The essentials of sports nutrition
Are you a keen sportsman who wants to improve your performance even more through supplementation, but you don't know where to start? Then you've come to the right place! We're going to give you all the basics of sports nutrition, so you can start by knowing how it works, and above all, which supplements are right for you.
What is sports nutrition?
What you need to know is that a balanced diet concerns everyone, athletes and non-athletes alike. But in the context of intense physical activity, and in particular when the aim is to achieve precise objectives, the need for your body to produce energy before your session and recover in the best possible way afterwards makes the quality of your diet even more important.
Sports nutrition is based on the same principle, with a calorie intake adapted to your needs and the consumption of rich foods that will benefit your body. By definition, an athlete's needs are many times greater than those of a more sedentary person, so it's essential to take supplements to enable the body to build up its reserves and draw on them for the resources it needs.
Daily physical exertion or periods of high caloric expenditure, which increase the metabolism, mean that the body is constantly active, and therefore needs more energy, vitamins and minerals. For example, if you practice an endurance sport, you need to consider a much higher carbohydrate intake to enable your body to draw on your glycogen reserves during exercise. If, on the other hand, your activity is short but muscularly intense, your protein requirements need to be increased, and the food you eat may not be sufficient.
What is the role of sports supplements in bodybuilding?
What you've all been waiting for... in concrete terms, what can dietary supplements do for your body? We can already divide sports supplements into two categories, which meet two different objectives:
- - Make up for deficiencies: When you can't meet all your needs, particularly in terms of proteins, lipids, vitamins and minerals, omega 3s, etc., in the food you eat, then supplements can help you perfect your diet to make up for the shortfalls your body is experiencing.
- - Improve your sporting performance: whether you want to run faster, longer, have more stamina, be stronger, or even get a boost during training, food supplements act before, during and after exercise, during recovery. Their aim? To enable you to make the most of your physical capacities and reach your sporting goal.
We can then classify the different types of supplements into four categories, which can be taken on their own or in combination, depending on your objectives, to play on complementarity and create a synergy of active ingredients that will intensify their effects.
What are the best supplements for athletes?
1. Which supplements are best for your health? Vitamins...
These include omega 3s, essential for sportsmen and women for their anti-inflammatory and cardiovascular benefits. At Superset Nutrition, Omega 3 Max will provide you with half the recommended daily allowance to benefit from their health-promoting effects.
Then there are the vitamins (A, B, C, D, E), which support the energy metabolism of cells, enabling them to use nutrients, the true sources of energy. Once again, each vitamin has very specific functions, so it's important to find out which ones are best suited to your needs, lifestyle and goals.
Depending on these parameters, there are also multivitamin complexes, which can be beneficial to athletes, particularly given the complexity of their micronutrient intake and the increased needs they have as a result of intense physical activity.
Superset Nutrition has developed the Vita Maxwith 23 vitamins, trace elements and minerals, it will enable you to cover 100% of the recommended intake of most of the vitamins and minerals it contains.
Last but not least, there are also supplements to soothe aches and pains or prevent physical injury. One example is collagen. Naturally present in the body and in certain foods, it is one of the main components of joints, bones, skin and blood vessels. Type II collagen is not only effective at absorbing shock, but also ensures joint elasticity and suppleness.
Collagen Max from Superset Nutrition has been designed to improve your sporting performance, by strengthening and even regenerating your joints. What's more, it's enriched with vitamins B3 and B8, which contribute not only to energy metabolism, but also to fatigue reduction - perfect for athletes with intense training schedules.
2. Which supplements for weight loss? Fat burners...
There are two types of weight-loss supplement. The first is the well-known "fat-burning" type. Generally based on green tea, which is highly prized for its ability to increase thermogenesis and support a healthy metabolism, but also for helping to oxidize fat, promote renal elimination of water and aid slimming.
The fat burners Superset Nutrition, the Redburn Hardcore and Redburn Ladies have been developed with green tea rich in catechins, particularly EGCG, which accelerate thermogenesis, increasing the speed with which the body burns fat. Combined with their thermogenic action, these supplements will enhance weight loss and promote a slimmer figure.
The Carni Max from Superset Nutrition is based on the principle of thermogenesis, which enhances fat burning by using fat as a preferential source of energy.
The second type of weight-loss supplement is an anti-water-retention formula. The aim here is to provide a draining action while re-establishing normal water elimination.
You'll find various ingredients with draining action, such as artichokes and cherry stems, which boost the body's elimination functions.
Superset Nutrition has developedOxydrine Xtreme, a draining formula based on natural plants and enriched with electrolytes and trace elements such as potassium, calcium and manganese. These elements not only contribute to normal energy metabolism, but also help protect cells against oxidative stress.
3. What supplements are needed to boost performance? Pre-workout...
Here, we can mention all the training boosters, to be consumed pre-workout. Numerous molecules are used to boost performance, endurance and reduce fatigue, as well as providing better congestion and greater volume over the long term.
These include caffeine, vitamin B3, citrulline and beta-alanine. Combined, they become a real energy concentrate, enabling you to intensify your training sessions.
Superset Nutrition has developed No Pump Xtreme, a pre-workout booster which combines several active ingredients known for their stimulating effects: a synergy of the various molecules mentioned above which will enable you to excel in training.
It also includes creatine, widely acclaimed in the world of bodybuilding for its performance-enhancing effects, but also for its congestion-boosting effect, which provides greater muscle volume. Although creatine is naturally present in meat and fish, taking it as a supplement will enable you to further develop your muscle mass.
Superset Nutrition has developed a hyper-potent complex creatine formula comprising 15 ingredients and 3g creatine monohydrate per dose: Créatine Hardcore.
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4. Which supplements for muscle recovery and growth? Whey...
Among the supplements that will have an impact on muscle recovery and growth are proteins: whey, casein, gainers...
These will enable you to achieve these two objectives simultaneously. On the one hand, they will promote muscle recovery, by allowing the muscle to feed on them to repair micro-cracks in the muscle fibers. And on the other hand, they will enable muscle development by promoting the construction of new fibers. Superset Nutrition has developed different proteins to suit your objectives.
The 100% Whey Protein Advancedwith its high concentration of BCAAs and glutamine, will help you build lean muscle fast.
The Mass Advanced is recommended for people who want to build mass and muscle, thanks to its high calorie content.
Isolate Advanced, on the other hand, is recommended for dry weight and muscle building objectives.
Casein Advanced, on the other hand, is a slowly assimilated protein that helps reduce nocturnal muscle catabolism.
The Whey Hardcore enriched with creatine, will enable you to improve your performance and gain in strength and muscle volume.
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Then there's the family of amino acids: BCAA, glutamine, arginine...
During your most intense training sessions, your glutamine reserves are depleted, leading to a leakage of amino acids which causes the breakdown of your muscle fibers. Amino acid-rich supplements will then help to increase protein synthesis in the muscles, essential for muscle growth.
They can also naturally increase growth hormone levels, with an anabolic effect that allows muscle to grow.
Superset Nutrition has developed four amino acid-based products:
- Amino Max zinc-enriched formula to boost the number of muscle cells stimulated by training
- Gluta Max designed for its anabolic and anti-catabolic properties, which will lead to an increase in muscle mass.
- BCAA Hardcore this product provides a congestion and volume effect that lasts all day. Taken during training, it will restore muscle mass and increase muscle strength.
- BCAA Xtreme : in capsule form, recommended for the most intense training sessions. They also help regulate cortisol levels, with the aim of building more muscle.
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To build muscle mass quickly, testosterone can also be supplemented with hormone boosters. This anabolic hormone promotes muscle hypertrophy, i.e. the thickening of muscle fibers, giving them greater volume and strength.
Superset Nutrition has developed ZMA Xtreme. Its aim? Stimulate testosterone and GH synthesis to optimize fitness and energy levels.
The brand has also developed Xenatest Hardcorea testosterone booster designed to increase muscle mass and reduce body fat. A clinical study demonstrated that the key complex contained in Xenastest Hardcore led to a dramatic rise in testosterone levels to physiological peak in subjects in just 14 days. The impact on the body is therefore immediate.
So, now you know (almost) everything there is to know about food supplements and sports nutrition. And don't forget, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask us directly via our social networks. We'll be delighted to advise you and help you achieve your goal!
