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Bodybuilding supplements
are a multi-billion-dollar industry that’s growing every year.
Because
of the growth and explosion of choices, making sense of all this
is increasingly more difficult.
Highly-effective
advertising has hypnotized us to believe that we need supplements. Whether you’re a competitive athlete or bodybuilder, casual fitness
enthusiast or gym rat, we have been conditioned to take powders and pills
to get ahead.
Most plant-based diets can benefit from the right kind of supplementation
(healthy skepticism aside), and some vegan bodybuilding supplements do have merit.
In
this article, we discuss what to look for in vegan bodybuilding supplements and protein powders so you can make better choice
What Performance
and Bodybuilding Supplements Can Do for You?
Whether
you’re plant-based or not, every athlete and bodybuilder needs the
correct balance and blend of macronutrients (protein, carbs, and fats).
If you eat enough
calories and the correct ratio of macros, train hard, and get enough
sleep, you will build muscle as a vegetarian or vegan.
In
addition to these nutrients, which you can obtain from food alone,
there are some performance and bodybuilding supplements that may give you an
edge in the gym or on the field.
Vegan
BCAA supplements (branched chain amino acids), the primary force behind muscle repair and building, can also
help reduce muscle soreness after intense training sessions.
This means vegan
BCAAs can help you build muscle with less downtime between
workouts.
One
of the other popular bodybuilding supplements on the market an amino acid
called creatine*.
*Creatine monohydrate
is one of the only supplements that consistently demonstrate
some effectiveness in performance.
And
it happens that the only food source of creatine happens to be meat, so vegans and vegetarians tend to have lower muscle
creatine stores than their meat-eating counterparts.
By
supplementing your plant-based diet with creatine, you
can enhance your ability to build lean muscle and strength.
Vegan Bodybuilding
Supplements
The
type of supplement that’s best for you depends on what your fitness goals are and how intensely you train. If
you’re just aiming to tone up a little and get in shape, you probably
don’t need to buy supplements.
Yes, I just said that.
But then again, I’m not a supplement company trying to sell you… supplements.
However, if
you’re intensely getting after it in the gym and/or training for competition it
might be worth it to get supplements like Vegan BCAA and creatine.
When
searching for vegan bodybuilding supplements, here are a few things to
look for:
·
Natural
and/or non-GMO ingredients and food sources
·
Absence
of dairy and egg ingredients
·
Grams
of supplement per serving and amount of servings (cost per serving ratio)
·
Ingredients*
you can pronounce
*Typically the fewer
ingredients, the better. Means less processing.
To
learn more about supplementation, please read through our Guide to Vegan
Bodybuilding Supplements.
Vegan Protein
Powders
More
and more professional athletes and bodybuilders are taking up plant-based
fitness and doing extremely well. As a result, more supplement companies
are offering plant-based protein in their product lines.
In
fact, go to Whole Foods sometime and look at the protein powder section. You
will notice 50-60 percent of the shelf space these days is filled with vegan
protein powders.
Here
are some key components of vegan protein powders to look for:
·
Multi-sourced
plant-based protein products, a blend of different proteins
·
Organic
sprouts like chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, quinoa, and lentils
·
Minimal
processing
·
Favorable
customer reviews about the taste and how the powder mixes
Vegan Bodybuilding
Supplements vs. Food
The
truth is that you probably don’t need any bodybuilding supplements if you’re eating the right foods. But few of us can keep up
with the “perfect diet,” and supplements can help pick up the slack.
For
many vegan and vegetarian bodybuilders and athletes,
supplements can make up for missed nutritional opportunities and add
convenience for meal planning.
However,
everyone’s digestive system and biochemistry processes
supplements differently.
For
instance, creatine doesn’t do anything for me but it has done wonders for many
of my friends, so trial* and error is required.
*Keeping up with a
daily food journal is essential in this process.
It’s
certainly worth mentioning that the placebo effect is live and well!
So keep an honest assessment of your supplement regimen, workout plan,
and overall gains in a journal to determine if supplements are really making a
difference for you (observe over 6-12 months).
Just because a
multi-billion-dollar industry says you need them to reach your fitness goals
doesn’t mean that you necessarily do.
For topics related
to vegan bodybuilding supplements and protein powders, watch this video - You're Wasting Your
Money!!!
Author
Bio:
Chris
Willitts (creator of V3), is the founder and owner of Vegetarian Bodybuilding.
V3 Vegetarian
Bodybuilding System is a mixture of science and author’s advice, providing users with optimal diet and
exercise. This system is designed for vegans and vegetarians only.
A
lot of research has been put in this program. Furthermore, a lot of
professional bodybuilders and athletes tried and tested the program, praising
its progressiveness and efficiency.
The
program is about taking control of your own body and health according to your
potential and needs. And worry not; you’ll get plenty of proteins with this
system. It will boost you with energy, and you’ll feel just a strong as any
carnivore would (perhaps even stronger, depending on how much you invest in
your exercise). It avoids vitamins deficiency and provides you with a lot of
proteins, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Instead
of saying things like “I think a plant-based diet is good for athletes and
bodybuilders,” the V3 Vegetarian
Bodybuilding System claims “I know a plant-based diet is good for
athletes and bodybuilders, and I have results to prove it.”
To
find out more, visit the website at V3 Bodybuilding –
Vegan Bodybuilding Supplements and Protein Powders
