I'm a firm believer in getting a good dose of glutamine post-workout. Glutamine is one of those debatable ingredients: It's a conditionally essential amino acid that is one of the most prevalent in the body. Glutamine isn't all that special as far as noticeable benefits go. However, I provide 3 grams of glutamine in Post JYM because its levels are critical in muscle cells for muscle protein synthesis.

Glutamine is not only one of the amino acids needed for muscle protein synthesis—it’s also one of the highest-concentrated amino acids in the body, as many other bodily tissues use it. The kidneys, the immune system, and the digestive system all use glutamine for energy. If any of these organs or systems is cranked up, its energy needs will increase and it will pull glutamine from the muscle cells.

Exercise is a stress on the body that ramps up the immune system. When this happens, the immune system will need extra glutamine—and will take it from the muscles. Research has shown that if muscle glutamine levels are low after exercise, protein synthesis may be compromised.

So it makes sense to get in a dose of readily available glutamine. It can quickly supply the intestines and immune cells the energy they need, as well as restock muscle levels so that muscle protein synthesis can be maximized when you get in your protein blend—like Pro JYM—and BCAAs—also present in Post JYM.

As for dosing, go for 3-5 grams of glutamine as soon after your workout as possible, so that protein synthesis isn't compromised and muscle growth can be maximized. Many people have stomach issues taking glutamine, so start on the lower end of the dosing scale. This stomach sensitivity issue is why I have 3 grams of glutamine in Post JYM. This dose helps reduce these issues yet still provides an adequate dose to get the job done.

You can take glutamine at other times of day, too, but if the immune system isn't revved up—such as after workouts—it won’t likely provide a huge benefit. That’s why I only recommend 3-5 grams taken post-workout. That way the immune system and your intestines have enough of it, and the muscles are topped off too, so recovery and muscle growth can be maximized. That's what we're trying to do—maximize results.

Creatine is without a doubt one of the most effective supplements ever to be sold. The main way that creatine monohydrate works is by serving as a major energy-producing molecule inside muscle cells.

As I’ve explained before—it's synthesized in the body, primarily in the liver—from the two amino acids arginine and glycine. Muscle tissue does not produce creatine, and therefore it must take up creatine from the bloodstream. Once inside muscle cells, creatine gets a high-energy phosphate attached to it and is then known as phosphocreatine (PCr) or creatine phosphate.

It is this high-energy molecule that's one of the most critical components of creatine’s beneficial effects in the body, for this reason: Creatine donates its high-energy phosphate to create adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is used by the muscle for the rapid energy it needs for contraction, such as during weightlifting.This provides the muscle fibers the quick bursts of energy they need when lifting weights or running fast.

Research has also discovered that creatine can increase levels of the important compound insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and blunt the production of the muscle-growth-inhibiting protein myostatin. This leads to bigger and stronger muscles.

In fact, research suggests that creatine can increase muscle mass by as much as 10 pounds and boost strength gains by 10 percent in just a few weeks. It also has been proven in several studies to be very safe with long-term use and to even provide a variety of health benefits.

The reason I have you taking creatine post-workout is the fact that post-workout I also recommend getting those branched-chain amino acids, and leucine spikes insulin. But I also recommend getting fast-digesting carbs post-workout. Remember, you want to recover properly. Those fast-digesting carbs may be important for glycogen resynthesis in muscle, replacing those carbs—but here it's critical for insulin.

Insulin is required for creatine to get into the muscle, so you want to be taking your creatine at a time when absorption and uptake by the muscles is maximized. And what we now know is that post-workout that uptake can be maximized—if you have enough insulin.

Most of the research is done with creatine monohydrate. It's a very effective form of creatine. It's just not absorbed as well as creatine hydrochloride (HCl). When creatine monohydrate sits in your intestine and is not taken up, water gets drawn into the intestines. When you have water drawn into the intestines, that gives you diarrhea.

That’s why my preferred form of creatine is creatine HCl. That's the form that causes far fewer stomach issues, so that's the form I recommend most people use. The hydrochloric acid that's added actually enhances its solubility and enhances its uptake.

That way it's not something that you can't take because you have stomach issues. The research has shown that creatine HCl is absorbed by the intestines almost 70% better than monohydrate. You need less than monohydrate, and it causes far fewer stomach issues. 2g, I find, is the perfect dose pre- and post-workout.

Beta-alanine can help with blunting fatigue—but it does this by being converted into another compound. In the body, this amino acid and histidine combine to form the dipeptide (two aminos bound together) known as carnosine; it's also a component of vitamin B3 (pantothenic acid).

Research shows that muscles with higher levels of carnosine can generate more forceful contractions for a longer period, resulting in better gains in strength, endurance, and mass. In one study, subjects who took beta-alanine along with creatine gained more muscle mass and lost more bodyfat than subjects taking just creatine.

Getting 2g of beta-alanine post-workout when the muscles are going to be taking up more nutrients is ideal to increase those levels and help blunt fatigue for workouts later on down the road.

Carnitine is often categorized as an amino acid, but that's not exactly accurate. Carnitine is considered a vitamin-like and amino acid-like compound that's related to the B vitamins. More specifically, it's an ammonia-containing compound that's formed in the liver and kidneys from the amino acids lysine and methionine.

Although it's formed in these organs, it's stored primarily in muscle—including the heart—as well as the brain, and even in sperm. Carnitine exists in two forms: D-carnitine and L-carnitine. The L-form is the one found in nature, and is biologically active. The D-form, on the other hand, is biologically inactive and may actually have negative effects on the body.

In addition to boosting athletic performance, carnitine also has anabolic properties that can help to increase muscle growth and strength gains. Research shows that carnitine influences testosterone. University of Connecticut researchers found that carnitine increases the amount of testosterone receptors—known as androgen receptors—inside muscle cells.

The more of these receptors you have in your muscle cells, the more of your testosterone that can bind to them and stimulate muscle growth. In addition, research shows that carnitine supplementation facilitates the action of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), a critical growth factor for stimulating growth, by boosting levels of one of its binding proteins that enhances its anabolic actions.

It's imperative that you supplement carnitine at a time when you're consuming fast-digesting carbs to spike insulin levels, such as post-workout. This is one of the reasons why I included 2g of carnitine in Post JYM. The early studies that showed no benefit of carnitine failed to adequately raise muscle carnitine levels—it wasn't supplied at a time when insulin would be spiked and muscle uptake would be adequate.

The newer research shows that insulin levels must be quite high for adequate amounts of carnitine to enter muscle cells, where it performs the majority of its work. On the flip side, taking carnitine enhances insulin's actions at the muscle cells, helping to deliver more glucose into the muscles as well as more carnitine. While as little as 1g of carnitine can be effective, your best bet is to take 2-3g per dose for maximum benefit, along with at least 30g of high-glycemic carbs and 20-40g of protein.

Your body uses betaine—also called trimethylglycine—for joint and liver repair, joint-building, and liver-protective reactions. Supplementing with it may support faster recovery from injury and inflammation. This unique amino acid derived from beets is quickly becoming one of the most popular supplements out there due to the research that has begun piling up on betaine's ability to boost muscle strength and power, as well as increase growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) levels. It also increases the body's own production of creatine.

Research shows it increases strength, increases muscle size, increases muscle power—when it's taken multiple times a day. Research from the University of Connecticut, which is where I did my doctoral work, started finding out that taking betaine in these two doses—right around 1.5g, I find, is sort of the perfect dose for most people—actually increases strength and power.

And recent research is showing that it also increases muscle growth. I've been seeing that in the gym with people who've switched to taking betaine on top of the creatine and beta-alanine, but now the research is supporting that. It actually can enhance muscle growth, so that's another amino acid that you want to be getting pre- and post-workout, and that's why it's in Pre and Post JYM.

Taurine is another amino acid. I don't really talk much about taurine. Taurine is one of those amino acids that work well to enhance energy, as well as muscle strength. Research shows that when taurine levels drop in muscle fibers, your strength and your endurance in that muscle—that muscle fiber's ability to contract with more force—diminish. So taurine is a popular pre-workout supplement but few people take it after.

You're taking it pre-workout to make sure you have enough in the muscle, but you're also using it up during exercise. So I have it in your post-workout as well to replenish those levels.

Some of the most critical players in your post-workout nutrition are the branched-chain amino acids. Each serving of Post JYM—which I recommend to take within 30 minutes after every workout—provides 6g of BCAAs.

The branched-chain amino acids include leucine, isoleucine, and valine. And it's important that all three of them are provided in a product if you're going to provide any one of them. Research shows that all BCAAs work far better when taken together, right around a 2:1:1 ratio.

The Post JYM formula that I have, I boosted the leucine ratio just up to 3:1:1—leucine to isoleucine to valine—that way, you get just a bit more leucine. It bumps it up to just under 4g because, post-workout, leucine now becomes the star player.

Leucine actually instigates muscle protein synthesis—It's like a key in the ignition of a car, it literally turns it on. And it's critical—we now know that you need a certain amount of leucine to fully get that car started. So make sure you're getting an adequate amount of leucine in your post-workout BCAAs.

In your pre-workout nutrition, when you take BCAAs they’re used as an energy source. That's why you're taking them—not for muscle growth. Muscle growth doesn't happen until the workout is over. You want to get another dose of BCAAs post-workout—but the ratio must be proper.

Now I've talked about that 2:1:1 ratio of leucine to isoleucine to valine in pre-workout; here, we can raise the ratio a little bit just to get some extra leucine—like I said, you really want to make sure you're getting enough of that leucine to turn on that ignition, which in this case is muscle protein synthesis, and that's how muscle grows.

The other importance of the BCAAs in my Post JYM formula is to actually help boost insulin. Post JYM also contains creatine HCl at 2g, and L-carnitine L-tartrate at a 2g dose. Those are the proper doses that you want to have of each of those ingredients post-workout. But the research shows that both of those ingredients won't get taken up by the muscle adequately unless insulin is present.

The leucine in the BCAAs helps to spike insulin, which is why I boosted it up just a little bit more to a 3:1:1 ratio, to help instigate muscle protein synthesis and to boost that insulin release—which is going to help the other ingredients get taken up by the muscles.

Remember, when it comes to your branched-chain amino acids, pre-workout—energy; post-workout—muscle growth and recovery.

Piperine is an active extract derived from black or long pepper. Research suggests piperine enhances nutrient absorption, most likely by increasing blood flow to the digestive tract. For example, ingesting vitamin B6 along with Bioperine-branded piperine more than doubled the amount of B6 found in the blood of healthy men two hours after ingestion. It has been shown to increase the absorption of numerous other ingredients.

Studies have shown that 5mg of black pepper extract is sufficient to enhance nutrient absorption.