Supplementing our diet

Supplement Recommendations

Once an individual has mastered the art of diet and training, it maybe advantageous to start including certain products to supplement their diet. These SHOULD only be used to supplement ones diet as on their own they will have little to no impact.
There are numerous different supplements available, however there are only a select few that can be deemed as necessary for bodybuilding. Below is the list of these supplement that will aid athletes further on their bodybuilding journey.

1.Creatine monohydrate

Creatine is one of the most widely researched supplement, with over 300 studies being conducted and 70% of these showing increases in performance (77). It is shown to have great increases within muscular strength in short duration, maximally effort exercises (78). It is has been tested on numerous types of resistance training exercises, such as: Bench press, leg press, biceps curls, leg extensions, and squats (77).
During short, high intensity exercise ATP needs are met by anaerobic glycolysis and phosphocreatine shuttling (79). By supplementing creatine is believed to decrease fatigue and increase performance by prolonging phosphocreatine shuttle, in addition faster resynthesise of phosphocreatine (80).
Daily supplementation of creatine is key to gain its benefits, consuming 3-6g daily is recommend to see adequate increases in performance (81).

2.Caffiene

Caffeine is widely accepted as one of the most useful supplements in aiding performance (82) , it used by numerous athletes prior to exercise and competition (83).
Caffeine is shown to decrease to RPE levels whilst performing intense exercise, a study by Grgic and Mikulic demonstrating a 3% increase in 1Rm squat, whilst also having a 7% decrease in RPE (84).
Caffeine works by blocking the binding of adenosine to the A1 and A2 receptors as it is structurally similar, releasing neurotransmitters, exerting the central nervous system and altering arousal (85).
Dosing of caffeine can be varied, literature supports the use of up to 6mg/kg (86) and as low as 3mg/kg (87). It may be beneficial to start at the lower end of these recommendations (3mg/kg) as individual differences and tolerance will play apart in the effectiveness of the dose size prior to exercise.

3.Beta Alanine

Beta Alanine is in high regards with practioners, referring to it as a "Class A supplement" due to its association with increased performing following supplementation (88).
This supplement directly influences increasing carnosine synthesis, something the body cannot do alone (89). The main function of carnosine is promoting sensitivity of muscle fibres to calcium, enhancing muscle contractions (90) .
This allows for improvements within performance, specifically exercises that have a duration of 6-60s (91).
Literature suggest that doses of around 4.8-6.4g/day are shown to increase muscular carnosine concentration in a as little as 5 weeks (92) . Thus we recommend starting on the lower (5g/day) to ensure correct amount of is taken and room to increase if necessary.

4.Omega-3

Omega-3 fatty acids are associated with numerous benefits upon improving physiological functions, resulting in: Increased athletic performance, recovery and reducing the risk of illness/injury (93).
Supplementation of omega-3s is shown to aid MPS, as it stimulates foal adhesion kinase, which regulates MPS and may aid be beneficial to increasing muscle mass (94)
Foods such as sea, specifically fatty fish contains high amounts of omega-3, however these foods aren't eaten in large quantities and will be hard to consume the correct amount to obtain an adequate level of omega-3 on a daily basis (95).
Dosing recommendations for omega-3 fatty acids is 1.5-2.0g/day, however it is also recommended that less experienced individuals may need less to see benefits and should aim for the lower end of this recommendation (95).

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