Caffeine before you Workout?

INSTANT GAINS

CAFFEINE Very little in life offers instant results, but caffeine is one of the miracle substances that does.This shouldn't surprise you. Think about how you feel within minutes drinking some coffee or pounding a Red Bull. You can feel that near-instant jolt of energy and alertness that shows that caffeine is working on the AMP receptors inyour cells. But caffeine does more than just perk up your brain; it also perks up your muscles. In a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research in 2006, subjects who took a caffeine supplement an hour before working out increased their one-rep maximum on the bench press by about five pounds--without any extra training.

Taking caffeine can also result in longer workouts. As Korean scientists demonstrated in a study published in the Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology in 2001, subjects were able to exercise longer after having taken a caffeine supplement, primarily because caffeine escorts fat out of fat cells and into the bloodstream, where it can be burned for energy. Since fatigue is felt when glycogen levels get low, and fat is generally burned before any stored glycogen, having more fat in the bloodstream to burn means your glycogen doesn't even get used for fuel until later in the workout.

Caffeine even seems to make workouts less painful, both during andafter. Researchers at the University of Georgia (Athens) found that subjects who had supplemented with caffeine an hour before undergoinga round of moderate-intensity cycling felt significantly less musclepain. In another study, conducted at the same university, researchers found that subjects who took caffeine before doing an enormous set of negatives in a leg workout experienced less delayed-onset muscle soreness.

Invest in 200-400 milligrams of caffeine about one hour before workouts.

ARGININE Arginine is one of the most familiar amino acids--and oneof the most popular. It's mainly responsible for the pump that makesworking out in a gym full of mirrors so worthwhile. It works becausethe body converts arginine to nitric oxide, a molecule that dilates blood vessels. Bigger blood vessels allow for more blood flow to muscles, and blood brings with it nutrients, oxygen, basically everythingmuscles need to grow. And it gives results. A study presented at the2005 annual meeting of the International Society of Sports Nutritionshowed that subjects who took arginine experienced a nearly 20-poundincrease in their 1RM bench press. If that's not enough, research also confirms that arginine boosts growth hormone levels. High GH during workouts is important--it is known to instigate muscle growth.

Invest in 3-9 g of arginine three times a day--before breakfast, 30-60 minutes before workouts and 30-60 minutes before bedtime. Although 3-5 g of arginine suffices to increase NO levels in the body, it takes 7-9 g of arginine to boost GH.

BCAAs The three branched-chain amino acids--leucine, isoleucine and valine--do three things that we think you'll find very interesting.The first is that they can actually be used for energy during workouts. This is one very strong reason to take supplemental BCAAs. If youdon't have enough readily available in your bloodstream, your body might rummage through your muscles to find some, which, no surprise here, will make your muscles smaller. Second, BCAAs make up a large percentage of skeletal muscles (the ones we care about) and are responsible for jump-starting protein synthesis after workouts, which is, obviously, when said muscles recover and grow. Third, and possibly most important, BCAAs blunt cortisol, which competes with testosterone andwants nothing more than to chew up muscle mass. Cortisol is high first thing in the morning and after working out, so taking BCAAs at those times will give testosterone a chance to act unhindered. In a study conducted by SupplementWatch, researchers evaluated the effects of a BCAA supplement on cortisol levels. They had 32 endurance athletes take either 1,500 mg or 750 mg of BCAAs or a placebo over a 24-hour mountain biking event. Both doses significantly reduced cortisol levels, with the 1,500 mg doses (6 g total) reducing cortisol by over 48% and the 750 mg doses (3 g total) reducing cortisol by almost 43%.

Invest in 5-10 g of BCAAs first thing in the morning and again both before and after workouts.

BETA-ALANINE About 20 minutes after taking this amino acid, you'llknow it's working. Although we'd generally suggest seeing a doctor if your skin were tingling, it's actually a common and entirely normalside effect that occurs as beta-alanine binds with nerve receptors in your body. Taking this supplement with food can minimize the sensation, and most people report that it goes away after they take the amino for several weeks. So, besides getting a little free vibration therapy, why should you take beta-alanine? In the body it binds with histidine, another amino acid, to form carnosine. An increase of carnosine in muscle boosts strength and endurance. According to a study published in 2006 in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, beta-alanine also increases muscle mass and reducesbodyfat when taken with cratine.

Invest in 1-15 g of beta-alanine or carnosine both imediately before and after workouts.

SLOW AND STEADY RETURNS CREATINE If you're lifting weights, odds are you're lifting a shake with cratine in it after those workouts, probably without thinking about it much. That's admirable because creatine is definitely not a supplement that is fast-acting. However, the results of using creatine are worth the wait. It is one of the compounds that muscles require in order to contract, and the more of it in your muscles, the more contractions (or reps) you can physically fit into a workout. Creatine also increases the amount of insulinlike growth factor-I, a key ingredient to muscle growth. And while your muscles are working on getting bigger, creatine actually makes them biggerand stronger by dragging more water into muscle cells. However, it will take between two and three weeks to see results.

Invest in 3-5 g immediately before and after workouts.

GLUTAMINE You know what they say about the quiet ones--you gotta watch them. Well, glutamine is the "quiet one" of the supplement world. It doesn't guarantee a big pump or an instant 40-pound gain in the bench press. But it is absolutely essential--in a roundabout way--fordeveloping both of those things. First, it's not just muscle tissue that's begging for glutamine; many of the body's tissues rely on it. It's essential to gastrointestinal health and to the proper functioning of the immune system. Ensuring that there's enough glutamine pumping through your system not only means that your, system not only means that you'll stay healthy and in the gym consistently while your buddy is repeatedly felled by illness and his weight and strength crest and crash like the Dow Jones, but that your body won't have to harvest glutamine from your muscles to fix your immune system and GI tract.Glutamine also appears to boost metabolism and fat burning both at rest and during workouts.

Second, glutamine also acts more directly to increase muscle size and strength. It increases growth hormone levels and levels of leucine, the BCAA most important to muscle protein synthesis.

Invest in 5-10 g 30-60 minutes before workouts, immediately after workouts and 30-60 minutes before bed.

BETAINE Named after its original source (beets), betaine is one ofthe reasons we always tell you to eat your vegetables. It offers positive effects on both health and muscle. Betaine is best known for its benefits to cardiovascular health, which are primarily a result of its ability to reduce levels of a potentially harmful amino acid called homocysteine. It also possesses anti-inflammatory properties and protects both joint and liver tissue.

Reducing homocysteine levels has the added benefit of boosting creatine levels. Also, a study precented levels. Also, a study presentedat the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine in 2007 showed that subjects who supplemented with betaine for two weeksexperienced significant increases in bench press strength and power.

Invest in 1,250 mg both before and after workouts, with meals.

CONJUGATED LINOLEIC ACID What would you do if we told you that conjugated linoleic acid is a trans fat? Yes--CLA, best known for being exceedingly good at getting people lean--is a natural trans fat and, therefore, has none of the health risks associated with the factory-made trans fats found in processed foods. CLA is, in fact, extremely beneficial to health, with evidence mounting that it has powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, boosts cardiovascular and immune health and reduces the risk of cancer and diabetes.

CLA has mostly been touted in these pages, though, as a potent fat-loss agent, known for reducing body fat, particularly in the belly region. But it also has muscle-building properties, although it can take anywhere between one and three months to see results.

Ironically, the researchers who are studying CLA's effects on muscle mass and strength don't seem to be aware of the time it takes for CLA to show its potential, and so their studies have almost universally been too short in duration to truly illustrate its abilities. Still, many investigations over the past decade hint at CLA's power. One,conducted at the University of Saskatchewan (Saskatoon) and published in 2006 showed that those subjects who supplemented with CLA while participating in a weight-lifting regimen not only experienced significant gains in bench press strength, but also put on 3 pounds of muscle mass and dropped 2 pounds of bodyfat. The placebo group barely added any muscle and actually gained a pound of bodyfat. Invest in 1-3 gthree times daily--with breakfast, lunch and dinner.

RATE OF RETURNS

You make an investment of time and energy in the gym. Why not ensure your best muscle gains by incorporating these supplements into your growth plan? You'll see immediate returns on your investment, as well as long-term gains.