High-intensity weight training will see you build elite strength with an admirable physique – the best supplements for weight lifting can add the extra 5% that will fuel your strength, speed, endurance and muscle gains.
Top 7 best supplements for weight lifting
1. Caffeine
Caffeine has become a popular performance enhancer because it can increase your alertness and improve the intensity of your training when taken as a pre-workout. Louise Burke, author of Practical Sports Nutrition, suggests caffeine should be used during prolonged endurance and high-intensity events, since it will energize your workout and reduce muscular soreness after every sweat session.
Recommended daily dosage
Take 200-300mg prior to your workout to turbocharge those brief, intense sessions.
2. Creatine monohydrate
This tasteless powder will improve many aspects of your training, including strength, power, speed, muscle growth and overall athletic performance. That’s a long list of benefits, but to improve them more combine it with a heavy muscle-building regimen.
Research in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found creatine supplementation resulted in a significant improvement in peak power output during five sets of jump squats, and it also helped to get the most from each rep during five sets of bench press.
Researchers suggest taking 25g of creatine per day for just one week enhances your muscular performance. Fast-acting gains, indeed!
Recommended daily dosage
Load with 25g for 5-7 days, and then continue with 5g as a maintenance dose.
3. Citrulline malate
Citrulline is an amino acid that’s turned into arginine in your kidneys. In turn, arginine boosts your nitric oxide production, the cell-signalling molecule that has a part in regulating blood flow, oxygen delivery, glucose uptake, muscle firepower and muscle growth.
According to the University of Cordoba, Spain, citrulline malate could also help boost your athletic performance in high-intensity anaerobic exercises. Plus, it’s been found to reduce post-exercise muscular soreness. One of the best supplements for wieght lifting if your regimen is full-on and you need to recover faster.
Recommended daily dosage
Take 3-6g 45-60 minutes before training.
4. Betaine
This is a potent compound found in pre-workout supplements but can also be found in everyday foods like shellfish, spinach, beetroot and wheat. One of its main jobs is to help synthesise creatine, which is very important for high-intensity exercise.
A study by the University of Connecticut, US, found those who used betaine increased their power, force and maintenance over a series of exercises, including squat and bench press. It’s the ideal workout partner to your other supplements and well worth adding to your high-intensity supplement stack.
Recommended daily dosage
Take 2.5g pre workout.
5. Beetroot extract
When you feel your regimen is beating you to your knees it might be a good idea to start beeting-up your body with this supplement. Beetroots are bursting with potassium, so your muscles will get fed the right stuff to help them split your shirt sleeves.
Scientists at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, found that a lower accumulation of potassium was associated with muscular fatigue during intense exercise.
Recommended daily dosage
Three caplets per day with meals.
7. L-Carnitine
Known for its fat-burning abilities, this amino acid also has the power to help your performance and recovery from intense exercise. Research has proven L-carnitine increases your body’s ability to store glycogen in your muscles and improve the production of ATP, which can improve strength.
Research in The Journal of Physiology found carnitine supplementation increased workout output by 11% based on a 30-minute sweat session. And as we know: big gains are all about the small details. Push harder for longer with L-carnitine.
Recommended daily dosage
Aim for 2-4g daily, split between pre and post workout.
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