Body Building Supplements to Use For Different Phases
It's pretty typical for people to go through different phases during the year when it comes to their training and nutrition regiments. A very common phased approach is to use the later fall and winter months to gain weight and bulk up, and then use the spring and summer months to get lean and ripped.
So if you follow or plan to follow this type of phase approach, are there different body building supplements that you should use during this time? Let's look at a couple of options and ideas.
Bulking Phase Supplements
Most people that follow a phase approach will use the colder months as a time to bulk up. They'll switch their nutrition plans and workout plans to pack on extra pounds, with the goal of gaining the most amount of muscle with the least amount of fat.
Here is a sample of some of the muscle building supplements to use during a bulking phase: protein powders, NO2, creatine, weight gainers, and BCAAs. There are others like ZMA and HMB, but the ones listed here are the basics.
As you can see, these are all supplements that are focused on helping you to build muscle. Most won't worry too much about staying extra lean during this time, so when it comes to training you would normally cut back on cardio and focus more on the weights to build muscle.
Cutting Phase - Fat Burning Supplements
The warmer months are usually set aside for getting lean and ripped. You can still use most of the body building supplements listed for the bulking phase to keep building muscle, but take out supplements like weight gainers. You don't want to be putting on extra weight during a cutting phase!
Supplements to use during a cutting phase would include CLA and any fat burners that you want to use.
During this time you would also increase your cardio and cut back on carbs to get that cut look you're probably after. Work out hard, cut back on the carbs, and get that lean look!
In Conclusion
Tom Venuto did an interview with Hugo Rivera a few months ago. In that interview Hugo recommends staying lean all year long. Mark McManus from MuscleHack.com also recommends keeping your body fat low. If this is what you're after, you could use a mix of these supplements all year long to help you stay lean.
Hugo Rivera's recommendation from the Tom Venuto interview was to bulk until you reach about 10% bodyfat, then cut back down to maintain a ripped and big look.
No matter which approach you take, just remember that using muscle building, fat burning, and body building supplements can help you get what you want, but you still have to work your butt off to get those results.