Last Updated on June 25, 2020 by Mark
Do you want to feel healthier and look better?
For guys, this means building bigger muscles while getting rid of excess fat. That can be achieved through proper workouts, but your diet will have to be enhanced with supplements.
For some discerning bodybuilders, these supplements include fish oil. It’s not quite as common as whey protein, but more and more gym rats have realized the usefulness of taking fish oil for bodybuilding.
Supplements are an integral component of any fitness program. They can make the difference between succeeding or failing at achieving a fitness goal, whether it’s building more muscles or losing excess fat.
While buying fish oil supplements may seem like another expense, the benefits you enjoy will be worth every cent you spend on them.
What Exactly Is Fish Oil?
Doctors recommend that you should consume at least one portion of oily fish.
These fish varieties include whitebait, trout, tuna, swordfish, sprats, scad (horse mackerel), sardines, salmon, pilchards, mackerel, herring, carp, and anchovies.
It’s been found that most of the health benefits you can get from oily fish come from the Omega-3 fatty acids contained in the tissue of the fish.
Now you can get those Omega-3 fatty acids through fish oil extracted from these oily fish.
For many, having to take capsules for the Omega-3 is a much better option than eating the fish itself. Some people simply aren’t fans of fish. They can be expensive to buy, and they take time and effort to cook.
Having to take capsules is a much more convenient option.
It’s also better for those who don’t like the taste of oily fish, as well as for those who would rather not deal with the smell and the spindly skeleton of the fish.
With fish oil supplements, you can also be surer about the quality and purity of the omega-3 acids you take.
You can check to see just how much of the essential fatty acids such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) you actually get.
You also avoid the whole issue of pollutants such as mercury in your fish portions.
You need to realize that these fats cannot be made by the human body. Our bodies have to take them from our food.
If that’s not possible or unpalatable for you, then obviously taking the fish oil supplements is your alternative option.
The EPA and DHA fatty acids are mainly from fish, so you either get them from fish or from the fish oil supplements.
Interest in fish oil began in the 1970s when it was first noted how it can improve the health of people.
But as research continued, it soon became apparent that fish oil and bodybuilding benefits go together. The fish oil offered benefits that every bodybuilder can appreciate.
Why Bodybuilders Should Use Fish Oil
Yet it also offers benefits that are of particular benefits to people who work out a lot.
So what does fish oil do for bodybuilders?
Take a look at some of the benefits of taking fish oil for working out:
1.Fat Loss Benefits
It does seem ironic that Omega-3 fats can be taken by those who are trying to get rid of excess fat cells in the first place.
But it does make sense when you learn that not all fats are unhealthy. In fact, the body needs its daily intake of healthy fats.
One of the key differences of omega-3 fatty acids is that the body tends to consume them right away as a source of energy. This reduces the chance of your body instantly turning the fat as body fat.
The omega-3 increases your energy, so you’re more able to work hard when you work out.
They also boost the metabolism, so your body is more likely to burn off your excess body fat once you’ve burned off your daily calorie intake.
Fish oil can make you feel full for a longer period of time, and this can help you keep from craving for snacks in between meals.
2.Supports Muscle Growth
Fish oil supplements can help bodybuilders build bigger muscles in various ways. One basic benefit is that it can compensate for the lack of healthy fats that are commonly found in many diets today.
Sometimes this can become so extreme that people take less fat than they need to in order to function. They instead become restless and easily fatigue. With the fish oil supplements, such deficiencies can be avoided.
The fish oil supplement also reduces the levels of cortisol and other muscle-wasting (catabolic) hormones. This helps your body retain the muscles you’ve developed as you’ve worked out.
Also, fish oil improves protein synthesis. This helps make sure your muscles have more of the protein they need as raw materials to get bigger.
3.Improves Bone Health
As you get older, your bones start to become weaker as they lose essential minerals. This reduction in bone strength can then lead to conditions such as osteoporosis.
While you need calcium to combat this problem, omega-3 fatty acids are also able to support healthy bones. Having too little omega-3 in your system makes you more susceptible to having lower bone mineral density.
4.Reduces Inflammation
From a certain point of view, inflammation can be considered a good thing. It indicates that your immune system is working and that it is treating injuries to your body and fighting off infection.
But inflammation over time is called chronic inflammation, and this isn’t good at all. This chronic inflammation can make other chronic diseases worse. These include heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and even depression.
Fish oil can be used to help with this problem as it has anti-inflammatory properties. It can reduce inflammation and help treat various diseases that have chronic inflammation as one of the symptoms.
5.Increases Energy Level
We’ve already mentioned that the body uses the omega-3 fatty acids as a handy source of energy for your workout exertions.
You can then use this energy to work strenuously on your workouts so that you can build lean muscles and lose excess fat.
Energy is, of course, a crucial component of a proper workout. That’s because you can’t perform the same level of activity and the same amounts of weight indefinitely.
You have to keep improving, which means you’ll need to keep increasing the weights as well as the number of reps.
With the energy provided by the fish oil supplements, at least you’ll have the extra energy to perform all these strenuous activities.
6.Improves Cardiovascular Health
So what has your cardiovascular health got to do with bodybuilding and weightlifting?
What some people overlook is that when you really stress your body during your workouts, and that means you need more oxygen from your blood. So your heart will have to work much harder to pump the blood you need.
Consuming fish oil has been found to improve heart health. At least now, your heart has a better chance of weathering the extra workload when you work out hard to get muscles and lose fat.
7.Promotes Healthy Immune System
This is mainly achieved by the anti-inflammation properties of omega-3 fatty acids. It’s one of the omega 3 fish oil benefits that everyone can benefit from.
8.Improves Brain Health and Function
Speaking of benefits that can help everyone—fish oil can also maintain and improve your brain health.
While students and workers can surely benefit from this, so can bodybuilders. Many have found that an increased mental focus can help improve workout performance.
Part of the reason for this is that fish oil improves serotonin levels. This helps in improving various brain functions, including mental focus, memory, and reaction times.
Recommended Fish Oil Supplement
There are plenty of high-quality fish oil supplements out there, and Battle Ready Fish Oil exemplifies what you ought to look for in fish oil for muscle building.
It even contains vitamin E to help slow down the degradation of the fish oil. Fish oil can deteriorate in the packaging, which is why you want a “Consume By” date as late as possible.
At least with the vitamin E, you can be sure that your fish oil remains good for a longer time.
This is also in soft gel capsules, and you just take them with food or water. It’s very convenient, and you don’t have to worry about the taste at all.
Conclusion
Fish oil supplements offer numerous benefits for those who work out, and these benefits of fish oil for bodybuilding should make you consider adding them to your supplements list.
Just make sure you buy high-quality fish oil, and that you read the label instructions and follow them to the letter.
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