There is ample research showing that some supplements help improve performance or body composition, but never feel that you must take them in order to achieve your goals in this or any other sport. The foundation of your success will always be your nutrition, training, and recovery. Supplements may bring you a few extra percent of improvement, but remember that they are a supplement to your nutrition and training regimen, not the core of it.

A multivitamin / multi-mineral is the first supplement we recommend to anyone we know, weight lifter or not. Vitamins and minerals do not directly affect muscle growth and they do not necessarily affect exercise. Although they are not a source of energy, they do perform highly specific metabolic functions, especially in energy metabolism. In other words, they make the better environment in your body for muscle growth to occur as a result of real muscle-growth factors. Although these micronutrients don’t themselves enhance athletic performance, they’re necessary to achieve optimal levels of performance. That’s why they should be part of your muscle-building regimen as well.

This is simple to explain, but simply magical to experience. When you exercise a particular muscle, you pump extra blood into it, which helps nourish the tissue immediately. When you’re finished, that muscle remains filled with blood, and is measurably larger – and it stays that way for several hours. It’s a great change of pace for your circulatory system, and there’s no getting around this, it makes you feel high. It is most definitely habit-forming. And unlike most practices of that nature, this one will do you nothing but good. There is no point to bodybuilding without achieving the pump. Not only does it do wonders for your head, but it’s physiologically essential if you’re to make good progress. You must be aware of it while you’re training and be alert for the point when it begins to decrease.

The motto “Use it or lose it” applies well to muscles and muscle tissue, as well as to less exposed areas of the body. Muscle tissue thrives on activity. What actually takes place during weight training is the tearing down of muscle tissue, which isn’t nearly as scary as it sounds. Tissue is extremely regenerative, and with proper rest, nutrition, and continued training, it rebuilds itself stronger than it was before. This is what makes a muscle grow. That’s why exercised muscles feel sore, or “stiff,” after training, especially for beginners. Don’t worry; it’s normal and the champions feel it too. Your workouts are for naught, in fact, if you don’t feel this later on. Your body will acclimate itself to your training quickly, and the soreness will lessen to the point where muscles merely feel flushed, warm, and pleasant.