JUST SAY N.O.




Supplements become particularly beneficial when you're training hard, but not seeing the results you want. If your program is solid, but you've hit a plateau, it maybe a good time to revamp the supplement portion of your program. Adding nitric oxide or arginine in particular is one of the most effective ways to encourage your body to start growing again. Here we give you a rundown on the basics of nitric oxide, and a sample supplement program to help you break through to the next level.

There seems to be a lot of confusion about nitric oxide and arginine, so let's begin by clarifying the difference: "Nitric oxide is a ubiquitous substance that plays numerous roles throughout your body," says Dwayne Jackson, PhD, former bodybuilder and professor in the department of medical biophysics at the University of Western Ontario (London, Canada). "One of the most significant roles this molecule plays in your body is increasing and maintaining blood flow to skeletal muscles by working as a vasodilator." Nitric oxide causes your blood vessels to relax, thus allowing them to widen so more blood flows through them. As a result, your muscles profit because they receive more oxygen, blood volume and nutrients.

When you take a nitric oxide (NO) booster before you train, you can often both see and feel the difference. You can see a larger pump in your muscles and an increase in vascularity, and you can often crank out an extra rep or two from this temporary strength boost. The boost can prove enormously beneficial in the long run to help you get past that plateau where you've been stranded — temporary strength gains lead to greater muscle stimulation, which ultimately leads to muscle growth.

The terms "arginine" and "nitric oxide" are often used interchangeably; however, arginine is an amino acid that's readily converted to nitric oxide, and virtually all NO products contain arginine. Nitric oxide itself is not a "supplement" per se —it's the molecule that arginine is converted into. Henceforth, nitric oxide boosters contain arginine that gets converted into nitric oxide in your body. "Arginine is a semi-essential amino acid that should be ingested in food and supplements in adequate amounts, especially by those undergoing intense training," Jackson says. For more information on how much arginine you should take, and when you should take it, see "NO by the Numbers."

The Argument For Arginine

Arginine provides many benefits for muscle building and other key physiological processes. "Arginine not only increases muscle pumps, it also facilitates important body functions such as increased flushing of muscle metabolites, replenishment of nutrients, removal of free radicals, as well as increasing oxygen transport, which promotes muscle building by optimizing the anabolic environment in your muscles," Jackson says. Arginine essentially helps to optimize the plumbing and waste removal systems in your muscles, allowing them to receive everything they need for growth while taking away any excess that gets in the way of this growth process.

Yet another benefit of arginine is that it works as an anti-catabolic agent such that it increases growth hormone and IGF, and supports your immune system. Each of these effects directly or indirectly improves muscle growth.

Catabolism is the process where muscle tissue is broken down to retrieve stored amino acids. By providing your body with arginine (in addition to protein and aminos such as BCAAs and glutamine), you help prevent your body's natural tendency to tear down its muscle mass for the valuable aminos held there. As a result, your muscle mass is spared while your body is provided with the raw materials it needs for other physiological processes.

Growth hormone and IGF are both powerful chemicals that boost muscle growth. Arginine supplementation helps to increase these hormone levels, and is thus another distinctive way that arginine and nitric oxide help to promote muscle growth.

Bodybuilders tend to overlook how taxing intense training can be on their immune systems. The situation is akin to a Catch-22: To stimulate muscle growth, you need to stress the body via weight training. On the flip side, intense weight training can weaken the immune system, which undercuts the body's ability to grow. So, what's the solution? Encouraging a stronger immune system is the best answer. By boosting your immune system, you allow your body to withstand the wear and tear of weight training. Supplementing with arginine (along with glutamine and protein) is a great way to ensure that your immune system is strong, and able to recover and grow from the training demands you're placing on it.

Dosing And Timing

The amount of arginine you should take varies from one individual to another. "Each person responds differently to arginine supplementation. You should determine your personal effective dose by starting with a low dose and then mentally increasing" Jackson recommends. "Arginine is generally well tolerated in doses ranging from 2-20 grams per day, split into three equal servings. For the best muscle-building results, be sure to take one dose both immediately before and after training." Side effects with arginine supplementation are minimal, but at higher doses some people report stomach upset, bloating, nausea and dizziness, Jackson says. If you experience any of these symptoms cut back on your daily dose.

Another point of confusion with arginine supplementation is which type you should take. Arginine comes in many different forms — all have benefits, but Jackson recommends staying with the basic as opposed to more recent formulations. "L-arginine HCL is the most scientifically documented and proven form of pure arginine. Stick with this version until the scientific community demonstrates otherwise" Jackson notes that arginine compounds such as arginine alpha-ketoglutarate, arginine ethyl ester and arginine malate may prove to be even more beneficial as additional research is performed on them, and they're certainly worthy alternatives. "Of these three compounds, based on scientifically-supported data at this point, I recommend arginine alpha-ketoglutarate over the other two."

Taking supplemental arginine can be beneficial to the human body in many ways, especially for those seeking to add muscle mass. Increasing your NO levels can help get your body on a path toward breaking through plateaus, and to making the muscle gains you want to see from your hard efforts in the gym.

N.O.By The Numbers

Try the following daily supplementation regimen as an aid to overcome plateaus. Follow the protocol for one week before stepping up days when you don't train, you should take only one of either t after-training doses (i.e., for Week 1, if you take a total of 4-workout days, take a total of 2 g on rest days).


Supplement Dose Timing



Week 1 Arginine 2G Before Workout

Arginine 2G After Workout

Glutamine 3G In The Morning

Glutamine 3G After Workout

Protein 40G Before Workout

Protein 40G Before Bed

Week 2 Arginine 2G In The Morning

Arginine 3G Before Bed

Arginine 3G After Workout

Glutamine 5G In The Morning

Glutamine 5G After Workout

Protein 40G Before Workout

Protein 40G After Workout

Protein 40G Before Bed

Week 3 Arginine 3G In The Morning

Arginine 4G Before Workout

Arginine 4G After Workout

Glutamine 5G In The Morning

Glutamine 5G Before Workout

Glutamine 5G After Workout

Protein 40G Before Workout

Protein 40G After Workout

Protein 40G Before Bed

Week 4 Arginine 5G In The Morning

Arginine 5G Before Workout

Arginine 5G After Workout

Glutamine 5G In The Morning

Glutamine 5G Before Workout

Glutamine 5G After Workout

Glutamine 5G Before Bed

Protein 40G Before Workout

Protein 40G After Workout

Protein 40G Before Bed