Are you busting your ass in the gym and not getting the results you want? Do you eat like a horse to gain muscle mass then have to starve yourself to shred up? What if you could gain lean muscle mass and shred up all at the same time? Are you interested yet?

The key is Maximum Recovery. After your grueling workout, sweat pouring down your face, body shaking from your last superset and nausea sets in, the recovery stage begins. So what nutrients are good for optimizing the recovery phase and packing on lean muscle mass? Lets check it out!

The purpose of recovery is restoring blood glucose, liver and muscle glycogen, electrolytes and hydration as well as stimulating anabolism (protein synthesis). To do this, vital nutrients have proven to increase glycogen resynthesis, restore hydration status and electrolytes and promote protein synthesis (more specifically increase insulin output to promote an anabolic effect). Now that I have your attention, lets start with feeding the body what is wants most.

Insulin Promotion

At the completion of your training session, the body wants to begin to replace muscle and liver glycogen and blood glucose stores. Therefore, it is wise to consume carbohydrates immediately following your workout to begin glycogen resynthesis. The best sources of carbohydrates to ingest following training are high glycemic, simple carbohydrates. These are readily absorbed and aid in the replenishment of glycogen stores. The most popular carbohydrate used that has a high glycemic index is Dextrose.  Dextrose causes an increase in insulin secretion, which also forces more creatine into the muscle cells without making you fat. Insulin is the most anabolic hormone in the body.  Fortunately, when taken immediately following workout, this Insulin abundance will not lead to excessive fat production.  Physiologic increases of insulin mostly promote glucose (4)* and amino acid uptake as well as protein synthesis in skeletal muscle (5)* and an increase in total muscle creatine concentration (6,7)*. Clinical data also suggests that carbohydrate ingestion (dextrose) amplifies creatine retention (8,9)*.

A nutrient that is extremely popular in the bodybuilding/exercise market is Alpha-lipoic Acid (ALA). Alpha Lipoic Acid is a potent antioxidant and has shown in clinical investigations to enhance the transfer of blood sugar into the cells by increasing insulin sensitivity (10-12)*. This insulin-potentiating action further enhances creatine uptake, glycogen resynthesis, anabolic activity and (along with Vitamin C) reduces free radical buildup that occurs during exercise*. The only concern with ingesting enough ALA  (recommended 300 mg) is that being as acid, it burns the throat if taken in powdered form. Therefore, it must be taken in capsule form or specially (molecularly enrobed) ALA that does not burn when in powdered form.

Creating with Creatine

Probably the most researched nutritional supplement that has continuously shown to promote increased energy levels, strength and muscle mass is Creatine Monohydrate. Numerous studies have demonstrated that supplementing with creatine monohydrate can boost muscle stores of creatine and phosphocreatine. Phosphocreatine functions as a unique high-energy phosphate that recycles ATP, which is essential for generating energy for muscle contraction and relaxation. Creatine increases muscle cell volume (larger muscle size), provides greater energy reserves and increases strength and performance (1-3).* Many athletes, especially bodybuilders, have experienced enormous gains in muscle strength and size from using creatine.

Anabolic Aminos

Lets remember that the reason we sweat, lift, push and pull is to increase lean muscle mass. Several amino acids have recently indicated powerful benefits in supporting muscle growth. L-Glutamine is the most abundant free amino acid in the body. Athletes experiencing lethargy and frequent fatigue have shown decreased blood concentrations of glutamine that last for extended periods of time (13-15)*. These decreased levels may inhibit recovery time following exercise. Oral L-Glutamine supplementation has shown to elevate blood concentrations of glutamine and growth hormone concentrations, suggesting glutamines potential benefits in terms of body composition, immune support and recovery (16,17)*. DO NOT GET CHEATED!  Glutamine peptides contain approximately 30%-35% actual glutamine and are far less expensive than L-Glutamine. Almost all published studies indicating the benefits behind L-Glutamine (oral) supplementation have been found using the free form (L-Glutamine) not the peptide form. 

Severe metabolic stresses such as strenuous exercise are associated with accelerated requirements for Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA), therefore, the muscle is catabolized (broken down) to release energy. L-Taurine may influence the anabolic process by eliciting an increase in cell volume (19)* and a recent study indicated L-Taurine to be a potent antioxidant and improves insulin sensitivity by increasing the excretion of cholesterol via conversion to bile acid (20)*. During strenuous exercise, BCAA serve as an energy source, therefore, BCAA supplementation alleviates the breaking down of skeletal muscle (18)*.

Magnesium supplementation has shown to increase protein synthesis and strength (21)* as well as increase insulin sensitivity (22)*. Potassium, Sodium and Chloride are well known electrolytes that operate the many cellular channels regulating uptake and release of energy packed nutrients.  Calcium also provides many cellular functions but most importantly affects muscle contraction and protein production during recuperation.

The Nucleoside Nurture Factor