During the very intense workouts such as which the professional bodybuilders put their bodies through it has been proven that lots of glutamine is lost as a result. It is quite important that all efforts are made in replenishing the lost amounts of this critical amino acid because of the vital role that it plays in as far as bodybuilding is concerned. The amount of glutamine lost is increasingly high in the event that the body gets subjected to overtraining.
It was previously thought that it was futile to replenish the bodily glutamine through oral supplements since the research scientists thought that digestion of this important substance in the stomach would serve to convert it into the glutamate form. More research has been done on this issue and the researchers have produced enough evidence to suggest that glutamine is not converted into its glutamate. This is very welcome news for the bodybuilding fraternity seeing as it is now possible to add to your glutamine supply through oral replenishment. This is not only welcome from a nutritive point of view but also from a convenience standpoint.
Such knowledge is quite valuable to the bodybuilder since he or she can enter into the gym and then use such a glutamine supplement prior to beginning the rigorous workout. Of course this supplement has to be designed in such a way that it will be able to supply the glutamine in its free form thus making it easy for it to be absorbed directly into the blood stream. After completing the workout, the bodybuilder is best advised to use a supplement that will supply both high proteins and high carbohydrates to the body. Why is this so? The high proteins will ensure that the glutamine that has been lost in both the plasma and the muscles has been replaced. The high carbohydrates are important in ensuring that the hormone insulin is well equipped to direct the supplied glutamine into the muscle tissues.
Ensuring that the muscles are well supplied with amino acids is a good thing for more reasons than one. Muscles that are well supplied will tend to have a better rate of water absorption. The net effect is that the muscles will be fully hydrated, a condition that will optimize an anabolic state rather than a catabolic state where muscle is lost. A proper supply of these amino acids also means that it will be really difficult for the muscles to ever suffer from glutamine deficiency. The rate of recovery after a strenuous workout will be augmented and as such you will never quite be over trained.
The fact that the body can synthesize its own glutamine should not be an excuse to desist from taking enough of the same from external sources. Prudent bodybuilders will know better than to rely on their own bodily supply. This is because they are aware of just how much is lost in training; it is far much more than the body can supply on its own.