements.
Whey protein provides the necessary amino acids for tissue repair and recovery, supporting muscle growth and reducing post-exercise soreness.
Casein Protein:
While whey protein is beneficial before and after workouts, casein protein, which constitutes about 80% of milk protein, is vital in muscle synthesis when taken post-workout.
Multi-Vitamin:
To support your muscle-building efforts, a well-rounded multivitamin is crucial. This helps fill in the micronutrient gaps within your daily diet.
Weight Loss Goals
If your goal is to burn fat and lose weight, your supplements should target fat metabolism—an effective fat burner stack to help you stay lean while preserving muscle mass. Consider them along with muscle-building supplements.
Caffeine:
Known for its ability to rev up the metabolic processes within cells, caffeine elevates the metabolic rate, leading to increased calorie burning.
Yohimbine:
Before exercise, yohimbine may enhance fat-releasing activity in cells, promoting the utilization of stored fat as an energy source.
Synephrine:
By stimulating the production of catecholamines, synephrine aids in converting stored fat into usable energy, supporting the fat-burning process.
Capsaicin:
In spicy peppers, capsaicin boosts energy expenditure by increasing metabolic rates, making them beneficial for weight loss efforts.
Evodiamine:
Evodiamine reduces hunger and slows digestion, leading to a prolonged feeling of fullness and preventing insulin spikes that may trigger fat storage. It boosts metabolic rate as well.
Green Tea:
Renowned for its fat-burning properties, green tea plays a role in regulating metabolic rates.
Strength Building Goals
Strength is a crucial factor while training. You need supplements for enhancing muscle strength, endurance to push your muscles to new limits, and overall athletic performance.
Betaine:
Betaine plays a role in inhibiting the production of homocysteine, an amino acid associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease.
Additionally, preventing the formation of homocysteine stimulates greater creatine production in the body. This, in turn, contributes to increased muscle strength.
Taurine:
Taurine, an amino acid supplement, boosts muscle strength and endurance. Higher levels of taurine in muscle cells lead to enhanced strength and performance. It also enhances muscular contractions, resulting in greater overall muscle strength.
Wheat Germ:
Besides serving as an excellent source of slow-digesting carbs for a pre-workout meal, wheat germ contains octacosanol that boosts muscle strength and endurance. It leads to improved muscle contractions and, ultimately, greater muscle strength.
Conclusion
Supplement stacks can be powerful allies in achieving your fitness goals. They can complement your training and nutrition efforts.
However, choose supplements wisely, based on your specific objectives and body needs, and which supplement ingredients complement each other. Lastly, follow a well-rounded diet and training regimen!
