Getting the body you’ve always dreamed of – defined abs, broad shoulders and that overall-ripped physique you see on Hollywood actors and actresses and the most popular professional bodybuilders can be a challenging prospect especially if you can’t keep up with the often grueling training and workout routines that need to be done to achieve just that.

But then again, when you want something bad enough, you’ll always find ways to get what you want. Fitness isn’t easy but it is not something impossible. When you’re an athlete, you’ll need to be able to complement your training to be able to maximize your workouts and ensure you meet your goals. To do this, you have to make sure you have the best pre, intra and post workout supplements and to make sure you have the best, here are some things you need to remember and understand, especially about intra-workout supplements, which are said to be the newest means to achieve muscle gains.

First of all let’s define intra-workout supplements. These are supplements that boost your energy while you train. During training you do so many routines and switching from one to another for extended periods of time can take its toll on you especially if you lacked energy at the start of your training. Intra-workout supplements are the reinforcements you call in to minimize catabolism and to ensure your muscles keep being repaired and built during training. They increase your intensity to help you keep training for longer times.

Intra-workout supplements are usually made of three components namely electrolytes, carbohydrates and amino acids. Electrolytes help maintain adequate hydration, carbohydrates act as a fuel to keep you going during training and amino acids prevent muscle breakdown and promotes protein synthesis. Athletes who are serious about reaching their goals stack them together with their pre and post workout supplements to make sure they will see changes in their physique.

What many bodybuilders don’t realize is that during training they expose themselves to many catabolic factors which can interfere with their strength and muscular development. Doing resistance exercises for example, induces changes in the rate of muscle protein turnover, resulting in both the promotion and degradation of protein synthesis. This is only one of the reasons why taking during workout supplements is necessitated because failure to do so may result in muscle degradation or simply put a waste of your efforts. Being unable to take the best intra-workout supplements also increases the likelihood of developing hypersecretion, a highly catabolic hormone that could also out a stop your muscle-building efforts.

Intra-workout supplements also work fast and are easily digested and absorbed by the body. They also fight cortisol, which is a hormone that is released during exercise that can break down the muscle tissues and during workouts, when glycogen levels go down, the cortisol levels go up. Taking these supplements can reduce the effects of this process.

Again, fitness isn’t easy and anything that is easily done or had can also be taken away just as easily and you can feel and look worse than you were before your workout failed. If you are to undergo serious bodybuilding, it is best to do it right and to do it right, make sure you have the best pre, intra and post workout supplements at hand. Do research on your own and check your own body as well to make sure you can take these supplements safely so that you can use them effectively.