Everything You Need To Know About Natural Bodybuilding Supplements

These supplements will promote huge gains while keeping you in tune with natural bodybuilding for optimal safety and effectiveness.

Natural bodybuilding is complex, becoming ripped without the help of anabolic steroids is a real achievement. Hitting your genetic limits and beyond to get the physic you want takes time and dedication. But you don’t need to climb the mountain alone. Natural bodybuilding supplements can give you a helping hand to build muscle naturally and sustainably.

From protein powders, pre-workouts, and natural herbs, here are the best natural supplements for bodybuilders.

protein powder

Protein Powder For Huge Gains & Effective Recovery

Protein is an essential part of our diet and is the key to building and maintaining all body tissue types, including muscle. Protein also contains amino acids, which are the building blocks of muscle. Getting enough protein is integral to building muscle, which is why protein powders are so popular with natural bodybuilding for muscle growth and muscle protein synthesis.

Increasingly, people are searching for alternatives to whey protein, which has been linked to digestive stress and environmental strain.

National Bodybuilding Co. Full Prep Vegan Protein offers a complete profile of amino acids due to its mix of pea and rice protein to aid in muscle gains post workout to increase size and strength to make sure new muscle forms into lean muscle. Many protein sources can work to elevate muscle strength.

It has been designed for bodybuilders and athletes to stimulate muscle growth, aid recovery, and boost your metabolism to help you burn fat like effective supplements for burning body fat and aiding in fat loss.

The ingredients are:

Organic Pea Protein (12,5g) – Organic pea protein sourced from yellow split peas. Pea protein contains a range of BCAAs: valine, leucine, and isoleucine.

Pea is an effective and healthy protein source and promotes cardiovascular health as well as feelings of fullness to promote fat loss. (1)(2)

Strength Wars Movie

Organic Rice Protein (12,5g) – Rice protein is low in calories and high in protein. Ideal for bodybuilders who want to stay lean. Studies have shown that rice protein is as effective as whey at improving muscle growth for natural bodybuilding mass without loss.

Protein powder is most effective when taken within 30 minutes after working out. When you work out, you cause micro-tears in your muscles; protein helps your body repair those tears, forming muscle and aiding recovery to increase the effects on mass.

high-intensity interval training

Pre-Workout For Energy Boosts & Insane Muscle Pumps

In order to keep gaining muscle, you need to hit the gym consistently. That can be tough, especially on those days where your energy levels are low. If you are not feeling pumped after workouts, then it could be a sign that your muscles do not have enough oxygenated blood to repair optimally which is important in natural bodybuilding so no loss occurs, only growth and performance from one of the best in supplementation.

A pre-workout will give you more energy and allow you to hit those workouts with the same energy as if it was your first. They will also increase nitric oxide in the blood so you can work out harder and longer for increased growth.

Our favorite high-quality product is the Stage Ready Pre-workout by National Bodybuilding Co. Made from all-natural ingredients, without artificial sweeteners or preservatives for quality supplementation and proper intake found in research.

Winner of Generation Iron 2020 best pre-workout supplements award and fantastic customer reviews. It leads to insanely satisfying pumps, more energy, and endurance like other great supplements where increased growth has been found for greater gains and long workouts from each muscle group.

It also has added nootropics designed to enhance brain function, focus, and mental clarity to keep you feeling good throughout your workout and the rest of the day as you check off those boxes on your list.

It contains a balanced number of stimulants to get you through your workout without the dreaded crash afterward. This is shown through research and evidence that much of what people experience is based on lower energy after the caffeine wears off in addition with a sluggish feeling.

You can find a complete list of ingredients here.

Amino Acids For Building Muscle & Maximizing Recovery

Amino acids are chemical compounds that are often referred to as the building blocks of protein. When we eat protein-rich foods, they break down into amino acids and use them to carry out functions especially in natural bodybuilding.

Bodybuilders need more protein due to the level of stress they put on their bodies, which requires high amounts of amino acid on an ongoing basis for muscle gain without side effects likely to follow when certain products are taken in daily form. (3)

There are different types of amino acids, essential amino acids, which cannot be made by the body and require proper nutrition. They include Leucine, Isoleucine, Valine, and Lysine.

Next are branched-chain amino acids leucine, isoleucine, and valine. They are essential, but studies show that they make significant contributions to the growth, maintenance, repair, and increase muscle. (4)

When it comes to vegan protein shakes, no one source can provide all of the amino acids you need, which is why high-quality products will have more than one source, i.e., pea and rice.

Finally, non-essential amino acids are those our body can produce, even if we do not consume them in our food. These include Glutamine, Arginine, Citrulline, and Aspartic Acid, all essential for natural bodybuilding. Although our bodies can make them, bodybuilders often need an extra boost to reach peak performance from the best supplements for muscle size.

Herbs For Immunity

Herbs For A Natural Remedy & Effectiveness

Mother nature is impressive, and it has created some incredible natural herbs that can aid muscle building and recovery. They do this by easing inflammation and pain and boosting energy for natural bodybuilding when placed in a bodybuilding supplement. Some of the most effective natural herbs have good benefits and many people experience them. They include:

Turmeric – Turmeric has remarkable properties that reduce inflammation, improves joint function, and acts as a natural painkiller. But in order to benefit from these effects, it must be consumed with black pepper to aid absorption. (5)

Rhodiola – Rhodiola reduces fatigue, it has long been used in Chinese medicine for its ability to reduce blood lactate levels and skeletal damage. It is also great for altitude sickness.

Corydalis – Corydalis is beneficial for easing pain and helping your body to recover. Anything that aids recovery is significant because when you put too much stress on your body, it raises cortisol, leaving you feeling fatigued, and even causes your body to hold onto fat.

Ashwagandha – A calming herb that helps to reduce stress and promote a restful sleep, important for natural bodybuilding. As mentioned above, less stress is beneficial to getting the physic you want. So is sleep. Getting enough sleep is a pillar for any bodybuilder, this is where your body can focus on recovery, and you will have more energy for your workouts.

Generation Iron Green Tea

Green Tea – Green tea has an array of benefits, including more energy, less inflammation, and better metabolism. It also supports the metabolism of sugar, which leads to fewer food cravings. You will find it in most high-quality pre-workouts. However, National Bodybuilding Co. goes one step further; their pre-workout contains VAS06, a premium green tea extract.

Stimulants For Real Energy & Increased Heart Rate

Natural stimulants are the best friend of any serious bodybuilder and are perfect for natural bodybuilding.. They enable you to keep returning to your workouts with conviction. However, there is a balance to be found; too many stimulants could affect your sleep and make you feel more stressed – both of which will hinder your gains. High-quality supplements should not rely too heavily on stimulants to make you feel good but there might be faster ways to see the ame result.

caffeine

Safe and effective stimulants include:

Caffeine For Natural Energy

Caffeine is the most well-known stimulant. It provides you with a boost of energy and focus so that you can tackle your workouts with extra vigor. It also boosts metabolic rate so that you burn more calories while caffeinated.

However, too much can cause anxiety, a nasty crash, and a restless night’s sleep. The sweet spot is around 150mg.  (6) Which is the amount you will find in the National Bodybuilding Co. pre-workout and perfect for natural bodybuilding.

Beta-Alanine For Longer Workouts

Beta-Alanine is another common stimulant. It allows you to work out for longer with better endurance. It does this by preventing lactic acid build-up inside your muscles. (7)

Theacrine For Clean Energy & No Crash

Stage Ready pre-workout also contains Theacrine, which is similar to caffeine and provides clean energy without the crash. (8) However, unlike caffeine, you do not build up a tolerance over time.

Let us know what you think in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

*Images courtesy of Envato

References

  1. Sara María Martínez-Sánchez, José Antonio Gabaldón-Hernández, Silvia Montoro-García, Unravelling the molecular mechanisms associated with the role of food-derived bioactive peptides in promoting cardiovascular health, Journal of Functional Foods, Volume 64, 2020, 103645, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jff.2019.103645.
  2. Smith, C., Mollard, R., Luhovyy, B., & Anderson, G. (2012). The effect of yellow pea protein and fibre on short-term food intake, subjective appetite and glycaemic response in healthy young men. British Journal of Nutrition, 108(S1), S74-S80. doi:10.1017/S0007114512000700
  3. Iraki J, Fitschen P, Espinar S, Helms E. Nutrition Recommendations for Bodybuilders in the Off-Season: A Narrative Review. Sports (Basel). 2019;7(7):154. Published 2019 Jun 26. doi:10.3390/sports7070154
  4. Carbone JW, Pasiakos SM. Dietary Protein and Muscle Mass: Translating Science to Application and Health Benefit. Nutrients. 2019;11(5):1136. Published 2019 May 22. doi:10.3390/nu11051136
  5. Hewlings SJ, Kalman DS. Curcumin: A Review of Its Effects on Human Health. Foods. 2017;6(10):92. Published 2017 Oct 22. doi:10.3390/foods6100092
  6. Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Military Nutrition Research. Caffeine for the Sustainment of Mental Task Performance: Formulations for Military Operations. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2001.
  7. Derave W, Ozdemir MS, Harris RC, Pottier A, Reyngoudt H, Koppo K, Wise JA, Achten E. beta-Alanine supplementation augments muscle carnosine content and attenuates fatigue during repeated isokinetic contraction bouts in trained sprinters. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2007 Nov;103(5):1736-43. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00397.2007. Epub 2007 Aug 9. PMID: 17690198.
  8. Kuhman DJ, Joyner KJ, Bloomer RJ. Cognitive Performance and Mood Following Ingestion of a Theacrine-Containing Dietary Supplement, Caffeine, or Placebo by Young Men and Women. Nutrients. 2015;7(11):9618-9632. Published 2015 Nov 19. doi:10.3390/nu7115484
Austin Letorney
Austin Letorney is a writer, actor, and fitness enthusiast. As a former rower, he has shifted his focus to sharing his knowledge of the fitness world and strength sports with others.