We all know that there is a vast amount of information around what supplement does what and that this supplement is a magical potion that will solve all of your issues or problems! Well this is not quite the case but Supplements do play a very important role in helping the body to develop, recover and grow faster than they would with just a healthy diet.

Supplements should be used to give the body an additional boost that it is not getting from the food you are fuelling your body with. Quite often when working out and looking to develop lean Muscle you need to increase the level of calories and nutrients you are putting in your body and if you find it difficult to eat more amounts of food you can use supplements to do just that.

These are some of the key supplements you should consider when looking to work out and develop your body:

Creatine

This is often mentioned as the holy grail of work out supplements mainly because it has a duel use when working out. Creatine is naturally occurring in the body but only in limited amounts and give you a burst of energy while exercising, so but taking an additional creatine supplement just before starting your work out it will help enhance your session and allow you to run that extra mile or push that extra rep.

The second benefit of creatine is that it boosts the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) which is known to aid muscle repair and muscle growth while under the stress of working out. So your muscles will suffer less breakdown and faster muscle recovery.

Protein

Protein powders are the most discussed work out supplement of all time. Everybody has an opinion on which protein is the best and what type of protein produces the biggest impact. There are hundreds of different proteins on the market and in all honest they will all work effectively and the only real difference in most is the level of protein per shake and the amount of calories.

Whey or whey blended proteins are the best protein supplements to take when working out of just after finishing as whey proteins are fast digesting proteins and therefore will get to feed the muscles within 45 minutes or so where as casein protein is a slow digesting protein and would be better for taking overnight as it will release slower and maintain a steady stream of protein while you sleep and recover.

When looking to build lean muscle or lose fat while building muscle I would suggest you carefully look at the calorie intake in the protein supplement you are looking to take and the lower the better. As long as the protein supplement has at least 20 grams of protein per serving then that will be sufficient to help you build lean muscle.

BCAA’s (branched-chain amino acids)

Branched-chain amino acids which include amino acids such as leucine, isoleucine and valine.

These are some of the nine essential amino acids that are not made naturally in the body. So the only way to get these is to be introduced through their diet or via supplements.

It is believed that BCAA’s are known to increase muscle protein synthesis and suppress protein breakdown which will lead to greater muscle development. Claims have also been made that BCAA’s could also lower the feeling of fatigue during long work outs limiting the level of serotonin in the brain.

This is by no means a full and comprehensive list but this would be a very strong and stable starting position for anyone looking to use supplements to boosts their own body development.