Here’s a foolproof guide to achieving the ideal nutritional regimen to maximize muscle growth.
When you’re seeking perfection, timing is crucial. That’s a given in almost every element of your life, but it’s particularly true when you’re trying to figure out the ideal supplementation program to get the most from your hard work in the gym.
Consider the following variables: Some supplements should be taken on an empty stomach; some should be consumed with food; others should be taken multiple times a day. And you need to get in six to seven whole-food or protein meals a day. And you need to get in the appropriate supplements (and shakes or food) around the time of your workout, some with or without food.
It’s a supplement sudoku.
But here’s how you solve it: Follow M&B’s supplement timing and dosing recommendations below.
Get Up and GoTiming: Upon rising, before eating |
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| Arginine | 5 g |
| BCAAs | 5 g |
| Glutamine | 5 g |
| Green tea/green tea extract | 1–2 cups/500 mg standardized to 50% EGCG or more |
Arginine, BCAAs and glutamine are all amino acids that are critical for supporting muscle growth. Consuming them throughout the day increases their effects. The first dose of the day should, ideally, be on an empty stomach upon rising. This is a great way to shift your body from its catabolic (muscle-breakdown) state to an anabolic (muscle-building) state as quickly as you can.
BCAAs (the branched-chain amino acids leucine, isoleucine and valine) are particularly valuable in promoting muscle growth and recovery because they bypass the liver to be used immediately. Arginine is readily converted to nitric oxide (NO), and it’s a vasodilator, allowing for more blood flow to muscles. It also supports fat loss, muscle building and strength. Glutamine, the most plentiful amino acid in the human body, is crucial for immune function, healthy digestion, recovery and muscle growth. To optimize the benefits of these aminos at this time of day, take them on an empty stomach so they’ll get to work more quickly in the absence of food.
You can take these aminos with green tea (which is a better choice at this time of day than coffee for reasons we’ll discuss later). You can go with decaf green tea, regular green tea or water and a green-tea-extract supplement. In fact, research shows that the extract form delivers fat-burning catechins more effectively than the tea version. The primary catechin in green tea, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), increases metabolic rate and helps prevent your body from turning the calories you consume into body-fat storage. Get in all this good stuff prior your morning shower, about 15–20 minutes before you take in any food. Keep in mind that these aminos are constituents of protein, so you’re actually getting in the exact calories you need. This 15 g of protein gets to work ASAP, without being inhibited by other nutrients.
First Solid of the DayTiming: With your whole-food breakfast |
|
| Multivitamin/mineral | 1 dose |
| Vitamin C | 500–1000 mg |
| Vitamin E | 400 IU |
| Fish oil | 2–3 g |
After you’ve had a chance to clear your head in the shower and you’ve made your breakfast, it’s time to solidify your day by getting in a dose of the micronutrients you need to support health, energy and, ultimately, muscle building. These nutrients work better when you’ve eaten because whole foods to help optimize their digestion and uptake. When you take these nutrients near the beginning of the day, they jump-start the processes of supporting muscle growth, increasing metabolism and boosting immunity.
A good multi provides 100% of the Daily Value (DV) of most vitamins and minerals, but M&B recommends additional doses of vitamins C and E. Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant that helps with the synthesis of hormones, amino acids and collagen. It also protects immune-system cells from damage, allowing them to work more efficiently. In addition, vitamin C strengthens your blood vessels and assists in healing injuries. It also destroys free radicals created from training and other stresses, and new research suggests it aids fat loss. Take it for these multiple benefits. Vitamin E is also an antioxidant, and it helps prolong the life of your red blood cells. In addition, it is crucial for helping muscles use oxygen.
The primary benefit of fish oil comes from the essential omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). These provide a range of health benefits, and they also help prevent muscle breakdown, improve muscle growth, enhance joint healing, improve brain function and aid fat loss.
Midmorning BreakTiming: An hour or two after breakfast, on a relatively empty stomach |
|
| Acetyl-L-carnitine | 1–1.5 g |
About an hour or so after your breakfast, take a dose of acetyl-L-carnitine. This amino acid–like supplement enhances fat metabolism and brain function. New research shows it also assists with muscle recovery and improves testosterone’s function by increasing the number of testosterone receptors in your muscles. You can enhance its uptake by taking it in about an hour after breakfast, after that meal has had a chance to digest. Take it at least 30 minutes before your mid-morning whole-food snack.
Lunch LaunchTiming: With your whole-food, midday meal |
|
| Curcumin | 100–200 mg |
| Glucosamine | 1,500-2,000 mg |
| Chondroitin sulfate | 1,200 mg |
What’s the most underrated aspect of muscle-building supplementation by young athletes? Probably joint support. When you’re young, you assume you’re always going to have the same range of motion as you age so long as you keep active. The reality is that activity itself can ultimately create injury and pain to joints and connective tissue. Supporting your joints with glucosamine, chondroitin sulfate and curcumin is one way to maintain your mobility.
Curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, helps prevent joint injuries and supports recovery if you’ve already suffered one. Glucosamine, a naturally occurring combination of an amino acid and glucose, aids cartilage formation and repair. Chondroitin helps maintain cartilage elasticity through its anti-inflammatory properties. Glucosamine and chondroitin are almost always combined into one supplement.
Midafternoon BoosterTiming: An hour or two after lunch, and an hour or so before you hit the gym |
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| Caffeine/coffee | 200–400 mg/1–2 cups |
| And/or: | |
| Green tea/green tea extract | 1–2 cups/500 mg standardized to 50% EGCG or more |
Supplementing with caffeine anhydrous, the supplement form of caffeine, can improve muscle growth and strength because it boosts your training intensity and focus, making it one of the most basic and effective supplements. Often, caffeine is not considered to be a supplement since the primary source for many people is coffee. For optimal results, caffeine anhydrous is superior to coffee. You can read all about the benefits of caffeine starting on page 82.
If you drink coffee, consider supplementing with green tea extract at this time. However, if you supplement with anhydrous caffeine, consider taking it with a green tea beverage. You can mix and match these from day to day, finding the combo that works best for you.
Pre-PreworkoutTiming: About 30 minutes before your workout, on an empty stomach |
|
| Arginine | 5 g |
| Glutamine | 5 g |
| BCAAs | 5 g |
| Fenugreek | 500–1,000 mg |
| Acetyl-L-carnitine | 1–1.5 g |
You should take a form of arginine 30 minutes before your workout because it increases blood flow to your muscles. With this increased volume of blood, more oxygen, nutrients, aminos and anabolic hormones will be delivered to your muscle cells during your workout, which leads to more muscle growth at the time that matters most — right after your workout.
Glutamine is also critical at this time because it provides energy to your muscles. It also enhances the production of bicarbonate, helping to buffer lactic acid and other fatigue-producing chemicals that form during weight training. Glutamine helps you pump out more reps.
BCAAs are an important preworkout supplement because they provide your muscles with energy to get you through intense workouts. During exercise, the BCAAs stored in your muscles are broken down to fuel activity. Supplementing with BCAAs can prevent stored BCAAs from breaking down. This has the overall effect of enhancing muscle growth.
Fenugreek supports health in many ways, but one of the most crucial is its ability to boost testosterone levels, which is important for those seeking to add muscle mass regardless of their experience. The active component of fenugreek, saponins, boost luteinizing hormone.
Taking acetyl-L-carnitine at this time will help to boost testosterone receptors in muscle so that your T levels will be elevated after your workouts, encouraging more muscle growth.
PreworkoutTiming: When you get to the gym |
|
| Whey protein isolate | 20 g |
| Fast-digesting carbs (sugar) | 40 g |
| Creatine | 5 g |
Taking in a fast-digesting protein before you work out is one of the best ways to provide your body with essential amino acids for muscle growth. Drinking a whey protein shake just before you train ensures that you will have aminos available to support muscle growth at the end of your workout. For best results, find a whey protein supplement that also contains carbs in a 2-to-1 (carbs-to-protein) ratio. Forty grams of carbs and 20 g of protein is ideal for all except the largest weight trainers, who can up the amount a bit. You can also add soy to your whey shake, or ingest a whey/soy blend.
Creatine taken before your workouts helps boost ATP production, making them temporarily stronger. This allows you to train with heavier weights and/or complete more reps, stimulating more muscle growth and making them stronger in the long run.
PostworkoutTiming: Right after your workout, while you’re still at the gym fresh from training |
|
| Glutamine | 5 g |
| BCAAs | 5 g |
Increasing your glutamine levels inside muscles improves protein synthesis and muscle gain. You should not only take glutamine before your workout, but also shortly afterward. This will help to create a glutamine surplus in your muscles, enhancing muscle growth. Glutamine, like creatine, is also a dynamic cell volumizer. By increasing muscle cell volume, you help stimulate muscle growth and inhibit muscle breakdown.
As we mentioned before, BCAA supplementation allows protein synthesis to occur without breaking down muscle mass. Getting in a pre- and postworkout double dose ups the ante on growth. Leucine, in particular, is vitally important during this stage of the growth process.
In addition, BCAAs help increase the secretion of insulin, an anabolic hormone. After your workouts, insulin helps deliver glucose, amino acids and creatine to your muscle cells, further stimulating protein synthesis and muscle growth.
Post-PostworkoutTiming: As you’re leaving the gym, or as soon as you get home |
|
| Whey or whey/soy blend | 40–50 g |
| Fast-digesting carbs (sugar) | 60–100 g |
| Creatine | 3–5 g |
| Fenugreek | 500–1,000 mg |
You should also take in another whey or whey/soy protein shake with simple carbs within the hour window after your workout. Doing so will provide your body with more amino acids to kick-start your recovery and growth process. Soy is packed with high-powered amino acids, and digests slower than whey but faster than casein, so you remain in an anabolic state for longer. Recent research has even found that a whey/soy/casein combination can work well.
The carbs you take in at this time should be fast-digesting ones, such as dextrose, maltodextrin or sucrose (table sugar). The carbs help replenish glycogen stores in your muscles so that they’ll be refueled for your next workout. The carbs also help blunt the release of cortisol, a catabolic stress hormone.
When you take creatine postworkout, you help replenish creatine levels depleted during training. After your workouts, your muscle cells have a greater ability to take in nutrients. Recent research suggests that creatine may provide protection similar to antioxidants. This is also a good time to get in your second dose of fenugreek to keep testosterone levels up.
Dinner, Dinner: Chicken WinnerTiming: With your whole-food meal about an hour after your workout |
|
| Multivitamin/mineral | 1 dose |
| Vitamin C | 500–1,000 mg |
| Fish oil | 2–3 g |
| Curcumin | 100–200 mg |
Taking vitamins, minerals and essential fats with meals helps them get absorbed more efficiently. Taking a second dose at dinner ensures you’re getting enough, often a problem for larger weight trainers. This is particularly critical for water-soluble vitamins such as C and the Bs. Another dose of fish oil promotes your omega-3 ratios, helping to make sure you’re getting in the best balance of dietary fats. This second dose of curcumin helps keep your joints well oiled to prevent injury.
Bedtime for BonzoTiming: About 30 minutes before bed, on an empty stomach |
|
| ZMA | 1 dose * |
| * usually about 30 mg zinc, 450 mg of magnesium and 11 mg of vitamin B6 | |
Athletes and others who train hard are often deficient in the minerals zinc and magnesium for two reasons: training increases your body’s need for these minerals, and your body tends to lose these minerals through sweat. This double whammy creates an even greater deficit for many. Taking ZMA before you go to bed can help prevent overtraining, boost anabolic hormone levels and improve the quality of your sleep. ZMA works best on an empty stomach; take it at least an hour after eating anything and 30 minutes or so before you eat again.
The Last SupperTiming: Right before you go to sleep, with your last food of the day |
|
| Glutamine | 5 g |
| Casein protein (micellar casein) | 20-40 g |
Because your body enters a fasting state when you sleep, your muscles are deprived of critical nutrients, and your body may switch into a catabolic state. Because of its slow absorption, casein protein, especially micellar casein, is great to ingest before you get your 7-9 hours of shut-eye. You may want to combine it with a bit of low-glycemic carbs as well.
Glutamine helps increase the release of growth hormone, so taking the amino before bed helps to maximize your hormone levels during sleep when GH peaks.
Physique goals can be difficult to achieve, but knowledge about the nutrients you put into your body is essential for success. Supplements alone can’t give you the perfect body, but they are crucial for supporting your efforts in the gym, and they exert their optimum benefits when you take them at the right time, in the right amounts, under the right conditions. We’ve provided a blueprint to maximize these variables. Now the rest is up to you to adapt it for your own schedule.
The Best DayM&B’s supplement recommendations (with timing guidelines). |
|
| Get Up And Go (7 a.m.) | |
| Arginine | 5 g |
| BCAAs | 5 g |
| Glutamine | 5 g |
| Green tea/green tea extract | 1-2 cups/500 mg standardized to 50% EGCG or more |
| First Solid Of The Day (7:15 a.m.) | |
| Multivitamin/mineral | 1 dose |
| Vitamin C | 500–1000 mg |
| Vitamin E | 400 IU |
| Fish oil | 2–3 g |
| Mid-Morning Break (9:00 a.m.) | |
| Acetyl-L-carnitine | 1–1.5 g |
| Lunch Launch (12:00 p.m.) | |
| Curcumin | 100–200 mg |
| Glucosamine | 1,500-2,000 mg |
| Chondroitin sulfate | 1,200 mg |
| Mid-Afternoon Booster (2:30 p.m.) | |
| Caffeine/coffee | 200–400 mg/1–2 cups |
| And/or: | |
| Green tea/green tea extract | 1–2 cups/500 mg standardized to 50% EGCG |
| Pre-Preworkout (3 p.m.) | |
| Arginine | 5 g |
| Glutamine | 5 g |
| BCAAs | 5 g |
| Fenugreek | 500–1,000 mg |
| Acetyl-L-carnitine | 1–1.5 g |
| Preworkout (3:30 p.m.) | |
| Whey protein isolate | 20 g |
| Fast-digesting carbs (sugar) | 40 g |
| Creatine | 5 g |
| Postworkout (5 p.m.) | |
| Glutamine | 5 g |
| BCAAs | 5 g |
| Post- Postworkout (5:15 p.m.) | |
| Whey protein | 40–50 g |
| Fast-digesting carbs (sugar) | 60–100 g |
| Creatine | 3–5 g |
| Fenugreek | 500–1,000 mg |
| Dinner, Dinner: Chicken-Winner (6 p.m.) | |
| Multivitamin/mineral | 1 dose |
| Vitamin C | 500–1,000 mg |
| Fish oil | 2–3 g |
| Curcumin | 100–200 mg |
| Bedtime For Bonzo (10 p.m.) | |
| ZMA | 1 dose |
| The Last Supper (11 p.m.) | |
| Casein protein (micellar casein) | 20-40 g |
| Glutamine | 5 g |