Having the right balance of nutrients and vitamins is essential for your overall health and can also make a big impact on your at-home fitness routine. As a rule, you should first try and get all the nutrients that are considered “essential” from your food. However, if you feel the need to add a little oomph and efficiency to your home training regime, taking dietary supplements can be a great way to help improve your performance and enjoy added health benefits as well.
There is a wide range of training, workout, and sports nutrition supplements or products that are designed to help you improve your health and fitness. With so many products on the market, it may become overwhelming to look for information around workout supplements that can help boost your home workout routine. With so many things to choose from, which supplements should you take for working out?
Whether you have been an ardent gym-goer or a beginner on the workout scene, it is important to understand the different supplements that are essential and beneficial for you. Read on to learn more about some of the most effective workout supplements you can consider taking if you wish to take your at-home workout routine to the next level.
Healthy Energy Supplements for Working Out
Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) Supplements
Branched-chain amino acids, more popularly referred to as BCAAs, are made up of valine, leucine, and isoleucine - three of the nine essential amino acids. They are considered essential because the human body doesn’t produce them naturally. The benefits of BCAA workout supplements are known to enable better performance during exercise sessions and prevent muscle breakdown.
One massive advantage of BCAA supplements is that they help you keep as much skeletal muscle as possible, minimizing muscle catabolism. While leucine is considered the most important, it is recommended that you take all three together so they can work in unison to reap a variety of benefits.
To ensure maximum returns from your BCAA supplements, you can take them with your breakfast or in small doses throughout the day.
Creatine Supplements
Creatine, usually found in muscle cells, is a naturally occurring amino acid produced by the human body and is found in meat and fish, too. So, what does a creatine supplement do? This supplement helps you produce energy quickly - the kind of energy you need for sudden and powerful muscle contractions (for instance, when you do jerk-lifts or need fast energy to perform more reps), making it one of the essential supplements for working out.
Apart from producing energy, perhaps one of the biggest benefits of taking creatine supplements is that they enable your muscles to retain more water content, making them fuller. Available in the form of pills and powders, creatine powder can be mixed with liquids and is a fantastic pre-workout supplement.
If you are someone who wants to gain a bit of weight and muscle mass during your at-home fitness routine, creatine supplements can do wonders for you!
Magnesium Supplements
With all the focus on proteins and vitamins, we often forget about magnesium - an element that plays an indispensable role in more than 300 chemical reactions in our bodies. Despite the fact that you can naturally derive magnesium from nuts, leafy vegetables, chocolate, coffee, and seeds, most people tend to have a magnesium deficiency. Luckily, magnesium supplements are an easy way to reach your daily value.
But what do magnesium supplements do? You can make up for such deficiencies by consuming magnesium supplements that can help improve bone strength, boost energy levels, and help control your blood sugar. According to health and fitness experts, magnesium supplements may support muscle recovery and contraction apart from having a positive effect on your blood pressure levels.
In terms of heavy home workouts, magnesium-based supplements can also reduce the cramping of muscles and prevent excess fatigue.
Omega-3 Fish Oil Supplements
Scientific research suggests that the regular intake of omega-3 fatty acids can help prevent or manage various health issues. In terms of your home workout, fish oil supplements that contain the essential omega-3 fatty acids - eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) - are excellent for preventing muscle breakdown. Additionally, they can help in the regeneration and growth of muscles, enable fat loss, and assist in the rebuilding of your cell membranes and joint tissues.
This supplement is also popular because of its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, which may accelerate the post-workout recovery process. Studies show that when you combine your omega-3 fish oil supplements with BCAAs and carbs, it helps improve protein synthesis in your body, thus enabling muscle gain.
Protein Supplements
A macronutrient that is considered essential for the human body, protein helps build muscles and also aids in muscle repair. While you are bound to get a healthy supply of protein from the food you eat, the benefits of protein supplements offer a great way to ensure that you don’t fall short of energy and muscle-building potential. Most protein powders are available in delectable flavors and can be added to water or milk (or even solid food like pancakes), making it easy for you to consume.
The different types of protein powder options available to you include whey isolate, whey concentrate, casein, soy, pea, and more depending on your dietary preferences. The body tends to digest whey protein supplements rapidly. Casein, on the other hand, takes more time to digest. Experts reckon it is best to take your protein supplements before your workout. In fact, you can have some pre-workout and sip on the remaining protein shake during the workout as you rest between exercises.
Vitamin Supplements
Do vitamins help boost your workout as well? Yes! Vitamin supplements are considered one of the basic supplements for working out and are great for you if you aren’t getting enough of them through your diet and exposure to natural sunlight. Letter vitamins such as vitamins C, D, and K2, in particular, can support your home workout regime by boosting training performance, improving bone strength, reducing the buildup of calcium in your blood vessels, and protecting your body from oxidative stress induced by physical activities. If you feel the need to retain more energy during your home workout sessions and metabolize carbs for fuel, vitamin supplements and multivitamins are a must-have.
Working out from home is a great way to stay healthy. Be sure to boost your home fitness performance by taking workout supplements that will help provide your body with the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients needed for optimal function and results. Be sure to stock your medicine cabinet with all the sports nutrition you need for a fit and healthy body that will leave you both feeling and looking great!
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