Health Articles for Bodybuilding

Glutamine is the most common amino acid in the body making up over 60% of skeletal muscle tissue. Glutamine is listed as a non-essential amino acid as it can be produced in the body. The body can make what it needs for everyday life, however when under extreme stress such as heavy intense exercise the body requires more than it can provide.

Used for the treatment of a number of ailments glutamine has also become hugely popular among bodybuilders and strength trainers. 19% of glutamine is nitrogen making it a primary transporter of nitrogen too the muscles. However rather than the ability to promote growth it is used to minimize the breakdown of muscle.



During intense exercise up to 50% of glutamine levels can be depleted leaving the body open to catabolism. If the other parts of your body are lacking glutamine the body will take what’s needed from your muscle stores.

One of the best anti-catabolic ingredients around, glutamine is crucial to recovery. Recovering quicker from your session in the gym can mean that you get back gym fully fit and ready for another session.

Glutamine Functions and Benefits

Glutamine has a number of critical functions and parts it plays in the body.
Glutamine is the primary energy source for the immune system and helps the immune system function and keeps it healthy.
Removes excess ammonia from the brain and other organs in the body.
Maintains structural integrity of the intestinal lining and maintains the health of the intestinal tract.
Plays a major role in the synthesizing muscle protein and cell volumizing.
Minimizes catabolism and as a result maintains muscle mass.
Glutamine supports the body’s growth hormone levels.
Helps produce glutathione a key antioxidant nutrient.
Regulates blood PH.

Glutamine Sources

Glutamine can be obtained from dietary sources including animal and plant proteins such as beef, pork and poultry, milk, yoghurt, cheese, raw spinach and cabbage. However due its increased popularity there are now a huge range of supplement sources in order to make sure you get enough glutamine.

Glutamine supplements can come in the form of powders, pills and liquids meaning you should definitely be able to find one to suit your needs. However, be careful as some protein powders come packed with amino acids and nutrients. Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Gold Standard provides 4g of glutamine per serving, definitely enough for your muscle building needs.

Glutamine Supplementing

Glutamine supplements have become hugely popular among bodybuilders and strength trainers for a number of reasons. The huge stresses undergone in the gym depletes the body’s glutamine stores and these need replaced. This is because glutamine reduces muscle breakdown and improves protein metabolism.

Glutamine depletion is also the main cause of overtraining symptoms. Therefore supplementing your diet with glutamine will keep you fully fit and ready for each session in the gym.

Glutamine is not popular because it packs on muscle instantly or quickly. It is because it prevents breakdown of muscle that you have already built. So you don’t want that time and work to go to waste.

The pre-workout market is absolutely full of supplements that promise many magical and wonderful things. You know the sort the thing, ‘pack on 30lbs of pure muscle’ and so on. These are usually claims that can’t deliver. However there are many products on the market that if used with a proper workout and nutrition plan can add that extra edge to your gains.

Firstly, the general nutrition rules you should follow to maximise your workout.

1) Water - it is an absolute must you stay hydrated pre, during and post workout. In fact water it is so important I have a water bottle in my hand almost all day long.

2)A pre-workout meal should be consumed 2-3 hours before hitting the gym. This shoud be a proper nutritious meal containing carbs, protein and fats.

3)Consume around 30g of complex carbs for a slow steady release of energy. This will keep your glycogen stores topped up and you won’t run out of energy. Complex carbs include wholewheat bread, brown rice/pasta and vegetables.

4)Protein should be consumed as it contains amino acids the building block of muscle. Consuming a slow digesting protein here will be benficial. Therefore consuming meat or casein protein is ideal.

By following those rules you will be able to get through your workout with ease. However it has been found that supplementing before a workout can increase focus, training intensity, energy, aerobic and anaerobic endurance, and increase muscle nourishment. Pre-workout supplements can also provide nutrients to improve protein sythesis during your workout. While some are designed around a great amino acid profile.

Pre-workout Supplements

Almost all pre-workout supplements use Nitric Oxide which is believed to be crucial in creating the body you desire. Nitric Oxide delivers more blood to the necessary organs of the body by widening blood vessels for easier delivery and faster transport. In fact, Nitric Oxide is known for its ability to increase in delivery of oxygen, uptake of glucose, power output, muscle velocity, and muscle gains and growth.

The following are recognized as the best in the business by both experts and the users. Therefore I am passing on the reccommendations to you. In no particlular order the 3 pre-workout supplements I would reccommend are.

Jack3d is a blend of powerful ingredients used both by athletes and bodybuilders for a heavy-duty pre-workout boost. Jack3d has just been awarded two Bodybuilding.com “Best Of” awards for “Best Pre-Workout” & “Best Energy Supplement”. Jack3d ingredients include:CarnoSyn Beta-Alanine a patented amino acid that increases strength, aerobic and anaerobic endurance, and delays muscle fatigue to train harder. The Arginine Alpha-Ketoglutarate ingredient has been known to boost short term Nitric Oxide levels. A popular pre-workout ingredient is Creatine monohydrate which is used to increase high intensity exercise performance, increase strength, have fuller looking muscles, increase body mass and have faster post workout muscle recovery.

NO Xplode pre-workout supplement produces immediate results in energy, size, strength, pumps, performance, mental focus, and training intensity. You will literally see and feel it working within minutes of taking it. N.O.-Xplode provides you with 4 other Nitric Oxide precursors to keep every vein in your body dilated for maximum vascularity and muscle nourishment. Every serving is brimming with ATP boosting creatine to give your muscles every ounce of power they can get. The sheer potentcy means you should experiment with smaller doses than those stated in order to test the water. I don’t take alot of stimulants and this one had me wired. It really is as good as they say it is.

Myonox has established its powerful formula as the premiere pre-workout supplement on the market that delivers enhanced Power, Mental Focus, Strength, Performance and Energy! Created with double the active ingredients when compared to closest competitors, Myonox was engineered to amplify your workouts to a new level.

In summary, you can get a good energy supply for your workout from good simple nutrition. This will keep your body energized and result in muscle growth. However, if you want that extra edge over the competition there are products you can use. Although some promise more than they can deliver, there are products that have been scientifically engineered with pre-workout in mind.