There is no need to buy expensive pre-workout shakes that promise to improve your muscle “pump”. They label their products as if they contain nitric oxide, a chemical the body makes to dilate arteries.  Artery dilation allows muscles to become engorged, so that you feel a stronger “pump” during your weight training sessions.   The truth is, that none of them actually contain any nitric oxide at all.  Most of them contain a large amount of caffeine, which makes you feel more energetic, but many do not contain any ingredients that increases nitric oxide production.

A more pocket friendly alternative to improving your muscle pump, would be to supplement with L-Arginine.  The body uses L-arginine to make nitric oxide.  It may not give you the energy surge that a dose caffeine does, but when you feel your muscles increasingly throbbing with blood on each rep, it will motivate you to workout harder.  Take 1000 mg about 20 minutes before your workout and get ready for enhanced muscle engorgement with each set.  Nitric oxide has other benefits as well.  It also increases blood flow to the brain and genitals helping you feel alert and ready to go in the bedroom respectively.  L-arginine is also a secretagogue, whcih means that it stimulates your pituitary gland to release growth hormone.  Growth hormone increases lean muscle and fat loss, which is probably why you are wieght training, right?  With L-arginine, you can only win.

Dr. John W. Phelts, D.C. performs a simple non-invasive test to determine if L-Arginine would be beneficial to you.  He does this at Phelts Chiropractic PC, in New York, NY, which serves the 10016, 10018, & 10017 zip codes.