Flip through Insta, turn on the TV. Typically, it’s muscle-building ads for men, fat-burners for women. News flash: women don’t just want to lose weight (sometimes they don’t want to lose ANY). Skinny bodies aren’t necessarily healthy ones. Many of us ladies want a body we are proud of, full of muscle and yes, a healthy amount of body fat.
The Five
Thanks to Oxygen Magazine, here are a few supplements that women’s bodies can respond to, helping shape and tone, build and maintain:
1. Creatine
Its purpose: To create quick energy in muscle cells.
What supplemental creatine can do: Create more potential energy to help our muscles work longer and better.
Why take it? Men take creatine to optimize muscle size, as it raises specific hormone levels that are crucial for gaining muscle mass and drawing fluid into muscle cells, causing those cells to stretch. Girls and gals, creatine has an endurance factor. Whether you’re lifting weights, running, or counting miles on the Peloton--a creatine supplement can help you work out longer at higher intensities. Bonus: Creatine has also been linked to improved cognitive function and reduced LDL levels (oxygenmag).
2. Arginine
Its purpose: To create nitric oxide, a gas that expands blood vessels.
What supplemental arginine can do: wider blood vessels means increased blood flow. Increased blood flow means more fluid, oxygen, and nutrients transported to muscle tissue. Guys like to admire themselves in the mirror at the gym after this increased blood flow gives a temporary “pump” in muscle tissue.
Why take it? Even if you’re not looking to grow muscle, arginine has the ability to aid in lowering blood pressure. The extra pump can boost energy during workouts to reach your ideal physique. Get this: At the 2008 Annual Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine, a study was presented. Female athletes supplementing with arginine reported considerable reductions in body-fat percentage and, this is key, equally significant gains in lean mass.
3. Beta-Alanine
Its purpose: Similar to how arginine creates nitric oxide, beta-alanine works to create carnosine. Carnosine balances acidity in muscles, which is great because acid buildup in the muscles and blood causes fatigue during workouts.
What supplemental beta-alanine can do: three things - improve strength, muscle mass, and endurance. It is so powerful that one study’s participants took a beta-alanine supplement while maintaining their sedentary lifestyle. These participants STILL gained lean mass. Now think what can happen when combined with exercise!
Why take it? As mentioned above, beta-alanine is awesome for muscle growth and endurance. Its tag team partner is creatine. It was proven that when taken together, the combo drops more body fat than when creatine is taken alone.
4. Branched-Chain Amino Acids
Its purpose: Not produced by the body, BCAAs are a group of three essential amino acids: leucine, isoleucine, and valine. They are most notable for building muscle, but they also relieve muscle soreness and alleviate muscle fatigue.
What BCAA supplements can do: BCAAs are especially advantageous to athletes during and after exercise. Leucine is specifically responsible for muscle protein synthesis, the process by which muscle tissue grows. The takeaway: muscles.
Why take it? Imagine, a workout void of fatigue. Believe it or not, taking branched-chain amino acids can actually fool the brain into preventing sensations of fatigue. Crazy, right? Science.
We Mean Business
PSA to all dietary supplement companies: INCLUDE WOMEN, because we are already part of the equation. Besides, marketing to women means more business! And who doesn’t want that?!
A company that prides itself on equal opportunity, Makers Nutrition is here to jump start your next training and fitness supplement idea! Request a quote, give us a call. We are ready when you are!
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