If you are looking to increase size and strength for bodybuilding, taking an l-arginine supplement is a good way to get an extra edge that will help you reach your goals. This article will cover the benefits, usage, dosage, and best options for l-arginine bodybuilding supplements. Keep reading to learn more.
How L-Arginine Benefits Bodybuilding
L-arginine is a semi-essential amino acid. Your body does naturally produce it and you can get it from certain foods, but it is not essential to have in your diet. While l-arginine is not essential to have in your diet, if you are a bodybuilder or strength athlete taking l-arginine supplements can have many benefits. Benefits of taking l-arginine bodybuilding supplements are:
- Boosts the immune system: L-arginine is known to increase the effectiveness of cells within the body that help boost the immune system. A strong immune system will help you recover from workouts faster and stay healthy so you don’t miss any training sessions.
- Increased strength and performance: L-arginine increases protein synthesis which promotes muscle growth and reduces fat stores beneath the skin. These benefits lead to increased strength and performance in the gym.
- Vasodilation and endurance: When you take l-arginine, it promotes the release of nitric oxide in the body. Nitric oxide is a vasodilator that helps increase blood flow to areas of the body that are lacking oxygen or nutrients. These effects from l-arginine can boost your endurance and decrease the time needed to recover in between sets.
While taking an l-arginine bodybuilding supplement won’t make or break your results, it can help you optimize your health and performance to get the most out of your training program. These benefits are why many bodybuilders choose to use l-arginine supplements.
Does L-Arginine Increase Size?
L-arginine can help you increase size and strength which is why it is a popular bodybuilding supplement. It will boost your performance in the gym, help with recovery, and keep you healthy so you don’t miss any workouts. As long as you are eating enough and lifting heavy, an l-arginine supplement can help give you an extra edge in the gym when trying to increase size.
Should You Take L-Arginine When Cutting?
Using an l-arginine bodybuilding supplement when cutting is a good idea. L-arginine can help promote weight loss by speeding up the metabolism and decreasing fat stores within the body. This along with increased protein synthesis and performance in the gym can help you reduce fat while maintaining muscle mass which will help you get better results from your cut.
L-Arginine Bodybuilding Dosage
If you are taking l-arginine for bodybuilding, the recommended dosage is 3-10 grams per day. Supplementing with 3 to 10 grams a day should give you enough l-arginine in your diet, combined with arginine that you get from regular meals, in order to see significant results.
L-Arginine Side Effects
If you take too much l-arginine you may see some side effects like nausea, weakness, or diarrhea. You should take a high enough dose where you see results, but don’t have any side effects.
Best Time to Take L-Arginine
The best time to take l-arginine would be a 1000mg dose pre-workout and an additional 1000mg dose post-workout. You should take l-arginine 30 minutes before you begin your workout and within 30 minutes of finishing your workout in order to get the best results. If you would like to take additional doses of l-arginine, you could take a 1000mg dose in the morning or a 1000mg dose before bed.
Should I Take L-Arginine on Rest Days?
You should take l-arginine bodybuilding supplements on rest days. With this supplement, it’s important to take it consistently in order to get the best results. A consistent dose of l-arginine each day will help with protein synthesis and help repair your muscles on your rest days. If you don’t have a workout during the day, you can take a 1000mg dose in the morning, afternoon, and before bed to get 3 full doses throughout the day.
Does L-Arginine Increase Testosterone?
Despite what some may say, l-arginine bodybuilding supplements will not significantly boost your testosterone levels. L-arginine is often used in libido-boosting supplements to help with erectile dysfunction. This has caused some people to believe that this increase in libido also means an increase in testosterone. However, no scientific studies conducted have shown a significant increase in testosterone from taking l-arginine.
What to Look for in an L-Arginine Supplement
If you are looking for an l-arginine bodybuilding supplement, you should look for one that contains pure free form l-arginine with little to no added ingredients. While some added ingredients like l-citrulline can give added benefits to supplementing with l-arginine, many added ingredients are just filler that companies use to try to make their product stand out. Many added ingredients to l-arginine supplements will only end up driving up the price while adding little to no additional benefit.
Best L-Arginine Supplements
If you want to start taking an l-arginine bodybuilding supplement, here are some of the top choices you can try.
Now Foods L-Arginine
My personal recommendation would be the Now Foods L-Arginine Capsules. I have used many supplements from Now Foods over the years and they have always provided quality products at an affordable price. Now Foods L-Arginine provides you with 1000mg of pure free form l-arginine per serving with no added ingredients. All Now Foods products are purity tested in order to provide you with high-quality supplements that will get you results.
Bulk Supplements L-Arginine
If you’re looking for an l-arginine powder, the Bulk Supplements L-Arginine Powder would be another good choice. This l-arginine powder is unflavored, and each serving contains 1000mg of pure free form l-arginine. Bulk Supplements offers many pure supplements at an affordable price. This is another good l-arginine option since it is pure l-arginine without any added ingredients.
You can mix this unflavored l-arginine powder with pre- or post-workout drinks or protein shakes for easy consumption with other supplements you may already be taking. Bulk Supplements also offers l-arginine capsules on their site if you would like to opt for an l-arginine pill from them instead.
Nature’s Bounty L-Arginine
The Nature’s Bounty L-Arginine Capsules are also a good option for a pure free form l-arginine supplement without added ingredients. Each capsule contains 1000mg of l-arginine and there are 50 capsules per bottle. All Nature’s Bounty products are quality tested for purity and full potency, so you can’t go wrong with this l-arginine supplement.
You Don’t Have to Take L-Arginine Bodybuilding Supplements
Supplements can help give you an extra boost, but they do not replace a good diet and nutrition. You can still see good results from a proper training and diet regimen without taking l-arginine. If you are eating right, many popular bodybuilding foods already have a lot of arginine in them, such as lean white meats like turkey, chicken, and pork. However, if you don’t want to worry about eating high arginine foods every day or you want an easy way to consume high amounts of l-arginine to get the extra benefits it offers for training, then taking an l-arginine supplement is a great idea.
High Arginine Foods for Bodybuilding
If you don’t want to take l-arginine bodybuilding supplements, there are many foods that are high in arginine. Eating these foods can help you get similar benefits in the gym that you would get when taking an l-arginine supplement.
Turkey
Turkey is a good source of lean protein which is great for a bodybuilding diet. Along with being a great protein source, it also has the highest amount of l-arginine in food. One turkey breast has about 16 grams of arginine, so it is an excellent option if you want to consume arginine without supplementation.
Pork Loin
Pork loin is another great bodybuilding food since it is a lean meat with high protein content. Pork loin contains about 14 grams of arginine per rib making it another great option for arginine without supplementation.
Chicken
Another lean meat with high protein content, chicken is also a great food for bodybuilding. One chicken breast contains about 9 grams of arginine per serving.
Pumpkin Seeds
If you are looking for a good snack option, pumpkin seeds are also high in arginine. One cup of pumpkin seeds contains around 7 grams of arginine. You will also get around 285 calories and 12 grams of protein per cup of pumpkin seeds which makes them a food that you could fit into a bodybuilding diet.
Peanuts
If you are trying to get some additional healthy fats in your diet, peanuts are another food that is high in arginine. A cup of peanuts has about 4.6 grams of arginine. However, make sure to watch out for the calorie content with this option since a cup of peanuts is around 800 calories. Peanuts may be a good option to get arginine while bulking, but if you’re cutting eating a full cup of peanuts won’t be the best way to get enough arginine in your diet.
Conclusion
L-arginine bodybuilding supplements are effective and can give you an extra edge in the gym. Supplementing with 2 to 6 grams of l-arginine a day will help with performance, recovery, and protein synthesis. These benefits will help you maximize your training and diet regimen. If you’re looking to get the best results remember to eat right, train hard, and stay consistent.
