The Top 12 Best Supplements For Rapid Muscle Growth
As much as Hollywood would have us believe otherwise, building muscle takes time, energy, and dedication. For some men, they’ll work out for months before they start to see even the slightest growth.
But it doesn’t have to be this hard. Using the right supplements, you can increase muscle growth, build new mass, and achieve the body of your dreams.
Finding the right supplement isn’t easy. Walk into any vitamin or supplement store and you’ll see just how many products are currently on the market.
Fortunately, we’ve got you covered. This guide will introduce you to 12 of the best products, share some of their active ingredients, and explain how they can help you build a strong, lean body.
Keep reading to find out how you can build the body of a Greek god in no time!
The 12 Best Muscle Building Supplements For Growth
This section will introduce you to 12 of the best supplements on the market. We’ve independently gone through and reviewed these products based on their ingredients, quality, pricing, and effectiveness.
After reviewing our data, we’re proud to introduce what we believe to be the best muscle-building supplements around.
Here’s our list:
- Huge Ecdysterone: Best Overall Lean Muscle Builder
- Sapogenix: Best For Gaining Strength And Power
- Annihilate: Best For Mass
- Enhance: Best For Increasing Testosterone Levels
- Arachidone: Best For Muscle Pumps
- Huge BCAA: Best For Protein Synthesis
- Huge Whey: Best For Muscle Recovery
- Magnify: Best For Increasing Nitric Oxide
- Epitech: Best For Boosting Myostatin
- Eliminate: Best For Fat Loss
- Formula XII: Best For During Workouts
- Huge Multi: Best For Health
Let’s check them out individually and see what they have to offer.
1. Huge Nutrition Ecdysterone – Best Overall Lean Muscle Builder
If you’re looking for a product to help quickly build lean muscle mass, you won’t find much better than Huge Nutrition Ecdysterone.
As its name suggests, this supplement is made from a natural anabolic compound called Ecdysterone, which can help you build mass faster than ever before.
What sets this muscle-building supplement apart from others, though, is that it helps do more than just build muscle mass.
Ecdysterone also increases your overall strength and endurance and helps speed up your recovery after an intense workout.
After taking the supplement, you’ll perform better, last longer, and be ready to work out again sooner. Best of all, Ecdysterone is entirely natural.
Researchers first isolated the Ecdysteroid hormone in insects and identified it as a crucial regulator in arthropodal molting. The more of the hormone an arthropod had, the faster it regenerated tissue. Researchers then questioned if it could also increase muscle generation.
When applied to humans, they were happy to find that it did.
Supplement manufacturer Huge has since made Ecdysterone into one of the best muscle-building supplements in the world. It’s well-reviewed across the Internet, which should tell you a lot about its usefulness.
Simply take 1 tablet of Ecdysterone in the morning and 1 in the evening for 8 to 12 weeks and watch as your body transforms. Be warned, though, Huge Ecdysterone sells out quickly so be sure to get your bottle before it’s gone!
2. Sapogenix – Best For Stronger Muscles
If you’re looking to gain more strength rather than just mass, Sapogenix is the product for you. It’s formulated using a complex blend of natural plant saponins that you won’t find in other supplements on the market.
After just a week of taking Sapogenix, you’ll begin seeing results and, as you continue to work out, your new muscle growth will be denser and stronger than before.
Don’t be surprised if the weights you normally lift seem lighter than before. As you grow stronger, you’ll need to increase your weight to continue seeing results.
Within just a few months, you’ll have fuller, more vascular muscles that can work longer and harder than ever before.
As you start taking Sapogenix, start with one tablet in the morning and another at night. Continue for 8 to 12 weeks, making sure to take a dose every single day—not just on the days you work out.
Most users following this dosage have had nothing but good reviews, stressing that Sapogenix has helped them grow larger, stronger muscles faster than ever before.
3. Huge Annihilate – Best For More Mass
If you want massive, veiny muscles, try taking Annihilate from Huge Nutrition. It’s a pretty simple supplement made from just one active ingredient—laxogenin—but it’s one of the most popular products among bodybuilders and weightlifters.
5a-hydroxy laxogenin is a derivative of the naturally occurring plant hormone diosgenin, which helps promote new growth in plant tissues.
By modifying a few of the bonds in diosgenin, researchers have been able to apply that same growth to human muscle tissues. Today, it makes up the backbone of roughly 50% of all steroid products.
Although it’s still under constant research, laxogenin has been approved as a dietary compound and has been used to help:
- Burn fat
- Build muscle mass
- Increase protein synthesis
- Lower cortisol concentrations
It’s commonly used among bodybuilders and well-reviewed across the Internet for its ability to balloon your muscle growth.
Start by taking 2 tablets of Annihilate a day—once in the morning and once at night—and continue the course over an 8-to-12-week period.
You’ll start seeing results within just a few weeks and should continue exercising as your muscles grow.
4. Enhance – Best For Increasing Testosterone Levels
A lot of bodybuilders overlook testosterone boosters, thinking they’re only good for boosting your libido and helping to offset hormone imbalances.
Others question whether boosting testosterone levels even affects muscle growth. With Enhance, though, you get more than just a boost of natural testosterone—you also get renewed energy, more endurance, and stronger muscles.
Enhance isn’t your normal testosterone booster. It’s built using a complex blend of 9 natural ingredients that help you run faster, lift heavier, and last longer in the gym.
With nearly every lift, you’ll find you’re stronger and gaining faster than before. After a workout, you won’t feel exhausted and you’ll be ready to get back to exercising the next day.
From week to week, check in with your performance and gauge whether you need to increase your weights. It’s not uncommon for your gains to quickly outperform your standard weights so you’ll need to go heavier to continue seeing results.
The only downside to taking Enhance is its large dosage. Start with 8 capsules a day, taken with water and food. Most lifters take their dose in the morning before a workout to help prep their bodies for exercise. Continue this dosage for 8 to 12 weeks.
5. Arachidone – Best For Muscle Pumps
This next product is amazing for quickly pumping up muscle thanks to its unique formulation of arachidonic acids. These compounds are naturally occurring polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acids that play a crucial role in animal growth and development. When consumed, they increase muscular inflammation, helping to break down fat and boost recovery times.
Compared to other products that use arachidonic acids, Huge Nutrition’s Arachidone contains 1,500 mg of pure Arachidone, making it one of the highest concentrations on the market. It helps boost protein synthesis, creating stronger and bulkier muscles with less effort. Your muscles will become denser and capable of longer workouts without reaching burnout.
With Arachidone, you only have to take 3 or 4 capsules a day. It’s best to take your dose in the morning before a workout with your breakfast.
After dosing, be sure to exercise intensely to get the best results. After 8 to 12 weeks, you should see incredible results.
6. Huge BCAA – Best For Protein Synthesis
No supplement stash would be complete without an effective, top-quality BCAA supplement. Essentially, branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are a class of essential amino acids, consisting of valine, leucine, and isoleucine, that help synthesize new proteins and build denser, stronger muscles. Although you get plenty of BCAA from a healthy diet, it never hurts to supplement more.
Huge Nutrition’s BCAA is prized for its ability to reduce muscle fatigue and stave off soreness after an intense workout. You’ll be back in the gym sooner and have the strength to make it through your next workout without burnout.
Each scoop of Huge BCAA offers 19.4 grams of the supplement, packed with 8000 mg of branched-chain amino acids. These protein building blocks are stacked at a 2:1:1 ratio, in line with scientifically backed recommendations for maximizing protein synthesis.
Yet, Huge BCAA doesn’t stop there. It also combines block-chain amino acids with other essential amino acids to further increase new protein growth.
With just one scoop of BCAA a day, you’ll see new muscle growth within just a couple of weeks.
Combine the powder with water every morning and drink before a workout. Most bodybuilders prefer to take BCAA with breakfast to prepare them for exercise.
7. Whey Protein – Best For Recovery
You’ll struggle to find a bodybuilder that isn’t already taking some form of whey protein to build stronger, denser, and bulkier muscles.
Compared to other protein sources, whey is much healthier than fatty meats and offers more essential amino acids than other carb-heavy protein-rich vegetables. For this reason, you need to be including Huge Whey Protein in your stack.
Huge Whey comes in two flavors with two different protein contents. These flavors are perfect for bodybuilders who are tired of the same old chocolate and vanilla flavor profiles:
- Cookies and Cream – 23 g of pure whey protein
- Chocolate Peanut Butter – 25.5 g of pure whey protein
In just a single serving, you’ll get more protein than other products and can enjoy the rich flavors with a meal or snack after your workout. Whey protein helps your muscles recover after an intense lift by providing the essential amino acids necessary to heal microtears in your skeletomuscular tissue.
Their Cookies and Cream flavor might contain less protein but it’s easier on your waistline with only 120 calories. Chocolate Peanut Butter, on the other hand, might contain slightly more protein but it’s also more calorically dense with 150 calories.
Keep this in mind as you exercise and don’t forget to work in some cardio to burn fat.
8. Magnify – Best For Nitric Oxide
Stronger and larger muscles mean nothing if they can’t perform more than a few reps. Boosting nitric oxide can help get more oxygen into your muscles, helping them last longer with more endurance and greater performance.
Magnify supplements the nitric oxide your body needs to unlock its full potential.
Our bodies naturally produce nitric oxide (NO) to relax and expand our blood vessels. As blood vessels expand, oxygen can more easily pass through the body and into our muscular cells.
Through cellular respiration, our muscles offload toxic carbon dioxide and are refreshed with oxygen. By speeding up this process, you’ll perform stronger and longer than before.
Magnify doesn’t just inject synthetic NO directly into your bloodstream, though. Instead, it gives your body the tools to produce its own natural nitric oxide. By combining six different active ingredients, Magnify scientifically helps you perform better.
Compared to other nitric oxide supplements, you will have to take a larger dose. Starting out, you should take 5 capsules of Magnify every day with breakfast.
That being said, though, Magnify has more active ingredients in each capsule than its competitors, meaning you’ll see results far faster than with another supplement.
Find it online at Huge Nutrition’s dedicated webpage.
9. Epitech – Best For Myostatin
A lot of men complain that they just can’t grow new muscle. While it might sound like a copout, researchers have actually found a reason why this is true.
The culprit is myostatin. Myostatin is a naturally occurring protein that inhibits muscle development, keeping you from growing more muscle mass than you naturally need.
Although it’s meant to keep your body from overgrowing, myostatin becomes a real pain in the butt when you’re trying to bulk up. Fortunately, Epitech can help overcome the inhibitory effects of myostatin thanks to epicatechin.
This flavanol exists in trace amounts in chocolate, coffee, and green tea but Epitech concentrates it into a potent supplement guaranteed to help you stave of myostatic atrophy.
Epitech combines 250 mg of epicatechin with 20 mg of bioperine and 50 mg of astrgin to create a powerfully potent anabolic supplement that can be stacked with other muscle-building products.
Take two capsules of Epitech a day—once in the morning with breakfast and once in the evening before bed—for 8 to 12 weeks and see the results. You’ll start seeing explosive muscle growth in just a few weeks and can start lifting heavier in no time.
10. Eliminate – Best For Fat Loss
If you’re after the lean, cut look of a Greek god, you can’t just lift weights—you also have to burn fat. No matter how much you lift, you’ll never have a six-pack if your stomach is layered with subcutaneous fat.
Dieting can help shed a few pounds but if you really want to boost your body’s fat-burning potential, we recommend Eliminate.
Eliminate uses the scientific principles of thermogenesis to help you burn fat. By introducing your body’s metabolic boosters, such as caffeine, green tea extract, green coffee extract, and acetyl-L-carnitine, you’ll naturally start burning calories at a higher rate.
As long as you don’t change your diet, this will trigger a caloric deficit, encouraging your body to burn fat.
The beauty of Eliminate, though, is that it specifically targets fat cells. For most guys, their bodies begin burning muscle tissue when they start cutting. With Eliminate, though, you can shed pounds of fat without ever losing a single ounce of lean, strong muscle.
Start taking Eliminate with just three capsules every day at breakfast. You experience a boost of energy that can carry you through your workouts and help burn calories at a faster rate.
After 8 to 12 weeks, you’ll see defined muscle mass that’s been hidden behind layers of fat.
11. Formula XII – Best For Intra Workout
After a workout, your body needs the energy to build new muscle tissue. Unfortunately, though, if you’re not giving yourself the necessary glycogen, your body will instead burn muscle mass. Formula XII can help restore your body’s glycogen levels between workouts to prevent this process.
When we eat, our bodies transform carbohydrates into glucose, which can then be burned for energy. Any glucose that isn’t immediately used is stored as glycogen.
Glycogen then acts as a backup energy source for our muscles. After a workout, you’ll likely have burned through your glycogen stores.
Formula XII is a carbohydrate-based intra-workout supplement that combines 12 different ingredients to guarantee that you have all the energy you need to grow strong, dense muscles.
It comes in two unique flavors—candy apple and tropical bunch—that you’re sure to enjoy.
Take just one serving of Formula XII before, during, or after a workout and feel yourself recovery far faster than ever before.
12. Huge Multi – Best For Health
As a bodybuilder, you can’t forget the basics. You’ll need more than protein and a few supplementary products to build healthy muscle tissue. You also need a complex blend of vitamins and minerals. Taking a daily multivitamin will help fill in any gaps in your diet and guarantee that you’re lifting at peak performance.
Huge Multi is rightly named with a huge dose of vitamins and minerals. A single serving provides 14 essential vitamins, 8 vital minerals, and 10 other active ingredients to help push you through your daily exercise and routine.
This complex formulation helps boost your immune system and supports healthy hormone production, staving off imbalances caused by other stacked supplements.
Simply take one Huge Multivitamin a day with breakfast and enjoy the benefits as you continue your journey towards the body you always wanted.
Ranking The Best Supplements For Muscle Growth
With so many products promising bigger muscles, increased strength, and better endurance, it wasn’t easy to narrow our list down to just 12 products.
After carefully assessing each supplement, we came up with a set of strict criteria to eliminate inferior supplements.
We went through each product and judged them based on these factors:
Ingredients and Dosages
First and foremost, we went through each supplement’s list of ingredients, making sure to only include supplements formulated from natural or naturally occurring compounds.
We understand how important it is to generate clean, lean muscle without polluting the body with manmade, synthetic chemicals.
Therefore, if we found trace amounts of non-naturally occurring compounds, we immediately struck the product from our list.
We also wanted to share a wide range of products, offering as many active and verified ingredients as possible. Each item on this list is unique for its complex formulation of hormones, proteins, vitamins, and acids.
Stacked together, these 12 products would provide every possible opportunity for your body to grow strong and massive muscles in just a few weeks.
Included in this was a consideration for how long the products take to work and how many capsules or scoops you would have to consume to see results.
Supplements can quickly become expensive so we limited our list to products that show results without requiring you to take fistfuls of pills and powders. This way, you can focus on your lifting rather than your wallet.
Benefits and Results
After reviewing the ingredients, we wanted to make sure that each product delivers quality results. After all, there’s no point taking a muscle-building supplement if it doesn’t actually work.
Many products on the market claim to produce unbelievable muscle growth in just a few short weeks so we had to be sure that all of our products can actually perform when put to the test.
We looked for muscle-building supplements that work through specific mechanisms—whether it be protein synthesis, the inhibition of myostatin, or the restoration of necessary vitamins and minerals.
Although no two products on this list are the same, when combined together, we know that they work in tandem to produce compounded results.
Finally, we made sure that each product worked in a timely manner. Nearly every product on this list should start showing results within just a couple of weeks.
While they may be small at first, you’ll quickly find that you can lift heavier weights and last longer in the gym without feeling burnt out.
After a month or two, you’ll then see noticeable growth and strength gains.
Price Per Serving
Muscle-building supplements can quickly get expensive, especially if you’re stacking multiple products at once. Therefore, we tried to find quality products that offer top results without breaking your bank.
At the end of the day, though, deciding whether something is worth the cost comes down to its results.
Nearly all of the products on our list come in pre-measured capsules, packaged in bottles of 60, 100, or 120 capsules. The powder products typically come in drums of 30 servings.
At these quantities, you can manage a full month of doses without having to purchase new products.
Compared to other brands, you could easily go through a bottle of capsules or powder in just a few weeks. Therefore, we’re satisfied and confident in saying that the supplements listed here are well worth the price.
Health and Safety
Last but certainly not least, we judged each product on how safe it was to consume and whether it had any potential risks. A lot of guys hear the phrase “anabolic growth supplements” and automatically think of anabolic steroids. We can guarantee you 100% that none of the products shared here fall under the category of anabolic steroids.
Each supplement listed here is safe to consume according to the manufacturer’s recommended dosage. All of these products are naturally occurring and most are simple vitamin and protein blends. However, we should leave you with one warning.
Many people are allergic to whey protein. If you begin to feel itchy or break out in a rash after taking a whey protein supplement, take an antihistamine and seek medical attention immediately. If you are uncertain if you have a whey allergy, start by taking only a small amount of the powder to see if you have a reaction.
Should You Use a Muscle-Building Supplement?
If you’re wondering whether or not to take a muscle-building supplement, first assess your diet and exercise routine. Simply taking supplements won’t help you build lean, cut muscle.
You have to consume adequate calories and proteins to build muscle as well as work out at least 3 times a week. If you’re not already doing so, we don’t recommend taking muscle-building supplements.
However, if you eat a well-balanced diet and regular exercise but still struggle to gain new muscle mass, you could benefit from taking a muscle supplement.
Supplements will help overcome the limitations of myostatin, reduce protein synthesis, and burnout, giving you the power to develop more muscle mass than you naturally would.
Stick to the recommended doses before starting a new product and stop taking it if you notice any negative side effects.
Other Muscle Building Supplements Worth Mentioning
Along with the 12 supplements discussed above, we wanted to give some credit to these runner ups that have long stood as top muscle building products:
- Creatine – Creatine is an organic compound stored in skeletal muscle that helps maintain energy output during intense exercise. It’s thought to help grow lean muscle mass and boost overall strength and performance after long workouts. Many athletes use creatine for a burst of energy before sprinting or weightlifting. Be careful not to take too much, though, as it’s been linked to kidney and liver damage.
- Protein Powder – Nearly all athletes and bodybuilders will use some form of protein powder in their life. Protein powders provide essential amino acids needed to build strong, lean muscle mass. They typically come in chocolate or vanilla flavors and can be mixed with milk or water to make a delicious post-workout supplement. Be careful to not consume too much protein powder, though, as it’s often quite sugary.
- Beta-Alanine – Beta-alanine is a non-essential amino acid that can be produced in the body without having to consume it. However, it’s often only produced in small quantities. Beta-alanine is crucial in the production of carnosine, an organic compound that regulates muscle endurance during intense exercise. With more carnosine, you’ll be able to exercise harder for longer without tiring out. It’s often found in the best pre-workout supplements.
- Sleep Products – You’d be surprised how much a good night’s sleep can help improve natural muscular development. Our bodies do most of their recovery while asleep so if you’re not sleeping enough, you won’t be able to grow new muscle mass. Sleep aids will help you get a full 8 hours every night. Be careful to not overdo it, though, as some products can be habit-forming.
Most of these products can be found at your local vitamin store or even at your nearest supermarket.
Although they are generally safe, be sure to follow the manufacturers’ recommended dosages to prevent any harmful side effects.
What to Look For In A Good Muscle-Building Supplement
As you start exploring muscle-building supplements, don’t hesitate to try other products. However, before you take just anything, be sure to do some research. You’ll want to know as much about the product that guarantees that it’s safe and will produce the effects it advertises.
Follow these guidelines as you look for a good muscle-building supplement:
- Health and Safety – Just because a product advertises itself as a muscle builder doesn’t mean it’s safe to use. Always check the ingredients before using a product and read user reviews to guarantee that it’s safe for human consumption. We recommend sticking to FDA-approved products to avoid consuming harmful chemicals.
- Natural Production – Not all products are formulated using natural compounds. Avoid manmade chemicals and stick with organic compounds to grow clean muscle without harming yourself. This may take some research but it’s well worth the hassle.
- Effectiveness – Never take a product that doesn’t work. You’ll waste time, energy, and money trying to build muscles using a product that simply can’t perform. User reviews are a great place to start as you research new compounds. Other bodybuilders have experience using various products and can advise you on which formulations work and which don’t.
Be sure to only take supplements that are well-researched and guaranteed to build the body of your dreams. Research might sound boring but it’s the only way to ensure you’re getting quality supplements.
Other Tips for Building Muscle Mass
Building mass takes more than just a few supplements. You’ll want to follow a regular workout routine, eat enough calories, get the right amount of protein, sleep enough at night, and limit your stress levels.
Here’s what you need to know:
Develop a Regular Workout Routine
This should go without saying but you need to exercise to develop new muscles. Simply taking a supplement and sitting on your butt won’t do a thing to help grow muscle mass.
If you don’t already have a regular workout routine, start putting one together by doing research. Make sure to hit every muscle group at least once per week.
Following a high-intensity workout routine, you’ll get an intense full-body workout three days a week. Rest between each day to allow your body to recover.
On your off days, be sure to sleep well and avoid stressful activities.
Follow a Strict Diet
Exercise and a few supplements might help you build strong muscles but if you’re not eating right, you’ll never have the sculpted body you see in Hollywood.
To achieve six-pack abs and a chiseled chest, you have to follow a strict diet of lean proteins, vegetables, and complex carbohydrates. You also have to consume the right amount of protein.
If you’re already overweight, you’ll have to burn fat to get the body you want. This means inducing a caloric deficit. Some supplements can help boost your metabolism but you’ll also need to reduce the number of calories you consume. By introducing more proteins into your diet, you’ll feel fuller without eating as much.
Additionally, consuming more proteins will give your body the building blocks to develop new muscle mass. Proteins are made from long strings of amino acids stitched together into complex molecules that perform work and build body structures. Unfortunately, though, our bodies cannot naturally produce all of the amino acids needed to grow muscle. Therefore, you must consume the right amount of protein.
You’ll need more than just protein to grow muscle, though. Your body also requires energy to work. Without enough glucose or glycogen, your body will begin burning muscle tissue, reversing all your hard work. Therefore, it’s important to consume healthy amounts of complex carbohydrates to fuel your body through workouts and recovery.
Get Enough Sleep at Night
Sleep plays a two-fold part in healthy muscle development. The first and most obvious benefit is that it gives you the energy to work out and make it through your day without feeling exhausted. The second benefit is a little more complicated.
Sleep can be broken down into four stages. The most important of these stages is called the rapid-eye-movement cycle (REM cycle). During this short period, our eyes dart back and forth for around 10 to 15 minutes as you dream and your body actively repairs itself. Over the course of a night, you’ll accumulate roughly 2.5 hours of REM sleep, during which your body heals.
If you aren’t getting enough sleep, your body won’t be able to heal itself properly and you’ll never grow new muscle tissue. In the morning, you’ll feel incredibly sore and lack the motivation to make it through the next workout. Instead, try to get at least 8 hours of sleep every night to guarantee your body is properly healing and preparing for the next day.
Lower Your Stress Levels
Stress is nefarious and can undo a lot of your hard work. Even if you work out regularly, eat a healthy diet, and sleep well at night, stress can prevent your body from properly recovering. It causes cells to break down faster and also promotes weight gain.
If you’re currently going through a stressful time, try eliminating excess triggers and focus on your mental health. Take time to meditate or relax throughout the day and don’t hesitate to put yourself first.
Are There Any Side Effects?
As long as you follow the manufacturer’s recommended dosage, you shouldn’t experience any harmful side effects from taking a muscle supplement.
All of the products shared here are produced using natural compounds and are safe to take as advised.
However, be warned that overdosing on muscle supplements can have negative effects.
If you start to experience harmful side effects after taking a muscle supplement, stop taking it immediately and contact a medical professional.
Conclusion
When taken appropriately, muscle-building supplements give you the boost you need to develop larger, stronger, more vascular muscles.
Stop spending hours in the gym trying to build the body of a Greek god when you could make things easier on yourself.
These complex formulations of protein supplements, amino acids, and essential vitamins and minerals will give you a personal leg up when you next hit the gym.