Written by Dwayne Jackson, PhD, and Jim Stoppani, PhD
Superheroes can be one-man shows (Superman) or duos (Batman and Robin). But imagine if Superman had a worthy partner, too—dueling Lex Luthor would've been a piece of cake. Likewise, where supplements are concerned, you have much-heralded heroes (creatine, glutamine, whey protein) and supporting cast members. In particular, the cutting-edge field of bodybuilding science has recently focused on six "sidekick" supplements that bolster the effectiveness of their respective superiors.
Super Supp: Creatine
The M.O. of creatine, the most extensively researched and most effective (legal) supplement we know of, is making muscles larger and stronger through a bevy of mechanisms. For one, creatine enters the muscle cell and helps produce more of the fast energy you need when you're pounding out reps in the gym. More reps with the same weight, of course, means more muscle. Another way creatine works is by helping to pull more water into muscle cells, a volumizing effect that stretches the muscle membrane and is believed to trigger processes in the muscle that lead to further growth. Creatine comes in numerous forms (monohydrate, citrate, tartrate, to name a few), and all seem to be similarly effective.
Sidekick: Cinnulin-PF
As effective as creatine is, it simply can't work if it doesn't enter the muscle. Enter Cinnulin-PF, a trademarked water-soluble cinnamon extract that boosts creatine uptake by muscle cells. Its active ingredient—hydroxychalcone—works by imitating the effects of insulin as well as boosting insulin release itself. Because insulin helps to drive creatine into muscle cells, taking Cinnulin-PF along with your usual creatine supplement can significantly enhance the amount of creatine that enters your muscle cells and thus the muscle-building effects you'll get.
Action: Take 2—5 grams creatine with about 100—250 mg Cinnulin-PF immediately before and after workouts.
Products: For convenience's sake, your best bets are creatine products with Cinnulin-PF already added: BSN CellMass and NO-Xplode, Dymatize Xpand, Fizogen Blast Cycle, Twinlab Creatine Nitrate 3 Fuel.
Super Supp: Arginine
The reason most bodybuilders take arginine is for its nitric oxide (NO) boosting effects. Besides being involved in many essential processes in the body, NO can increase muscle strength and dilate blood vessels, the latter of which helps deliver more blood (and in turn more nutrients, oxygen and anabolic hormones) to the muscles. NO also brings more water into the muscles, which helps produce that shirt-stretching muscle pump that bodybuilders so desire.
Sidekick: Pycnogenol
This is a trademarked antioxidant flavonoid that, in addition to combating free radicals, can also help boost arginine's conversion to NO. Human research studies have found that pycnogenol enhances NO production in blood vessels by activating an important catalytic enzyme.
Action: Take 3—5 grams L-arginine or arginine alpha-ketoglutarate 2—3 times a day with 50—100 mg pycnogenol. Be sure to take one dose 30—60 minutes before your workout.
Products: MuscleTech's PumpTech contains both arginine and pycnogenol.
Super Supp: Glutamine
The ever-popular amino acid glutamine boosts growth hormone levels, promotes recovery, enhances muscle growth, prevents muscle breakdown, boosts immune function, aids digestion and provides a whole host of other metabolic benefits for bodybuilders. (We have yet to find a reason not to take glutamine.) Its efficacy can be attributed primarily to its ability to 1) act as a volumizing agent in muscle cells, and 2) aid in the production of bicarbonate—a powerful buffer that helps prevent muscle fatigue. That allows you to pound out more reps on a set with a given amount of weight, which leads to strength gains and muscle growth. The volumizing effect further enhances the growth potential of muscle fibers.
Sidekick: Carnosine
Carnosine is actually a combination of two amino acids, histidine and beta-alanine, which work with glutamine to increase muscle strength and endurance and prevent fatigue by buffering the lactic acid that builds up during exercise. Carnosine also complements glutamine by displaying a volumizing effect of its own.
Action: Take 5—10 grams glutamine 2—4 times per day on an empty stomach. Take two of those doses before and after your workout with 1—1.5 grams carnosine.
Products: Glutamine: Nature's Best Perfect L-Glutamine, Primaforce Glutaform, EAS Glutamine. Carnosine: Now Foods Carnosin.
Super Supp: Whey Protein
Getting protein into your body before and immediately after workouts is imperative to your muscle-building progress. Whey protein is a fast-digesting protein that delivers its amino acids to muscles quickly. Without dispute, it's the choice protein for workout time. Case closed.
Sidekick: Leucine
Although whey contains slightly more leucine than its counterpart powders, taking more of it before and after training can further drive muscle protein synthesis, and thus muscle growth. Many scientists believe that leucine is the most important amino acid for turning on the machinery that initiates hypertrophy, especially around workout time. In fact, recent research has found that taking protein and leucine after weight training, compared to taking simple sugars alone, increased insulinlike growth hormone-1 (IGF-1) levels in muscle—a critical factor for growth—by almost 50%.
Action: Take 20 grams whey protein immediately before training and 20—40 grams immediately after, along with 5 grams leucine, either by itself or from branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs). If you go the BCAA route, be sure the product offers around 5 grams leucine, 2.5 grams isoleucine and 2.5—5 grams valine per dose.
Products: Whey: Optimum 100% Whey Gold Standard, MuscleTech Nitro-Tech, Primaforce Substance WPI, VPX Zero Carb Protein, ISS Whey Matrix, MRM Metabolic Whey, Nature's Best IsoPure Protein Powder, SAN Volumass 5.0. BCAAs: Optimum BCAA Capsules, Universal Animal Nitro, John Scott's Nitro Amino Armor, SAN BCAA-Pro 100 & 200.
Leucine: SAN Vault.
