Bodybuilding supplement development trends

Wade Brothers

Bodybuilding supplements can be said to be a major contribution of the Wade brothers to the bodybuilding industry. However, looking at the decline of the ‘Wade’ brand, we can also take a look at the entire supplement development process.

Regarding supplements, most bodybuilders can list N types, from whey protein powder to creatine, glutamine, BCAA, HMB, which became popular and then faded out of sight for a while, to the current trend of nitrox supplements. Wait, then go to growth hormones and anti-estrogens (in the United States, non-competitive use of growth hormones is legal, so it can be counted as a supplement). As everyone knows, this is also an outdated classification.

Today’s supplements have evolved from a single ingredient to complexity and diversification. Just look at the two most common ones, protein powder and creatine.

For the vast majority of Chinese fitness enthusiasts, protein powder is still in the stage of eating whey and using OPP. In fact, the current protein powder market has compressed whey protein powder into a corner and replaced it with sustained-release protein, which has a longer acting time. Protein powder that lasts longer and releases amino acids more stably.

The general development process can be represented by some familiar products, from Op’s whey protein powder to the use of slowly digested proteins such as casein (there are branches here, such as meal replacement packs and cytosport’s MUSCLE MILK , I think the positioning ingredients of this product have always been very vague) to BSN's SYNTHA 6, and then to OP's nitro core24, this trend is becoming more and more obvious. However, muscletech's NITROTECH has blurred the definition of protein powder to a greater extent. Definition, a large amount of creatine, insulin catalyst, and even nitrogen and oxygen ingredients are added to increase blood nitrogen levels. The point I expounded is evident.

Looking at creatine, many bodybuilders may be unfamiliar with compound creatine and may even have misunderstandings. In fact, this is a product that has been on the market for a long time. What is compounding? This is also constantly changing. From the original creatine monohydrate mixed with glucose, it increases insulin levels and provides a membrane-permeable carrier to create good absorption levels. The most typical example is being banned by everyoneThe divine NUTREXVITARGO CGL can only be said to be the creatine of the last century plus the sugar of this century. Vitargo is amylose corn starch, which is decomposed and absorbed faster than glucose. Secondly, this product has no other technical content. . The second type of compound is the compound of creatine itself. It mixes various other creatine hydrates with creatine monohydrate, plus vitargo and other powdered sugar, represented by muscletech's celltech. The third compound is esterified creatine. The ester does not require a carrier and can directly penetrate the cell membrane, so the absorption rate is greatly improved and the dependence on sugar powder is reduced (the pancreatic effect is still needed). The representative is BSN's CELLMASS. The fourth type is ROS-inhibitory creatine. Based on the previous technology, it reduces the inhibitory effect of creatine in cells on ROS, thereby maximizing the effectiveness of creatine. The representative is the creakic of MT.

I said above that everyone’s classification of supplements is outdated. Where exactly is it outdated? Today’s supplements can only be divided into three categories, PRE TRAINING, POST TRAINING and Fundamental, that is, before training, after training, and Basic supplements. Muscletech is currently the most clamoring in the US market. Except for nitrotech, which can be classified as protein powder, and celltech creakic, which can be classified as creatine, none of its supplements can be classified according to the original standards. This is not a one-off product. BSN followed up by printing pretraining CELLMASS on the latest packaging of NOXPLODE and printing postSYNTHA6 on FUNDAMENTAL.

However, the continuous advancement of supplements has also brought about a problem, that is, the boundaries between supplements and what we often call medicines are becoming increasingly blurred. Perhaps 4AD 3 years ago, exogenous hormone precursors and testosterone boosters such as MTHALO were still within the scope of medicine. However, now supplement manufacturers are not shy about flaunting the efficacy of their ANABOLIC, and even MT One of the vitamins is named ANABOLIC VITAKIC. We have to keep pushing back the line between supplements and drugs, but no matter where we draw it, there will be some supplements that cross this line.

Why am I writing this article? It can only be said that I am worried about the development of domestic supplements. I visited Taobao shopping mall today, and I still found the same three, Opple, Bora and Champion. The following can be regarded as some words for operators. China’s supplement development is at least 10 years behind the United States. On the one hand, this requires the enlightenment of theoretical science and technology. On the other hand, for the supplement industry, we also need to actively open this door. , providing more choices for fitness enthusiasts, and moreNew technology, in this way, a market can continue to develop and a country's level can also improve.