Essential Gym Powders: What to Use and When
, by Sandesh Prasannakumar, 7 min reading time
People go to the gym with different goals. Some go to lose weight, and others to gain weight and muscle mass. Gym powders are supplements that can assist you in your gym goals. These are dietary formulations made in various compositions to cater to your different gymming needs. They contain micronutrients, vitamins and minerals, and other additives that help you through the various stages of building your body. In this blog, we will look at the three stages of building muscles, the right kind of gym powder for each phase and what they should contain.
Ingredients Gym Powders are Made of
Carbohydrates in Gym Powders
Gym powders are made of two kinds of carbohydrates - simple and complex. Simple carbohydrates give you an energy boost right after your workout or training session because they break down quickly to form glucose, which is then absorbed by your body to release energy. Complex carbohydrates, on the other hand, take a lot of time to break down, providing a more sustained and slow release of energy. They replenish glycogen reserves in our muscles, which is a form of carbohydrate that is stored in our body.
Proteins in Gym Powders
There are different protein sources used in these supplements, which have various purposes. Proteins are the building blocks of muscle formation, restoration and repair work. Some gym powders have whey protein, which is known for its instant muscle-restoring properties. It is easily absorbed in your body, which helps your muscles in recovering from any post-workout muscle fatigue. Others might have soy, casein, pea, or hemp protein. Casein helps your muscles by slowly releasing amino acids that help in building new muscles.
Energy-Dense Fats in Gym Powders
Essential fats in gym powders basically increase your stamina. Though carbohydrates are your main source of energy, they are the micronutrients that break down first. With the kind of long training hours they go through while building your body, carbs can often fall short. Fats are energy-potent; without them, you might run out of stamina to endure long training sessions.
Vitamins and Nutrients in Gym Powders
- Vitamin B12 and Biotin: These two vitamins help in synthesising proteins and fats, breaking them fast into amino acids and glycogen, which, as we know, help build muscles. Vitamin B12 also helps in supplying enough oxygen to our muscles, which affects muscle building and nerve production. Biotin helps to improve metabolism by assisting our gut enzymes.
- Vitamin D: This vitamin regulates the flexibility in your muscles. A deficiency in vitamin D can lead to muscle weakness and fatigue. Vitamin D also helps in building bigger and stronger muscles.
- Vitamin C: It helps in improving your overall immune system, but more importantly, it helps in cell growth and regeneration and tissue building.
Some important minerals that gym powders might have are magnesium, iron, and calcium, which all help deliver essential nutrients and oxygen to the muscles and increase their mobility and flexibility.
Three Phases of Building Muscles
Before you can dive into the world of gym powders and decide what type you should take, you need to understand the different phases your body will undergo before you achieve your muscle goals. Each phase has different dietary requirements, and the gym powder you use during each phase should be composed accordingly.
Bulking Phase
This is the phase in which you need to rapidly gain weight. Usually, this phase of gym training involves weight lifting with moderate repetition. You will require massive amounts of calories, adequate protein to start building muscles, and high levels of carbohydrates to support the energy requirements during this phase. The ideal aim should be to gain 0.25-0.5% of your body weight every week. This phase usually is the longest and lasts for 3-4 months. As far as dietary requirements are concerned, here are a few rules:
- Make sure you are eating in a caloric surplus, which means you need to first calculate your maintenance caloric requirement. “Maintenance” caloric requirement is the energy you need to operate with minimal or no physical exertion. Once you have that figure, you can then decide on the surplus calories you will need to endure the bulking phase. When you intake more calories than your body requires, it will start growing in size.
- Make sure you are on a high-carb and low-protein diet because carbohydrates provide you with the required glycogen that releases the energy needed to do all the heavy weight-lifting exercises. Even though protein is the building block of muscles, at this phase, you only need about 1.3 to 1.8 g per kilogram of body weight for your muscles to start forming.
Maintenance Phase
To build a stable body, you need to give it time to get used to its new set point. There should always be a maintenance phase between the bulking phase and the cutting phase to give your muscles time to recover and restore their strength. This phase also prepares your body to get ready for the next period of heavy lifting and workout. This phase helps in retaining the muscle build-up from the first phase, and it should only involve lower volumes of strength training.
Cutting Phase
In this phase, your body needs to lose the extra weight you have gained. In this phase, you would be required to do a lot of cardio with smaller rest periods and continue with weight lifting with increased frequency. This phase usually lasts 3-4 months, where the aim is to start losing extra weight while building your muscles. The ideal rule of thumb is to start losing 0.5-1% of your current weight per week. Dietary requirements change during this phase and are as follows:
- Move to a higher protein and fat intake, as you need to keep your strength while losing weight. About 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight is recommended during this phase. You might also need to increase your fat intake to keep a stable hormonal balance. As you progress in this phase, you can start reducing your overall calories by 100-500 calories per day, depending on your weight loss progress.
- Reduce carbs and calories in your diet. You will have to cut down on carbs as during this phase excessive carbs can be counterproductive. While you are slowly cutting down on calories each day, you can take carbs just enough to support the heavy-duty training sessions.
Conclusion
Depending on the composition of a gym powder, you can choose when to use what. In every phase of your workout and gymming, your caloric and dietary requirements change since your body needs to work in tandem with your gym goals. It would not be helpful if you are taking a more protein-efficient gym powder during your bulking phase because it will not provide you with the required caloric output. The same is the case with the other phases. This blog will help you systematically choose the right kind of gym powder.
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