Supplements for Bodybuilding That Work

Products related to “Hplc Muscle” taken from Bodybuilding.com:

DVD Women’s Muscle Power #13 $19.99 Muscle Beauties In Brazil

BSN Women’s Muscle Builder Stack $84.97 Helps Build Muscle

Combos Kaged Muscle Stack $153.89 Build Muscle Using The Stack By The Author Of Body By Design

Labrada Men’s Muscle Building Stack $80.98 Promotes Increases in Muscle Volume, Energy, Strength, And Endurance

Labrada Womens Muscle Building Stack $74.98 Promotes Increases in Muscle Volume, Energy, Strength, And Endurance

Protein Factory Oat Muscle – 3 Lbs. – Unflavored $17.99 Carbohydrate Source For Lean Muscle Tissue

Combos Women’s Essential Muscle Building Stack $80.74 Specifically Designed For Women To Build Muscle

Anabolic Agents Muscle-Mins – 60 Tablets $14.97 Vitamins To Help Fuel Muscle Growth

Nutrex Muscle Infusion Black – 2 Lbs. – Chocolate Monster $15.99 UnderGround Muscle-Building Protein

Nutrex Muscle Infusion Black – 2 Lbs. – Cookie Madness $24.99 UnderGround Muscle-Building Protein

Nutrex Muscle Infusion Black – 2 Lbs. – Vanilla Beast $24.99 UnderGround Muscle-Building Protein

Nutrex Muscle Infusion Black – 5 Lbs. – Chocolate Monster $43.99 UnderGround Muscle-Building Protein

Nutrex Muscle Infusion Black – 5 Lbs. – Cookie Madness $43.99 UnderGround Muscle-Building Protein

Nutrex Muscle Infusion Black – 5 Lbs. – Vanilla Beast $43.99 UnderGround Muscle-Building Protein

CytoSport Muscle Milk – 2.47 Lbs. – Brownie Batter $27.99 LACTOSE FREE Muscle Milk contains ZERO Lactose Muscle Milk is an evolutionary muscle formula that promotes efficient fat burning, increased strength, lean muscle growth

Supplements for Martial Arts?

I am 19 and I practice Taekwondo, I weigh 72kg and I’m 5ft 9 (175cm).
My aim is to up my performance to another level, Build Muscle and lose fat, basically get that “beach body” look.

Supplements are nonsense (protein powder is not a supplement…it’s food). But keep flushing your $$$$$$$$$ down the toilet if you want.

Tribulus Aquaticus – Is There Science On It For Building Muscle?

Tribulus Aquaticus is an herbal extract sold as a muscle builder and a replacement for anabolic steroids. However the data behind this supplement is scare. Users do report some benefits to the herb, but overall there is little to no data supporting it’s use as a sports supplement meant to boost or act like testosterone.

What is Tribulus Aquaticus?

Tribulus Aquaticus is a plant that shares a similar name with the popular bodybuilding supplement Tribulus Terristris, but the name is where the similarities end. Tribulus Aquaticus is indeed a plant going under the name Tribulus lacusoris, Tribulus marinus, Trapa natans, Saligos, Caltrop (Water) or better known as the simple water chestnut. It appears that this is the simple water chestnut that you can find at any grocery store in the asian center.

Many of the names for this herb are unavailable in pubmed, the leading authority on all published papers. However Trapa natans does identify this herb as having anti-oxidant properties. Unfortunately this doesn’t seem to translate at all into how it is claimed to build muscle or be a replacement for steroids. Searching Trapa natans and Tribulus Aquaticus for “strength, muscle, cortisol, exercise” all came up with no results, making the inclusion of this ingredient in sports supplements a mystery. Water chestnut or Tribulus Aquaticus has never been used as a bodybuilding supplement but this study does show it may have some potent anti-oxidant properties:

“Molecules. 2007 Apr 25;12(4):842-52.
Identification of major phenolic compounds of Chinese water chestnut and their antioxidant activity.

You Y, Duan South China Botanical Garden, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou Leyiju 510650, PR China.

Chinese water chestnut (CWC) is one of the most popular foods among Asian people due to its special taste and medical function. Experiments were conducted to test the antioxidant activity and then determine the major phenolic compound components present in CWC. CWC phenolic extract strongly inhibited Linoleic Acid oxidation and exhibited a dose-dependent free-radical scavenging activity against alpha, alpha-diphenyl-beta-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals, superoxide anions and hydroxyl radicals, which was superior to ascorbic acid and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), two commercial used antioxidants. Furthermore, the CWC extract was found to have a relatively higher reducing power, compared with BHT. The major phenolic compounds present in CWC tissues were extracted, purified and identified by high-performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC) as (-)-gallocatechin gallate, (-)-epicatechin gallate and (+)-catechin gallate. This study suggests that CWC tissues exhibit great potential for antioxidant activity and may be useful for their nutritional and medicinal functions.”

The study shows that is a particularly good anti-oxidant against free radicals.

Is Tribulus Aquaticus good for muscle building?

Anti-oxidants may have some slight benefit for building muscle, but it isn’t going to be a replacement for steroids nor will it add significant muscle or strength to your performance. Anti-oxidants such as Tribulus Aquaticus may prevent muscle soreness, which might ultimately lead to quicker recovery, but this hasn’t been proven in the literature. As a supplement Tribulus Aquaticus just doesn’t have much data to support it’s claim to replace steroids or augment testosterone.

To be at least considered for boosting testosterone or replacing steroids, an herb must have some basic studies showing increased testosterone levels, sperm count, semen quality or testicular weight variations. Tribulus Aquaticus has none of these properties. Until there is some published research on this herb it may be useful as an anti-oxidant but it’s effects on muscle are pure speculation.

About the Author

Erin Raad reviews sports supplements and supplement ingredients.

He recommends as a testosterone booster, Formadrol Extreme from LG Sciences:

http://www.lgsciences.com/Testosterone-Booster-p/formadrol-extreme.htm

As an herbal androgen replacement he recommends the natabolic stack from LG Sciences:

http://www.lgsciences.com/Bodybuilding-Stacks-p/natabolic-stack.htm

Erin Raad’s opinions are not unbiased nor impartial however the research is valid and appropriate for commentary on herbal supplements.

Research at DKIT – ICBC – Smooth Muscle Research Centre