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Supplements are a critical component to the Shortcut to
Size program because they really help you maximize muscle size
and strength gains.
Can you make good gains without supplements?
Yeah, you can make decent gains but you can't really
maximize your results.
I chose these particular supplements as a way to both
enhance your performance during the workouts and your recovery
and muscle growth and therefore strength gains as well
after the workout is over.
There is a lot of confusion and misconception about the safety
and effectiveness of supplements.
There are a lot of misguided experts out there who have
suggested that certain supplements like creatine,
we've all kind of heard increased muscle cramps,
even things like liver damage.
These are completely false statements.
There's no research to support that.
There are studies that show that with long-term use, creatine is
very safe and very effective.
But there's also many studies done on whey protein, casein
protein, betaine, beta-alanine, all the supplements that I've
included in the Shortcut to Size program, they are backed by
science on their effectiveness and for their safety.
Now let's get into the specifics.
Whey protein.
It's a milk protein that has been shown in research studies
to enhance muscle growth as well as strength gains, specifically
when taken around workouts.
Whey protein is one of the more critical and versatile
supplements on this program.
One of the main reasons why whey protein is so effective for
muscle growth is its speed of digestion.
It's one of the fastest proteins that you can consume.
That's important especially around workouts because you want
to get the amino acids from that protein source to your muscles
as fast as possible, and there's nothing faster than whey.
Casein protein.
It's another milk protein that also enhances muscle growth.
Unlike whey, however, which is very fast digesting,
casein is the complete opposite.
It's a very slow-digesting protein.
What that allows it to do is provide a slow and steady source
of amino acids to your muscles.
So with the whey protein gets in there nice and fast, that
enhances what we call muscle protein synthesis, that
increases muscle growth.
The casein protein provides a slow steady trickle
of amino acids.
That helps to decrease muscle breakdown which is also
important for muscle growth.
Research shows that when you combine both whey, the fast
digesting, with casein, the slow digesting, it enhances muscle
growth better than just taking one of them by themselves.
Creatine.
It's really hard to classify creatine because it provides
so many benefits.
It's a muscle builder, it increases muscle strength,
muscle power, can even enhance muscle endurance and it's been
shown to provide different health benefits
such as enhanced brain power.
It's one of the most effective supplements for increasing
muscle size and strength and research really supports it.
It also increases muscle volume by pulling fluid
into the muscle fibers.
By enhancing the amount of fluid you can have in a muscle it
increases the stretch placed on the muscle membrane
and that leads to long-term muscle growth.
We're also finding new ways that creatine increases muscle growth
as well, such as increasing growth factors
like insulin growth factor 1.
Beta-alanine.
It's a really interesting amino acid that has been found to
increase muscle strength and particularly when it's taken
along with creatine, increase muscle size.
Beta-alanine works by combining with another
amino acid, histidine.
This forms a compound that's called carnosine and what the
research has shown is that when muscles have higher carnosine
levels, they're able to contract with more force and endurance.
That means you're stronger and you can get more reps with a
certain weight when you've lifting in the gym.
Branched chain amino acids.
The branched chain amino acids are composed of the three amino
acids, leucine, isoleucine and valine.
Of the three, leucine is the most critical because science
has found that it literally gets into the muscle and turns on the
process known as muscle protein synthesis and that's one way
that muscles grow.
However, all three are as critical when working together
as an energy source.
The branched chain amino acids are actually used by the muscles
as a fuel source during intense training, such as when you're
following the Shortcut to Size workouts.
Betaine.
It's a modified amino acid.
It's been found to increase muscle strength.
There has been numerous studies that have found that betaine
or trimethylglycine increases muscle strength
and muscle power.
There's a little confusion of precisely how it does this but
there are several theories.
One of the more prevalent is that it actually increases your
body's ability to make its own creatine levels
inside the muscles.
Fish oil.
It's an important source of the critical omega 3 fatty acids
that research shows not only enhances fat loss but now shows
it's important for muscle growth
as well as numerous health benefits.
The omega 3 fatty acids are essential fats, which means your
body can't make them, you need to get them in your diet.
These fats have actually been found to turn on and off
certain genes in your body.
It turns on basically the good genes, turns off the bad genes
for things like muscle growth and fat loss.
That's the primary way it works.
Multivitamins.
They're a way to make sure all your bases are covered
as far as your micronutrient needs.
Being short on any of these micronutrients can actually
inhibit your ability to make muscle and strength gains so
they're critical to take.
Research shows that athletes and those who train intensely tend
to be low in critical vitamins and minerals so by taking a
multivitamin, you're ensuring that you're getting adequate
levels of these micronutrients which is actually gonna enhance
your ability to gain muscle and increase muscle strength.
A post-workout carbohydrate supplement is important for
replenishing the glycogen that you lost during the workout and
that's gonna enhance recovery and muscle growth.
Although most times of day you want to concentrate on getting
low-glycemic or slow-digesting carbohydrates, after workout is
the one time of day where you really want to focus on doing
the opposite and getting a high-glycemic or very
fast-digesting carbohydrate.
That's because you need a carbohydrate, just like whey
protein, that's very fast, that's gonna get right to the
muscles, replenish glycogen levels that you depleted
during the workout.
It's also gonna spike insulin levels.
Insulin is a anabolic hormone.
It helps to push all those carbs into the muscle for recovery.
It pushes amino acids, pushes the creatine into the muscle
where you want it.
That not only enhances recovery but also increases
muscle growth.
A good fast-digesting post-workout carbohydrate
supplement is something like Vitargo or dextrose or
maltodextrin or you could do it simple with Gummy Bears or Wonka
Pixy Stix or SweeTARTS.
Candies like that that are low fat but fast-digesting sugar.
Now I'm gonna break down the timing and dosages of all the
supplements I just talked about.
Whey protein.
You want to take about 20 grams within 30 minutes before your
workout and then you also want to take about 20 to 40 grams of
whey protein within the 30 minutes after your workout.
You also want to start each day with about 20 to 40 grams of
whey protein and also consider using it as a protein source
for in between meals, snacks.
Casein protein.
You want to add about 10 to 20 grams of casein protein to your
post-workout shake and also consider 20 to 40 grams
right before bed.
Creatine.
You want to take 2 to 5 grams of creatine, depending on the form
of creatine you use, within 30 minutes before your workout
and within 30 minutes after.
Beta-alanine.
You want to take about 1.5 to 3 grams of beta-alanine within 30
minutes before workouts and again within 30 minutes after
the workout's over.
Branched chain amino acids.
Take about 5 grams within 30 minutes before workouts and
another 5 grams within 30 minutes
after the workout's over.
Betaine.
Take about 1 to 3 grams of betaine within 30 minutes before
your workout and another 1 to 3 grams 30 minutes
after the workout.
Fish oil.
You want to take about 2 to 3 grams of fish oil 2 to 3 times
per day with meals.
Multivitamin.
Make sure you start each day off taking one dose
of your favorite multivitamin.
Post-workout carbs you want to take within 30 minutes
after the workout's over.
I've given you a big laundry list of supplements to take.
Some guys prefer to buy these supplements individually
and then mix them on their own together.
If that seems like too much for you,
there are a lot of other options.
Most pre-workout supplements actually combine creatine,
beta-alanine, branched chains.
Some even provide betaine.
If you can find a supplement like that, that you like, that
has those ingredients in the doses or at least close to the
doses that I recommend, then by all means
you can use that option.
For many beginners, this may seem like a lot of supplements
to take but, trust me, I've given you the bare minimum of
what you need to maximize your results
with the Shortcut to Size program.
Don't make it too complicated.
We've provided all the information you need to follow
the 12-week Shortcut to Size program on the page below.
And be sure to watch all the other episodes
before starting your training.