By Andrew McInroy, B. Sc. Nutrition

After you have a great nutrition and training program, it is time to start thinking about investing in supplements. Indeed, the right supplements can take you further than you can achieve with just a good diet. However, some supplements are garbage and overpriced. This will be an article on some of the best supplements out there to spend your money on and you can bet that FitnessFirstUSA has the best products!

Multivitamin – It is extremely hard to get all the nutrients you need from a diet, no matter how good or balanced it is. Furthermore, you’re a hardcore athlete so you need more vitamins and minerals than the average person does!

Salmon Oil / Omega 3 Fatty Acids – Don’t you dare just label this as a healthy fat! Yes it helps to promote healthy blood triglycerides, blood pressure, blood cholesterol and more. But it also helps to regulate inflammation which is necessary for healthy joints. Furthermore, it helps to promote a healthy fat burning metabolism! And you’re going to love this; it also helps with protein synthesis!

Creatine– Every weight lifter should be using creatine because it helps to put more water into your muscles. When you increase the volume of your muscle cell, you increase protein synthesis and the studies prove it! Do not worry about getting bloated from creatine – the water is going into your muscles and it is extremely anabolic! Creatine is also proven to increase strength and power because it increases your levels of phosphocreatine. The phosphocreatine system is used in short burst movements such as sprinting and weightlifting and if you have more phosphocreatine you can perform at a higher level! Definitely get some creatine or a pre-workout product that contains creatine.

Beta-Alanine – Many pre-workout products contain this ingredient but you can also buy it on its own. It is an amazing supplement with a lot of research behind it. When we workout our muscles produce lactic acid and this increases the acidity levels within our muscles. When the acidity is too high in the muscles, our muscles become fatigued. There is a chemical in our muscles called carnosine and it helps to buffer the acidity so that we can work out harder and longer. Beta-alanine actually helps to increase the amount of carnosine in our muscles and therefore beta-alanine is the perfect ingredient to help you push out more reps and work harder in the gym.

Whey Protein – You want whey protein in your supplement plan because it is the protein with the best bioavailability. Furthermore, it digests extremely fast so it is great to take after a workout when your muscles need nutrients fast. Also, if you don’t have time to cook a meal, you can use whey protein as a replacement but don’t make a habit of this – whole protein sources should make up the majority of your protein.

Casein Protein – Casein protein is a protein which digests slowly over 7 hours. It is best to take this protein before you go to bed so that you can provide your body with the amino acids that it needs to recover and grow all night long. Furthermore, when we sleep we release a ton of growth hormone so we should definitely provide the building blocks aka amino acids!

BCAA (Branched Chain Amino Acids)– These are an amazing supplement which you take and mix in a water bottle for during your workout. They help to increase protein synthesis, prevent muscle break down, help you recover faster and as one study recently showed, even help increase fat loss. Please note that the study showed that fat loss is increased when you are in a glycogen depleted state so BCAA is perfect for the person who wants to do cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. If you are one of those people who hate to be sore for days after a hardcore leg work out, then BCAA should definitely be a part of your regime to help you recover faster!

Conclusion – This concludes the Ultra Jacked Program. Remember, nutrition and training are far more important than supplements but once you do get those things figured out, invest in some of the supplements I have recommended above in order to take your results to the next level!

Part 1 - Nutrition

Part 2 - Training