Preface: no supplement is going to replace eating in a caloric surplus (more than your maintenance amount of calories) and progressive resistance training. No. Supplement.
We know from the gym bro’s and the fit pro’s that taking creatine is one of the best complimentary supplement when we’re trying to build muscle.
If you aren’t clear on what creatine is and does, here’s the short and simple version:
Creatine is a myostatin inhibitor.*
Myostatin is a hormone that acts as a sort of “brake” that tells muscles to stop growing, which helps to prevent them from getting too large. Everybody has this in their bodies.
When added as a compliment to resistance training, creatine can increase the growth potential of muscles by lowering myostatin. It’s the Open Sesame for the Gain Train to come in.
* This was explained on the Courtney For Life Podcast episode #56 (find it on my website, Spotify, SoundCloud or the iTunes podcast app)
Creatine can be taken any time of day, but it needs to be consistent if you’re trying to build muscle. It’s not something to be cycled on and off when you have rest days. All days. Any time of day. 5 grams (usually 1 serving/scoop size.)
Then we have l-glutamine.
L-Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the body. We naturally get l-glutamine from protein sources, but adding it to compliment resistance training can support muscle recovery, especially when you’re training smart and implementing variations of progressive overload.*
* Missed the info on progressive overload? Check a recent past blog post about it!
L-Glutamine can also support good gut health, which is important when we are trying to build muscle because we’re eating in a caloric surplus. Any added support we can get for our bodies to reduce the stress and impact, the better!
L-Glutamine can be taken after your workout session, just 1 serving is plenty.
If we’re looking at one or the other, creatine is the clear winner. But if we can call a supplement a close second, I don’t doubt that it’s l-glutamine to support muscle development. Open the doors for the Gain Train with creatine, and improve your digestion and muscle recovery with l-glutamine. I’m no scientist, but that’s easy math for me!
I highly recommend supplementing with Canadian Protein’s CreaPure (the most pure version of creatine available) and L-Glutamine. Both products are third-party tested for quality and consistency in all of their batches. In my opinion: CanPro is the best on the market for quality, price, consistency, true flavour, delivery and customer service.
Order from CanPro for the first time and use COURTNEYFORLIFE to keep 10% in your pocket! But make you order over $100 to get free shipping too! https://canadianprotein.com?ref=454