Whether you’re a workout enthusiast or an athlete training for competition, taking supplements can make a significant difference in your performance. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates and approves supplement products that help and support dietary sources of vitamins and minerals that are used to keep the body healthy and strong.
If you are unaware of the specific benefits that you can obtain by taking workout supplements, this article summarizes the key points about how workout supplements help your physiological development while you engage in workouts or sports practice.
Table of Contents
Speeds Up Muscle Growth
Meat, dairy products, and vegetables such as beans are rich in protein that helps increase muscle mass. However, not all people are into animal-based products; many athletes and gym enthusiasts prefer to live a vegan lifestyle.
Specifically designed for them in mind, the vegan protein from Steel Supplements provides a complete protein source to help them increase muscle mass and strength. Protein supplements have the following nutrients to help promote faster muscle growth:
Vitamin B6: This is an essential nutrient that helps rebuild lean muscle after exertion or exercise.
Vitamin B12: This B-vitamin helps increase oxygen levels in the blood going to the muscular system and helps muscles to grow faster.
Calcium: This mineral helps in developing strong teeth and bones as well as promotees better muscle contraction.
Improves Exercise Performance
One of the main ingredients of workout supplements is caffeine anhydrous that improves alertness and improves exercise performance. Caffeine is naturally found in more than 60 species of vascular plants, such as cocoa beans, tea leaves, and coffee beans. There are a number of other less familiar plant sources of caffeine.
A study shows that taking coffee or caffeine one hour before a workout can improve endurance and exercise performance. Caffeine anhydrous can enhance endurance and performance on aerobic exercises such as running and cycling.
Keeps You More Focused
For any workout routine or regimen, you need to focus on attaining your fitness goals, such as improved endurance, losing weight, or growing muscles. Workout supplements usually have Beta Phenylethylamine (or PEA) supplements that increase serotonin and dopamine production to help improve your focus.
Here are the good-to-know facts about PEA and how you can benefit from it:
Beta Phenylethylamine has stimulant effects that serve as a neuromodulator and neurotransmitter to facilitate increased brain activity.
When activated, Beta Phenylethylamine releases norepinephrine and dopamine, which are natural body hormones that help in promoting focus and attention.
Beta Phenylethylamine improves mood and cognition and boosts libido. It enhances sensitive neurons in the brain, which increases attention and improves situational awareness.
Alleviates Stress and Improves Cognition
Workout supplements also contain N-acetyl-L-tyrosine (or NALT) that increases motivation and attention, improves memory and learning, alleviates stress, and improves nerve communication. It also helps balance neurotransmitter levels in the brain.
NALT is a modified form of tyrosine, a basic protein amino acid, optimizing cognitive functions. It contains acetic acid that helps increase NALT bioavailability in the bloodstream and influences brain health.
Huperzine is another ingredient in workout supplements. This is a natural plant compound that is extracted from a club moss (also known as firmoss or huperzia Serrata). This compound is a brain booster and improves memory. Among the various health benefits that it provides is inflammation reduction.
Promotes Weight Loss
Workout supplements may also contain BioPerine, an extract from black pepper that can help increase nutrient absorption. This extract promotes weight loss by improving thermogenesis or metabolism. In other words, it breaks down fat cells and increases internal temperature for weight management.
Another common ingredient of workout supplements is hordenine. Hordenine HCL has a similar chemical structure to stimulants. This is an alkaloid that is found in bitter orange. It is said to aid weight loss and promote athletic performance.
Hordenine is a stimulant with an effective thermogenic effect that increases metabolism. This alkaloid is said to have an adrenaline-like effect that releases noradrenalin from your body’s stores to increase heart rate, blood flow, and blood pressure. Because of hordenine’s stimulatory effects, it’s added in bodybuilding supplements.
Tips When Choosing a Workout Supplement
- Always read the label to ensure that the ingredients and nutrients can benefit you.
- Make sure that the supplement you buy is FDA-approved for safety.
- Only buy a workout supplement from a trusted source. You can buy supplements from trusted online providers as well as from certified health and wellness stores.
- Talk to your coach and sports doctor if you’re joining a formal training for competition to ensure that you’re not violating any rules or sports policy.
- Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions on supplement labels for safe use.
Conclusion
Workout supplements can help enhance exercise performance, weight management, and endurance by increasing muscle growth, strengthening bones, and improving focus. An intelligent combination of dietary sources of protein and other nutrients, along with quality supplements, can provide you with a complete workout booster and help you attain your goals.
