Chapter 34:
Mass Gains
There are a number of supplements used by weight trainers in an attempt to increase
either strength or mass gains. Although the CKD is probably not the optimal mass gaining diet,
many individuals choose to use these supplements to maintain strength and muscle mass while
dieting and they are discussed here.
Glutamine
Glutamine is one of the most popular supplements on the market right now. Glutamine is
typically considered a non-essential amino acid (AA) since it can be made within the body.
However, in times of high stress, it may become essential (2). Glutamine is involved in
maintaining the immune system (1) and low glutamine levels have been linked to overtraining in
endurance athletes (1). Weight training is a form of stress and, although not directly studied,
glutamine supplements have been suggested to help deal with the stress of training.
A majority of glutamine research has focused on its effect in critically ill individuals and
burn patients. It is a major mistake to extrapolate from pathologically ill patients to healthy,
weight training athletes although many authors in the field of nutrition have made that mistake.
Outside of its effects on immune system function, oral glutamine has also been shown to
elevate growth hormone levels in the bloodstream, which may be useful for fat loss (1). The
primary problem with oral glutamine supplementation is that glutamine is a major metabolic fuel
for the small intestine. As well, high doses of glutamine tend to be absorbed by the kidney with
the end result being that little of the glutamine ingested actually gets into the muscles (2).
A possible solution is to take glutamine in small doses throughout the day. Doses of 2
grams may not activate absorption by the kidney (1) and it should be possible to keep blood
glutamine levels high by taking it in this fashion.
However, a little known effect of glutamine is that it inhibits ketogenesis in the liver (2).
Many individuals have found that glutamine supplementation prevents them from establishing
ketosis. However others have not found this to be the case and, as with many supplements,
experimentation is the key. Glutamine probably has its greatest potential during the carb-up
period of the CKD.
Creatine Monohydrate
If there is a single sports supplement that has been shown to work under a variety of
conditions, it is creatine. Recall from chapter 19 that creatine phosphate (CP) is used to provide
short term energy for exercise lasting approximately 20-30 seconds. Numerous studies have
shown that supplementing with creatine monohydrate can increase muscular stores of CP and