Hitting the gym is fun and all but have you felt the pain in your muscles afterward? Pain isn’t anything new when you’re on the road to getting a six-pack and Arnold biceps.
But recovery is an important element of any workout. Naturally, the best way to recover is to grab the appropriate supplements and implement them into your daily diet.
With all that said, let’s take a look at the 5 best supplements for muscle recovery and soreness.
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1. Fish Oil
Fish oil has tons of benefits for us. Not only is it full of Omega 3 fatty acids, but it is also an effective means to relieve soreness. Bodybuilders love fish oil because it can regulate a few things. Since omega 3 can be obtained from fish oil, it is smart to include it in your daily diet. But what fish oil also does is regulates the balance between Omega 3 and Omega 6. In essence, we get Omega 6 from all kinds of foods such as vegetables. Omega 3 can balance the ratio between both fatty acids. Since we usually have higher amounts of Omega 6, by taking fish oil you are doing your body a lot of good.
But let’s talk about how Omega 3 helps with soreness and recovery. The best thing and probably why gym addicts take fish oil is because it reduces inflammation. By reducing inflammation you are making it easier for your body to recover and reduce muscle soreness. Reducing inflammation is the best way to also reduce soreness and to get a head start on the road to tissue recovery.
2. Ginger
Much can be said about ginger and the various health properties that come with it. But we can also include it in our pre-recovery diet because of a few things. For starters, ginger is yet another supplement that reduces inflammation. We’ve so far learned that inflammation is the number one cause of muscle pain and soreness. So if you’re looking for an equally good supplement to reduce inflammation, then look no further than ginger.
Apart from being a spice, ginger can significantly lessen muscle pain. But the most effective way to take this supplement is to include it into your pre-workout diet. By taking ginger before heading to the gym, you are giving your muscles the much-needed resistance to inflammation. And with that comes a benefit of its own.
3. BCAAs
BCAAs are an acronym for branch chained amino acids, and there are very beneficial for reducing tissue soreness and recovery. Namely, there are a total of three BCAAs. Those are valine, leucine, and isoleucine. These can be categorized as essential for any person that hits the gym because of a few things. For starters, our body doesn’t produce these three amino acids so taking them in the form of supplements is the only way to obtain them.
These are natural and organic and responsible for preventing muscle catabolism. Although there are tons of research still to be done, experts believe that BCAAs can also help with soreness and pain. But that’s not all. BCAAs also help decrease intramuscular enzymes. These enzymes promote muscle damage and make it harder to recover after a workout. And if the muscles are damaged, then they will also get soar and become a source of pain. By taking BCAAs, you are reducing soreness, damage, and pain altogether.
While on the road to getting jacked up, supplements are essential to keep the momentum going. There is no point in a skinny guy hitting the gym only to leave in pain for a few days. This is where supplements come into play, and the best way to know more about it is to visit health-info.org.
4. Citrulline Malate
Citrulline Malate is a bit different from some of the other supplements here because it isn’t categorized as essential on any list. But the reason why we included it is sole because of its ability to decrease muscle soreness. Citrulline Malate is mostly found in fruits. Watermelon has the highest concentration of this ingredient followed by red apples.
This supplement can be taken as such or you can simply grab a piece of watermelon, apple, and even citrus. Citrulline Malate works wonders for muscle recovery because it converts ammonia (a toxic chemical in our bodies) into urea. This, in essence, prevents fatigue, tissue soreness, and ultimately, pain.
It does this in a completely natural way and in a way that it also increases nitric oxide levels in the body. With that said, Citrulline Malate is an excellent source of energy, one that will come useful mid-workout.
5. Carbohydrates
Whenever we exercise, we deplete energy. But that happens all across the board. Whenever we exercise, our muscles lose glycogen. Muscle glycogen is important because it keeps our muscles together. In essence, without glycogen, muscle tissue would dissolve much easier.
What this means is that exercising quickly breaks down the muscle and prevents it from building. This might sound counterproductive, but this is where carbohydrates come into play. Carbohydrates are an effective means of building tissue mass. Fast-acting carbs, a specific type of carbohydrates, are best for this.
The more fast-acting carbs you take after a workout, the easier to build muscle mass and prevent muscle fatigue, soreness, and pain. The best out of the bunch is called HBCD or highly branched cyclic dextrin. This is a supplement that can be taken easily and goes straight into the bloodstream.
This carb quickly replaces glucose and prevents muscle loss. Another such carb is WMS or waxy maize starch. This one does the same thing as HBCD but instead of the bloodstream, WMS goes directly through the stomach. Regardless, both are excellent fast-acting carbs and you should implement them into your post-workout routine.
Conclusion
These were our 5 supplements to take to prevent muscle soreness and promote muscle recovery. While there are tons more, these 5 are as effective as any. So if you want to build muscles faster, make sure to go out and get some of these.
