In bodybuilding, nutrition is an important building block. You need the right nutrition to get where you want to go. In the heart of this nutrition comes the issue of using supplements for muscle gain.

To begin with, all the nutrients that are supplied by supplements can be found naturally. What supplements do is give you an additional amount that is needed for the body to grow muscles.

In this article I will discuss three of the top supplements for muscle gain that are used by bodybuilders around the world.

On the top of every bodybuilder's list of supplements comes protein. Protein is preferred by many bodybuilders since it is considered the major fuel for muscles. Muscle fibers need protein since it provides amino acids that are essential for the muscles to grow.

Protein can be found naturally in many sources such as meat, chicken, fish, and dairy products. This variety makes it easy to the bodybuilder to take a big chunk of what he needs from natural sources. Moreover, different sources provide different benefits. For this reason taking protein from various sources is necessary.

It is recommended to take 1.5 to 2 grams of protein for each pound of body weight. Protein supplements can be used to give you a surplus whenever your daily requirements cannot be met when reverting to natural sources.

Creatine is the second on the list of supplements for muscle gain. Creatine is one of the essential amino acids that are found naturally in the body. The role of this nutrient is to give you the power to perform physical activities.

The natural supply that is found in the body is sufficient for day to day activities and most of the time no additional supply is needed for normal people. However, when you are a body builder a lot more physical activity is performed in the form of exercise. This will entail extra need for creatine and thus a supplement is needed.

In addition to its role as an energy booster creatine is needed as a recovery agent helping the muscles that have been torn out after a stressful exercise to heal. For this reason two portions of creatine is needed, one portion before exercise and the other after.

When taking creatine supplements, two phases are identified. Phase one is called the loading phase. In this phase you take 20 to 30 grams. Half of this amount is taken before training and the other after training.

After the loading phase a maintenance phase starts in which you take 10 or 15 grams in the same manner, half before and half after training.

The third nutrient is glutamine. Glutamine is also one of the amino acids that are found naturally in the body and again it has two benefits. First, it is considered as fuel for the muscles, such as protein. Muscles fibers use this nutrient to grow.

The second benefit of glutamine is as an immune system booster. Whenever you train your immune system is put under stress and not just your muscles. Thus, you need a recovery agent that will help boosting your immune system.

These both benefits entails that you take glutamine in the period following your training. In training days you should take 5 grams after your training and 5 grams before bed time. In the days that you are not training you should take 5 grams in the afternoon period and another 5 grams again before going to bed.

Supplements for muscle gain are very popular for bodybuilders. Using these supplements is a big booster to your bodybuilding success. When taking these supplements you should be careful to stick to the recommended dosage and to check your doctor in case you have any kidney or liver problems.