Maximizing Your Muscle-Building Potential: Four Legal Vegan Products Proven to Help You

Building muscle is a long process that requires an immense amount of effort – both in the gym and in the kitchen. As someone following a plant-based diet, you’re also more limited so far as options for high-quality protein sources, making things even more difficult. 

Given the promises of many fitness companies to take your physique to new heights, you may be wondering what supplements, if any, are worth the hype. In this article, you’ll learn about four products and ingredients proven to increase your potential for adding mass. 

1. Vegan Whey Protein Alternatives

Whey has been the gold standard for protein supplementation for years, and for a good reason – it has one of the best amino acid profiles available (determining the quality of the protein source), with high digestibility and great convenience. 

Even though whey is off the menu for vegans, that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of alternatives that work just as well. Pea isolate protein, for example, has been shown to exhibit very similar muscle-building capabilities, and you also have options such as soy, brown rice, hemp, and more.

2. Creatine

Creatine is one of the most widely researched muscle-building supplements available. Usually taken in the form of creatine monohydrate, creatine works by actively replenishing your body’s ATP stores (the energy used for maximum-effort activities like lifting weights), enabling you to get that extra rep where you would have otherwise failed. 

Given that progressive increases in strength over time (progressive overload) are one of the key drivers of muscle growth, you can see how this process would be beneficial. While creatine is naturally found in meat, creatine as a product is derived from synthetic sources, so you needn’t worry about that. 

3. Vegan BCAAs

BCAA is short for branch-chain amino acids, which are three of the nine essential amino acids required for supporting muscle growth (essential amino acids are those we can’t make ourselves and must be consumed through food). The BCAAs are leucine, isoleucine, and valine, which have been noted for having particular importance in the area of muscle growth and repair. 

BCAAs can be used in several different ways: one way is to take them before an intense workout to aid in preventing muscle breakdown, particularly if your workout is likely to be a long one. They can also be used to augment foods with a lower protein quality: for example, you could add a scoop to your morning oats to increase their muscle-building ability. 

4. SARMs

Finally, we have Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARMs), which have become popular in recent years for offering steroid-like effects without the associated legal implications and side effects.

SARMs work by being ‘selective’ about the tissues they augment, and in theory, only target the selected muscle tissues they’re designed for. The results of SARMs, whether they be administered as an ostarine liquid solution, as ligandrol, or in other forms, can be profound; it must be noted, however, that these are not FDA-approved substances, so do your own research before purchasing.