Is Glutamine A Good Supplement for Bodybuilding?

13 January 2010 277 views No Comment

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Is glutamine a good supplement for bodybuilding? This is point that’s considerably debated in bodybuilding circle.

Glutamine is only popular with some people, unlike creatine, which is considered a “no brainier” supplement for bodybuilding that everyone uses. Yet, others believe that its effectiveness as supplement for bodybuilding is not certain.

Glutamine was considered to be a “must-have” supplement for bodybuilding until very recently. Recent studies, though, indicate that the alleged benefits of glutamine were vastly overrated.

So, as a bodybuilder, should you include glutamine as a vital supplement on your list?

We’ll find out right here.

Since glutamine is a non-essential amino acid, even though it makes up about 65 percent of amino acids in the body, the body can create it out of other amino acids and molecules in times of deficit. Muscle growth is limited during stress, when amino acids are diminished.

As a result of this, it makes sense to some people to add glutamine to their diet as a supplement for bodybuilding. There are some who claim that glutamine helps repair damaged muscles and prevents soreness after exercise, which is why it’s necessary.

Others claim that it helps enhance strength when taken before a workout, because it boosts immune function. However, there is no evidence of glutamine being an essential supplement for bodybuilding in any current research.

Some interesting findings of the research are that while glutamine does work under clinical stress testing, it doesn’t do anything to enhance a workout; quantities of glutamine that would cost an average bodybuilder anywhere up to $1000 a year were used for this test.

The types of “stress” that the studies refer to are also important, and include severe burns, AIDS, and extensive surgery. The tests also show that in healthy adults, glutamine supplements during weight training did not affect muscle performance, body composition, or muscle breakdown.

Even the belief that glutamine improved cell volume has been disproven during a research study. It was also proved that exercise-induced immune system reduction is not changed by glutamine.

The question that remains inconclusively answered is whether glutamine improves glycogen stores after exercise; however, some bodybuilders say that this isn’t something you should worry about because you’ll be drinking a high carbohydrate shake after your workout anyway.

Finally, one study showed that consuming an amino acid drink after a workout increased protein synthesis by up to 48 percent. However, adding glutamine to the mix did not change protein synthesis.

So, what do you believe now? Is glutamine a good supplement for bodybuilding?

As usual, the truth is somewhere in between.

Glutamine definitely isn’t everything that it was chalked out to be in the past, but it does provide some benefits. It can apparently be a good supplement for bodybuilding as it restores testosterone levels post-workout. When used in conjunction with a fat loss program, it is also a good supplement for bodybuilding to help you get that hard, ripped look.

So those who want to get extremely lean should gain some benefit from glutamine as a way of preserving muscle.

For the full story behind glutamine as supplement for bodybuilding and other muscle building truths, check out Muscle Gain Truth. We recommend it.