Pursuing your health and fitness is a deeply rewarding thing to do. One of the best parts about a health and fitness journey is how personal and unique it is to every person. No two people are the same and because of that, it takes a certain amount of effort to understand what does and doesn’t work for you. One of the biggest hindrances that people have when it comes to pursuing their health and fitness is feeling like they don’t know enough about it in order to succeed.
When it comes down to it, the health and fitness industry can be an intimidating and daunting one to become acquainted with. It seems like everywhere you look you see different brands, companies, and even celebrities and influencers all showing you how to reach your best health and fitness. With so many options and so many tools on the market to help you achieve health, how are you supposed to know where to even begin?
The good news is that while there are a lot of factors to consider when looking to improve your health, there’s no rush. Taking your time to figure out what tools you need and how you need to use them is worth the effort and will give you a big return on your investment. Health shouldn’t be complicated, and finding out what works for you might take some trial and error, but it can seem more intimidating than it really is.
One area that can be very confusing, especially to those new to the world of health and fitness, is that of supplements. Supplements are incredible tools that are designed to help you live your best life and get you the kind of fitness you wouldn’t otherwise be able to achieve. One popular supplement that is widely used is collagen powder.
Collagen powder is a popular supplement for its claim to help in building stronger muscles and helping improve recovery. If you have been curious about what collagen powder is and if it’s something you should invest in – here is everything you need to know!
What Exactly is Collagen Powder?
So let’s start with the basics, what is collage powder? Collagen powder is a processed, supplemental source of the protein collagen that is considered to be highly effective at helping the body build strength and improve recovery.
Collagen makes up roughly one-third of the proteins in the human body, which gives it the highest concentration of any one protein. Currently, supplemental collagen is not available in any kind of vegan or plant-based form. As you might expect, since collagen is found in such high amounts throughout the body, it is used for a variety of important processes.
Collagen has several important functions in the body and impacts everything from skin development and health all the way to sleep quality and muscle growth. This protein is very important for helping to supply support to connective tissue, and is a great source of nutrition for joint health. Collagen works in tandem with other important proteins to help the body, such as working with keratin to improve skin health or functioning as a necessary precursor to creatine to help with strength and endurance.
Does Collagen Help Build Muscle?
Collagen itself is used primarily to help the recovery process that people go through and to help support connective tissue and joint health. Collagen is indirect and can help increase muscle growth by supplying the body with the necessary building blocks for creatine synthesis, and as a supplement can be very helpful.
Supplements are meant to help supply a person where their natural diet is lacking. So if you’re diet doesn’t naturally have foods that are high in collagen, then it’s a good idea to supplement.
This is different from a protein supplement in one meaningful way. Protein supplements can be taken alongside a healthy diet when a person, such as an athlete, is extending a lot of energy and building their muscle. This is where protein supplements will help to add on more muscle and supply the body with the nutrition it needs. Collagen doesn’t exactly work this way. It helps to supply the body with the nutrition it needs to get the most out of your workouts, but it shouldn’t be thought of as a muscle-building supplement like protein.
Conclusion – When SHoudl You Take Collagen?
Collagen is a great supplement to mix with your protein supplement, but shouldn’t replace your protein supplement if muscle growth is what you are after. Collagen will help your muscles recover, increase your joint health, and even give you more natural creatine.
All of this will lead to bigger muscles and greater strength, however, collagen should not take the place of your protein either in supplemental form or from your diet. Instead, use collagen as a natural way to boost your protein intake, and increase the effectiveness of your workouts!
