Monday, March 30, 2009

Top Nutritional Supplements For Bodybuilders - Is Glutamine Right For You

Amino acids are one of the key building blocks of muscle tissue and glutamine is one of the most abundant amino acids found in the human body and, according to some fitness experts, is the most important in the process of building strength and muscle mass.

Glutamine can be found naturally in many food sources including poultry, fish, beef, chicken, and most dairy products. The most potent forms of glutamine are those that are found in over the counter supplements. 


Fitness experts and bodybuilders alike believe glutamine glutamine is one of the most important muscle building supplements and for a very good reason. One of the primary benefits of glutamine is that it preserves existing muscle tissue you have built. When you train intensely, your muscle tissue naturally begins to breakdown. Your muscle tissue also begins to breakdown rapidly when your body is protein deprived and while you are sound asleep at night.

Muscle breakdown is actually a normal process but if you are training hard and adhering to a proper diet then your body will also be creating new muscle tissue in response to the stress caused by resistance training. You can actually calculate your net muscle gains by taking the rate of muscle breakdown and subtracting the rate of muscle growth. Glutamine assists in building muscle by reducing the rate of muscle breakdown and creating greater net gains in overall muscle mass.

In addition to building muscle, glutamine also helps strengthen the immune system. Boosting the immune system is a great thing because the immune system tends to weaken as a result of constant and extensive weight training. Your body will recover quicker and you will actually get sick less often as a result of including glutamine supplements in your bodybuilding diet plan.

The best times to take glutamine supplements are approximately thirty minutes after you have completed your workout and around 30 minutes before bed time. After a very intense workout your body's glutamine levels can decrease by as much as fifty percent and in order to replenish these levels, your body will usually begin draining glutamine from your muscle tissue. Because muscle tissue tends to naturally break down during sleep, taking 3-5 grams of glutamine prior to bedtime can help minimize the breakdown and at the same time also bolster your body's natural levels of growth hormones. 

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