There is a magic secret to building lean muscle and strength faster than you ever imagined. This secret has been obscured from public view, but now, with the help of modern science and yours truly, the golden bullet will be revealed . . .

OK, I lied. There’s no magical secret to getting bigger, stronger and faster. Because our culture is geared towards immediate results, and because steroids are illegal, potentially dangerous and morally questionable, literally thousands of companies have popped up, purporting to offer the next big thing in muscular science. Not surprisingly, most of them have fallen by the wayside, leaving a few reputable juggernauts to duke it out for market share.

I would also be lying if I told you that ALL supplements are a waste of time and money. It is a fact that a select few have been proven useful through years of use, but another, more alarming fact is that the vast majority of all bodybuilding, fitness and fat loss supplements are about as effective as folding up dollar bills and stuffing them into your air conditioner vents in an attempt to get ripped. Sure, the bottles look cool (my god, has the packaging improved over the last five years!), but when it comes right down to it, most of these products cannot and do not live up to their marketing hype. Most are advertised with what is at best pseudo-science and at worst outright lies. Sandwiched in between pages of Jay Cutler’s massive legs and Dexter Jackson’s amazing abs are the B.S. ads that make up the bulk of an average bodybuilding magazine. Young kids read these things, wanting to get bigger and stronger as fast as possible so they can get laid and impress their friends, but are usually disappointed when they find that there’s really only one way to success in the iron game:

HARD WORK AND DEDICATION!

You’re going to be at this for a while, and if you wanna go anywhere with your strength and size, then you’ll be in the gym regularly, eating well, and getting plenty of rest. Then again, once you have these three pillars of training success well established, there are a few things that you can, and that I’d recommend that you add to the equation. I toyed with the idea of telling you which exact brands I use, but for now, I’m going to stick to the basics. Here is the short list of supplements that I have used and suggest to my clients (yes, even I have been burned by the super nitro booster energy paks of the world, but I finally learned).

• Multivitamin/multimineral. These are among the three most important supplements any athlete can invest in. I’d call them 1a on my list, because even people who don’t train (please, if you don’t train, at least do some walking or running or something active, but I digress) – almost everyone can benefit from multivitamin/multimineral supplements. Even the best of us who strive to eat a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and grains can find it hard to get enough of these little natural chemicals that are crucial for the body’s growth and maintenance. Some even have extras, like joint support, immune and digestive enzymes, and male or female-specific herbal enhancements. They’ll help you get stronger, faster because they regulate your body’s processes. Plus, you won’t get sick, since you’re getting plenty of the good stuff you need to fend off the constant onslaught of germs and viruses in the environment.

• Fish oil. This is my 1b, because like the multivitamin/multiminerals, they are just as valuable to sedentary folks as highly tuned athletes. Fish oil contains omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential for body processes, but often overlooked in our prepared food-based diet. Supplementing with fish oil will reduce inflammation and soreness. Another interesting benefit is that ingesting this fat actually reduces cholesterol and decreases body fat. Serum cholesterol is dropped because fish oil raises your HDL levels, which effectively cleans out your arteries, while it helps your body burn fat by teaching it how to utilize fatty acids for energy more effectively. Find a fish oil supplement that has a good amount of EPA and DHA, and take 6-12 caps each day. I usually buy them when they’re on sale, buy-one-get-one free at the local drugstore. You can stock up with 10 or more economy sized bottles, then put one in your cups and glasses cabinet. Whenever you go to get something to drink with a meal, take 2 or 3 caps of fish oil as well.

• Whey protein. Though it’s 1c, it’s every bit as important as the other two for succeeding in adding strength and muscle. When you’re lifting weights, you need at least 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight each day. Some people find that they’re stronger and more energetic with 1.5g or even 2g/lb, so experiment with different levels to see what works best for you. Use whey only after working out (or if you like doing some cardio first thing in the morning, you can have some whey as soon as you wake up so that you’re not totally fasted). Whey digests in less than an hour (more like 45 minutes for whey isolates), so it’s not suitable for meal replacement, but this fast digestion time makes it perfect for post-workout recovery. Shoot for at least .5g protein per pound of bodyweight in your post-workout drink. (For what it’s worth, I’m currently mixing two scoops of protein into 16oz. skim milk, plus an ice cube.)

• Creatine monohydrate. I wrote a paper about this to earn my nutritionist certification, and it’s shocking how many things creatine helps. Most people familiar with the world of bodybuilding and strength training know that creatine can make you bigger and stronger, but did you know it can help repair broken bones, increase brain function in elderly folks and possibly even prevent brain damage from blunt trauma?! There are several different ways to use creatine, and we’ll go into those later. For now, let’s just keep it simple: creatine helps you lift heavier weights or lift the weights more times, or BOTH! It’s also dirt cheap (you can get a kilogram of the stuff for under $20 with a quick search on the web). Perhaps the best testament to the effectiveness of creatine is the fact that you’ll see the cover of bodybuilding magazines ask the question “Is [supplement x] the new creatine?” at least once a year. So far, nothing has topped CM’s magical mix of effectiveness and affordability.

So there you have it. Four supplements that we know work very well for enhancing strength and general health. We’ll delve into each of these in depth later, plus discuss some of the other supplements and why or why not to even consider spending your hard earned money. Stick with HOPEisSTRENGTH and we’ll make you stronger, wiser and wealthier

Training. Nutrition. Rest. These are the three pillars that make up the foundation of your training career. You can lift all you want, but if you don’t eat enough, you aren’t going to get bigger, stronger or faster. The same is true if you don’t sleep enough. Then again, if you eat well and get enough rest, but don’t train, you’re also going nowhere. Having read our articles on exercise form and programming, you already know how to lift correctly, so let’s discuss performance nutrition.

Specifically, let’s look at the post-workout meal. After training, there’s a 30-45 minute window where the body needs nutrients. You need to replenish what was burned during training and provide the blocks for building new muscle.

One of the main debates about post-workout nutrition is, solid food or a shake? In the days before whey protein was readily available at your local strip mall, athletes would opt for a hearty meal. Even today, champion bodybuilders like Jay Cutler and Phil Heath can be seen eating lean meat and rice or other complex carbs after their grueling workouts. We certainly can’t argue with their results, but there might be more than a few reasons to choose a post-workout shake.

We mentioned the ‘window’ after training where the body needs nutrients. During this time, hormonal levels are just right for driving the protein and carbs straight into your muscles. Liquids digest faster than whole foods, so theoretically, a liquid meal could be more effective for repairing and building muscles. Additionally, some athletes, myself included, don’t like the way a full meal feels right after training. In fact, I used to drink my protein shakes immediately after working out, but now wait at least 15 minutes to allow my body to return to a more normal state.

Since I prefer a post-workout drink, it’s important to know what to put in there. Protein is of the utmost importance. Training with weight creates tiny tears in your muscles and uses free amino acids stored within for energy and other processes. Getting a quick, relatively large dose of a fast digesting protein is one of the best ways to mend those tears (which creates bigger, stronger muscles).

This is why so many athletes love whey protein. It digests within an hour, and is one of the cheapest sources of protein available. I have found .25g protein/lb of body weight to be a good number. While I never go below this number, I will sometimes use more. I sometimes add 10g L-leucine to my shakes. Leucine is said to be the limiting factor in muscle growth. It effectively ‘turns on’ the mTOR pathway that creates new muscle tissue, so making sure you have enough can allow you to maximize your growth. I will sometimes also add L-glutamine, which is especially effective after intense workouts (heavy squats and deadlifts, especially).

Next, we need some carbohydrates. Some people swear by the method of using simple sugars to ‘spike’ insulin. Since the body needs protein and carbs to repair, an insulin spike drives these nutrients straight to the muscle, rather than into fat cells as would normally happen. I have used this method, and while I found it successful in the sense that I got stronger and gained lean mass, it also left me feeling queasy and sometimes even dizzy. Now, when I need carbohydrates in my post-workout drink, I use ground oatmeal. It doesn’t spike insulin, but then again, it’s much easier on my digestive system, and I’m still making great progress. I’m also of the mind that it might not be all that great to manipulate insulin, given its ties with diabetes and other disorders. While it’s likely that insulin can be used to facilitate muscle growth, the difference in using a slow burning carb like oatmeal is negligible in my experience. A good number to shoot for is .5g carbs/lb bodyweight. If you’re trying to lose fat or just want to limit your caloric intake, you can lower this figure.

As for fat, we should try to avoid fat as much as possible. Whey protein has a tiny amount of fat, as does oatmeal. I like to use skim milk for my shakes, which has a good amount of protein and carbs, but no fat. Fat slows digestion, and our goal with a post-workout drink is fast absorption.

So .25g protein/lb and .5g carbs/lb is a good start. Play with it and see what works for you. These days, I prefer to use fewer carbs in my shake most days, but then again, I eat a full meal about 60-90 minutes after the shake, which usually has a bunch.

Post your best shake recipes as a comment!