Supplement For Strength, Not Mass

No matter what your goals, these six supplements can help you build lean muscle, burn fat and even fight aging.

- Steve Downs, CSCS

For many women who train with weights, increasing strength and lifting performance is more important than building muscle mass. Of course, any strength gains will be accompanied by improvements in muscle tone and shape — everyone desires these upgrades. But if you want to hoist more weight, you have to carefully select your nutritional supplements.

For starters, every strength-training diet should begin with adequate protein. This is the fuel by which muscles grow. To stay strong, your daily intake should be between 1 to 1.5 grams per pound of bodyweight, divided so that you don’t consume more than 25 grams at any one sitting (for greatest absorption). About 20 percent of this could be taken immediately after working out.

What follows are key vitamins and other nutrients that will help your muscles contract more powerfully without tremendously increasing their overall size.

BCAAs.