Around the world, millions of supplements are sold every year. You only need to skim through any fitness publication to find a multitude of ads promising to meet your muscle-building objectives. And while most of them are useless, people in intense training can create a situation where supplementation would help in meeting demand. There are a few bodybuilding supplements that could help you achieve more in your quest to accumulate mass.

Whey and Protein Powders

Once a by-product of cheese manufacture, whey has now grown to become one of the world’s bestselling supplements due to its use in food manufacture. You can find it in various forms, all with different protein contents. Though there’s no defined amount of protein a human being needs, anyone seeking to build mass needs to consume at least 1.5g per pound of body weight. Whey is not only versatile, but it’s also very cheap and widely available. If you’re training with some degree of intensity, then whey can help you achieve your objectives. Simply put, it helps in recovery and restoring performance after a workout.

Other alternative protein powders that one could find easily on the market include soya and casein. Like whey, they’re ideal for boosting one’s protein intake. Advanced users can even mix different varieties to attain a release profile that suits their requirements. While all these protein sources make it convenient to meet one’s threshold, it must be kept in mind that nutrition goes far beyond macro-nutrients.

Meal Replacements

These mostly comprise of a combination of carbohydrates and protein powders fortified with other nutrients. They’re meant to replicate the nutritional and calorie profile of a meal. In times when you’re too busy to find chow time, these would be highly suitable. Many people keep some in the car or bag at all times. Still, a health-conscious performance oriented individual should never view meal replacement as a way out of their regular diet.
Vitamins and Multivitamins

Ideally, these two nutritional components should be sourced from conventional diet. In practice however, many people find it hard to keep track or adhere to a fulfilling meal schedule. And bodybuilders need certain micronutrients in greater quantities than the general population.

If your diet is similar to that of many athletes (a fairly healthy, albeit narrow variety of foods) then multivitamins would provide a good insurance policy. This especially applies to women, who tend to have an iron deficiency. It’s important to remember that specific vitamins aren’t usually needed. In fact, large doses of any vitamin could be counterproductive. And they don’t boost performance.

If you’re going to try a new performance-enhancing supplement, you should never do this while embarking on a new diet or training regime. The reason for this is that it becomes hard to know what worked. Instead, you should find a suitable groove, establish your workout and dietary regimen then try out a supplement. When you see what follows, you’ll be in a position to make good decisions. And you should never replace food with supplements.