4 Power Foods That Don’t Clean Out The Pockets Of Those Who Work At Building Muscles

Muscle Building Foods

Yes, body building pills and powders do cost a fortune and yet enjoy an inelastic demand (not quite so susceptible to pricing hikes) from people who love working out and building up their bodies.

Yet, what if I told you that each of those whey protein jars, the fat burning drinks and the performance enhancing pills could easily be substitutable with something way cheaper, something you may find right in your household and something that will not give you side effects!

What if I told you that you can go right ahead and do your ‘gymming’ to firm up your muscles without the process of buying such ancillary products cleaning out your pockets?

Yes, there are in fact household substitutes for these fancy performance enhancers even though their manufacturers might want to stress otherwise. Here are the top 4 power foods that can act as your substitutes, what’s even better is that they are 100 percent vegetarian.

Whey Protein Substitute: Soy Protein

Most men swear by their whey protein brands for their recovery and performance factors post and pre workouts. Well, it is indeed a proven fact that milk based proteins that give over 90gms of proteins per 100gms intake are the most superlative form of proteins out there.

Still, if you want the proteins but are a little more pocket conscious, you might want to try the next best alternative – soy protein. Yup, supplement your workouts with this stuff before and after your workout and you will not only see improved performance during your ‘sweat-ahon’ but also increase muscle mass in time.

Oh, did I mention that this stuff is cheap! Really cheap! Oh and it is vegetarian! And it improves your heart health! Now clump all that with the biggest advantage of all, that it is only marginally (very minutely marginally…) inferior to its whey protein counterpart.

Soy protein gives you about 88gms of protein per 100gms intake. Not bad at all in comparison right! So, vegetarian weight pumpers can now rejoice!

Nitric Oxide Substitute: A Dear Cup of Coffee

First of all, for the ‘new to bodybuilding product terms’ newbie’s, nitric oxide is not the same as the nitrous oxide you find in the Fast and Furious movies ok! It is simply a pre-workout drink that gives your workout an additional boost or punch as they say.

If you schedule your workouts after a long day at work, you definitely need a power lift if you intend to go through a grinding power workout. Sport performance boosters such as nitric oxide give you that spurt of energy that gets your going on high drive!

Yet, the same poweress can easily be obtained from something a lot cheaper, not to mention more ‘socializing’ friendly. After work, just drop in at the friendly neighborhood Starbucks or Mugg & Bean and grab a cup of double expresso.

If you are half asleep or just about prodding on your own two feet, you need this electric shock pre-workout. Just one thing though, you may want to stick to the coffee and not load it with extra sugar or milk eh?

A dietitian and sports scientist David Yang, has actually come up with a workable formula for just how much coffee you should gulp down, 5 minutes before you really hectic, really body taxing workouts. The formula asks you multiply with bodyweight in kilograms with about 5 mg of caffeine and consume that resulting amount to actually make that punch register on the heavy punching bag.

Testosterone Boosting Product Substitute: Fenugreek

Lots of gym goers who actually want to build up muscle mass without taking steroid injections go at it in a round about way, by building up their testosterone levels. It is a proven fact that building up testosterone not improves the amount of muscle mass you build up during your exercise but it also improves your aggression during combat classes and not so surprisingly build up your sex drive.

But an alternative for the testosterone building pill poppers might want to substitute their pills for something much more easily (and inexpensively) available, namely fenugreek (methi). Some studies have actually crowned fenugreek to be the testosterone-building king that beats commercial pills hands down.

Try fenugreek. It will improve your libido along with helping build stronger muscles, giving you higher amounts of residual energy and leaving you feeling generally good about your work out session.

Just for the record, just because fenugreek builds up testosterone does not mean that women cannot take it. Of course you will not necessarily notice a change in your libido but hey, you too want lean muscles don’t you?

Fat Burning Product Substitute: Green Tea

If you are sick of hearing the whole world rave about the miracle benefits of green tea, join the club. But the fact that green tea is quit simply that good is undeniable. Though it has been proven that green tea is nowhere close in fat burning power when compared to some commercial products such as ALA (Alpha Lipoic Acid), it is still the fat burner for the money skimper!

Additionally, green tea is an antioxidant powerhouse that prevents cancer and reduces swelling and inflammation. Oh, if you must make your tea sweet, use a spoonful of honey; sugar is just such a no-no!

If you have any more pre or post gym products to add to my list, do post in your comments. Looking forward to some other ideas that can help vegetarians or people who are a little cost conscious.

P.S if you’re a beginner body builder, do check out this essential bodybuilding tips for beginners guide.  I personally found it to be a very detailed and useful resource of information.