You’ve had your fun but now it’s time to get your old body back, so here are the best supplements for cutting and when you should be taking them for the best results.
Supplements are just one-half of the equation when it comes to torching fat because you also need to up your aerobic training to drop a few body fat points.
A warning before you proceed – this isn’t going to be the typical fat loss supplements that you’ve become accustomed to the industry pushing upon you. Most of this stuff doesn’t work. You want the most studied, effective supplements to reach your goals. Use science to chip away at your body fat.
Give your workout an extra boost with these supplements and make 2017 your leanest year to date.
Top 5 best supplements for cutting
Ranking: 1: Protein
When to take: Pre and post workout
Surprised? You shouldn’t be. One of the best ways to lose fat is by molding muscle, and that’s where whey protein comes in because it delivers the amino acids used for constructing muscle tissue.
Researchers at Baylor University, Texas, US, gave 19 men, who were doing resistance training, 14g of whey protein with 6g of amino acid for 10 weeks and compared them with a placebo group. The group taking supplements found significant size and strength increases. Not only that, protein is the most satiating macronutrient so it’s a fat loss supplement all on its own affecting your caloric intake – the most important factor for losing fat.
Build muscle, burn more calories and nuke ab fat. Simple.
Ranking 2: BCAAs
When to take: Pre, intra and post workout
Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are the building blocks of muscle- crafting protein. In particular, leucine, isoleucine and valine help repair tissue and produce brain-boosting chemicals that maximize the gains from every sweat session.
They also aid in ATP (energy) production, promote protein synthesis and elevate your growth hormone levels, all while putting the brakes on catabolism (loss of muscle size), valuable if you’ve chopped your calorie intake and are creating an energy deficit to lose weight.
Ranking 3: Creatine
When to take: Pre and post workouts
Another surprise entry to the fat loss world. Creatine is ideal for developing plateau-killing lean muscle because it gives you a short-term energy boost, which is great for high-intensity interval exercise like weight training or sprinting.
Why is this important when burning fat? When cutting on lower calories, your performance in the gym will inevitably decrease
A California based study found your body converts creatine to phosphocreatine, which gets stored in your muscles, where it serves as a source of fuel during intense short- duration exercise. It makes creatine ideal for those who do heavy lifts and low reps or explosive movements in their sessions.
Ranking 4: Green tea extract
When to take: morning
This is an indispensable ally when it comes to hiking up your metabolism because it locks into your body’s fat-burning mechanism.
A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found green tea extract activates your body’s thermogenic fat- burners, and in just 12 weeks people who took it decreased their waist circumference and overall body fat.
Try taking green tea extract as a tablet as it’s more potent, otherwise the specified amount would mean you need to drink 8-10 cups of green tea a day to get the minimum effects.
Ranking 5: Caffeine
When to take: mid-morning
The main ingredient of this type of supplement is caffeine, which helps crank up your body temperature so you burn more calories throughout your day.
Research at the University of Illinois found those who took 5mg of caffeine (two or three cups of coffee) per 2lb of bodyweight one hour before training experienced a reduction in muscle pain during exercise. Caffeine yourself throughout the day and push harder during your workout for significant fat loss gains. Plus, they’ll give you the mental fortitude to pound your workouts so hard you’ll be wanting to do an Ironman triathlon every day.
Fat loss supplements with green tea and caffeine
Burn fat fast with these top supplements on the market
Cellucor HD (60/120 caps)
MHP Thyro-slim (21-day supply)
Optimum Nutrition Opti-Fit (120 caps)
Grenade thermo detonator £24.15 (120 caps)
Muscletech essential series platinum CLA £14.58 (90 softgel caps)
Dymatize Dyma-Burn Xtreme (120 caps)
Products available at bodybuilding.com, unless stated
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