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If you’re dead set on building muscle, you probably already know that you should be looking at the best vasodilator supplements too. These supplements typically contain nitric oxide boosting ingredients, compounds that promotes the relaxation of the blood vessels, hence the name.
Nitric oxide supplements are practically a staple in any serious bodybuilder’s and martial arts trainees regimen because relaxed blood vessels allow for huge muscle pumps, efficient nutrient delivery, and overall better cardiovascular health.
Best Vasodilation Supplements Comparison Table
Picture | Product | Brand  | Ingredients |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Bulk |
| |
 | The Genius Brand |
| |
 | Sheer Strength Labs |
| |
 | BSN Sports |
| |
 | Cellucor |
|
What Is the Role of Nitric Oxide in Vasodilation?
Vasodilation is the relaxing of the walls of the blood vessels. When this occurs, there is more space for blood to flow through in the arteries and the veins. Vasodilation is especially helpful in the arteries – the vessels that carry blood away from the heart. This results in lower blood pressure while providing more blood and nutrient supply to the various tissues in the body.
Nitric oxide is naturally produced by the body. It partakes in various body processes including the regulation of blood pressure, ensuring proper nutrient and oxygen delivery, regulation of blood flow and response to changing nutrient and oxygen needs of the tissues.
Supplementing with pump supplements that contain NO boosting key ingredients helps improve vasodilation. Nitric oxide bodybuilding is especially helpful for fuelling muscle growth through increased nutrient delivery.
This does not mean that you always need to take a nitric oxide booster. There are many ways to influence nitric oxide production in the body, especially for bodybuilders and athletes. However, one of the easiest are through nutrition and supplementation.
The following is our rundown on some of the best nitric oxide supplements on the market right now:
NATURAL VASODILATORS GROCERY LIST
To easier implement the nutritional changes required for maximum blood flow, we developed this grocery list infographic.
Download it below and print it out, tape it to your fridge, and bring it to the supermarket when you do your weekly grocery shopping.
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A Quick Look at The Best Supplements on the Market
BulkSupplements Pure L-Arginine A-Ketoglutarate (AAKG) Powder
This pre-workout nitric oxide supplement in powder form contains AAKG or L-arginine alpha-ketoglutarate. This combination forms a salt compound that aids the body in the production of amino acids and nitric oxide.
GENIUS Pre Workout - Nootropic
This is a caffeine-free nitric oxide supplement. It has numerous nutrients that target the brain for improving the connection between mind and muscle. The pump and improvement in muscular performance is based on this connection. This action makes Genius Nootropic worth considering as one of the best no supplements and a true bodybuilding nootropic.
SHEER N.O. Nitric Oxide Supplement
These nitric oxide pills can be considered as some of the best pump supplements out there. It not only promotes muscle growth but also helps in improving strength. This is a result of the action of this supplement’s L-arginine content.
Aside from L-arginine, Sheer NO supplement also contains other key ingredients that aids in improving muscle growth and performance. L-citrulline is a natural powerful NO booster. The combination of l-arginine and l-citrulline promotes an impressive NO boost.
BSN N.O.-XPLODE Pre-Workout Supplement
Caffeine plus creatine and beta-alanine promotes maximum performance, enhanced muscle endurance, and explosive energy. This blend also supports greater focus, muscle power, and strength.
C4 Original Explosive Pre-Workout Supplement
This supplement contains creatine, beta alanine and nitric oxide boosters. Cellucor C4 has an excellent formula. It also has a rapid absorb system that helps maximize the absorption and eventual use of this supplement’s key ingredients.
Reviews of the Best Vasodilator Supplements
This powder supplement contains a 2:1 ratio of the amino acid arginine and alpha-ketoglutarate.
This l-arginine supplement stimulates the body’s own nitric oxide production. This helps improve the delivery of nutrients to the muscles, especially proteins. Training results and performance could improve significantly as a result.
Another important ingredient in this supplement is the amino acid l-arginine. This has many helpful actions. It helps in maintaining the healthy integrity of the joints, muscles, liver and the skin. Immune system functions, as well as hormonal balance are also improved.
Blood sugar levels are better controlled and L-arginine boosts the production of T cells (part of the many immune cells), which strengthens immunity. Liver function in removing toxins is also supported by this rare, semi-essential amino acid.
L-arginine supplementation supports the body’s production of urea. This compound plays a vital role in the excretion of ammonia (waste).
Another benefit of l-arginine is on the blood vessels, promoting better blood flow. It also helps in relaxing the blood vessels (blood vessel dilator) for more oxygen delivery. This is especially helpful during training and intense exercise.
Other Key Features:
- Provides muscle pumps for better workout edurance and performance
- Arginine also plays an important role in the regulation of blood sugar levels (insulin release needs arginine)
Things We Liked
- Comes in a zip pouch factory-sealed to preserve the potency of the ingredients
- Lab-tested for guaranteed purity
- Great bulk pricing
Things We Didn't Liked
- Not very sweet like other supplements, which other users may find a bit unappealing. Best mixed with flavoured drinks
Most other supplements typically produce muscle endurance and energy via high caffeine levels. This often results in jitters and overstimulation, followed by a crash. This won’t always be helpful when you’re trying to build endurance or train for longer periods. Caffeine effects may also wear off in the middle of a session.
Another potential downside to caffeine in pre-workout supplements is underdosing. Many nitric oxide supplements add too much caffeine to mask the insufficient amounts of other key ingredients. By removing caffeine, Genius Pre Workout has to deliver higher doses of key ingredients for a better workout session.
The muscle pump produced by this supplement is real stimulation of the muscle cells through the action of key ingredients, rather than the superficial high of too much caffeine. This makes this supplement one of the best pump supplement free of caffeine on the market today.
Other Key Features:
- Clinically-dosed nitric oxide pre workout nootropic - the only one currently on the market
- Contains key ingredients that enhance performance, i.e., EleATP, L-citrulline and L-arginine
Things We Liked
- With natural sweeteners such as stevia
- Devoid of dyes and fillers such as titanium dioxide and red #40 common to most other supplements
Things We Didn't Liked
- May cause some stomach discomfort
Sheer supplement contains L-arginine. This amino acid helps boost the production of NO in the body. It also helps in promoting the health of the heart and the rest of the cardiovascular system.
Workout performance improves because of this nitrous oxide supplement. Blood flow is better and in greater amounts in the presence of NO’s blood vessel dilatation effects.
More blood flowing to the muscles mean more oxygen and nutrients. This helps the muscles grow bigger faster. This also helps improve performance and increase overall strength. L-arginine is one of the best natural pumps and nitric oxide boosters.
Other Key Features:
- With Pine Bark extract for enhanced blood flow to other tissues.
- Improved sexual performance as well, as blood flow to the penis is enhanced with this supplement.
Things We Liked
- Better and faster results from gym exercises
- With ingredients that improve sexual function
- One of the best ingredients profiles on the market
Things We Didn't Liked
- Nitric oxide pills may cause skin breakouts
This nitric oxide supplement contains a blend of beta-alanine and creatine. These compounds have many good benefits. The formula maximizes performance, enhances endurance, and promotes explosive energy. All these help you get the best results from your training and intense exercises.
BSN NO Explode is re-engineered as a pre-workout igniter. This blood vessel dilator now has 275 mg caffeine to boost energy and focus.
Other Key Features:
- Ingredients feature advanced pharmaceutical technologies for greater absorption and action
- Higher caffeine content increases energy for maximum performance
Things We Liked
- Comes in various flavors for individual preferences (green apple, grape, watermelon, blue Raz and fruit punch)
- Has enhanced mixability for even greater taste, texture and flavor
Things We Didn't Liked
- May cause sleeping problems
- May cause stomach upset, diarrhea
- Contains relativly little nitric oxide boosting ingredients
The C4 formula is a solid contender for the best nitric oxide supplement title on the market.
This pre-workout supplement contains TeaCor. This is a well-studied ingredient that demonstrated an ability to promote longer-lasting energy than traditional caffeine.
Energy is explosive, boosting muscle performance, endurance and strength for various exercises and activities. TeaCor is also called tetramethyluric acid. It enhances the action of caffeine, which reduces the need for higher caffeine content in the supplement. A small amount of caffeine plus TeaCor would produce the same level of effect of a much higher caffeine dose.
Aside from TeaCor, this supplement also contains NO3-T creatine nitrate. This is another key ingredient that is more water-soluble than other kinds of creatine. It is more easily absorbed by the tissues, making it more effective in promoting greater muscle pump and explosive muscle energy.
The NO boosting ingredients in this supplement acts as blood vessel dilators. They enhance blood flow for better tissue oxygenation and nutrient delivery.
This blood dilator supplement also has beta-alanine. This is a non-essential amino acid. This means the body does not produce it and has to be consumed from the foods you eat. The challenge is that there are very few foods that contain this amino acid. Supplementing with beta-alanine greatly help in increasing stamina and muscle development.
Other Key Features:
- Uses premium quality ingredients
- Patented ingredients blended for optimum results
Things We Liked
- Flavors are pleasant
- Easily mixes for smoother and more delicious taste
Things We Didn't Liked
- May cause headaches
- May cause rapid heartbeats (limit use to not more than 2 scoops per day)
How Vasodilator Supplements Work
If you’re the type who does not lift weights but only do cardiovascular exercise, your basal nitric oxide levels would probably suffice. However, if you are working on building maximum muscle, or if you train a lot in preparation for intense sports and other physically taxing activities, you’re going to deplete your supply of NO easily.
For the average person who does not do intense workouts much, basal nitric oxide levels are fine. However, as an athlete if your nitric oxide levels are low then your workout experience, results, and recovery will lag behind.
Intense activities during sports and training sessions mean that the muscles involved would be working harder. This would mean increase in needs for oxygen and nutrients. Also, the harder the muscles work, the greater the amount of lactic acid produced. Build-up of lactic acid will lead to painful cramps if prolonged.
NO dilates the blood vessels and increases blood flow to the muscles. This means more oxygen and nutrients delivered to the muscles, supplying the increased demands put on them. Greater blood flow also means more lactic acid removed from within the muscle tissues. This would mean lower chances for cramps and more endurnce. Which in the end translates to greater results and faster gains from exercises.
The body cannot always meet the higher NO demands during these activities. Eating foods rich in NO ingredients that promote higher NO production can help. This is also when taking NO-containing/NO-supporting ingredients in a pre-workout supplement, becomes very useful.
What Are the Benefits of Nitric Oxide Supplements?
No2 supplements has many benefits. They do more than just supply the tissues with more blood. The best no supplements help improve the results from various workouts and training. The main benefits include:
- Better Muscle Recovery
NO2 supplements promotes better blood flow. This leads to more nutrients reaching the muscles. These nutrients can help in faster muscle recovery and growth. More of the key nutrients will help the muscles to recover faster. This also helps reduce the catabolic process that can ruin any gains obtained from the workout. - Boost Energy Levels and Muscle Endurance
How hard you can train depends on how much energy and muscle endurance you have. Low energy levels and you can't expect to last more than a few minutes into an exercise, much less start any at all. Poor endurance would mean fewer reps or routines. This will get in the way of building bigger, stronger and more defined muscles. This is where it is very helpful to take nitric oxide supplements. Bodybuilding sessions will be optimized because of greater energy and endurance. - Blood Pressure Regulation and Better Cardiovascular Health
NO has long been demonstrated to be necessary in cardiovascular health. blood vessel dilation helps reduce blood pressure. This also helps increases nutrient and oxygen delivery to the tissues of the heart. This is important in keeping the cardiovascular system (and the rest of the tissues) healthier and functioning better.
Conclusion
While there are clearly quite a few good NO supplements on the market, the best one for the least amounts of money invested would be the classic BulkSupplements Pure L-Arginine a-Ketoglutarate (AAKG) Powder.
Even if you work out every day, you will notice benefits from this supplement. The L-arginine content is a powerful blood vessel dilator, resulting in amazing pumps and consequently, incredible gains. It boosts your performance and enables your muscles to get the nutrients it needs to sustain intense workouts AND recover afterward. It might even improve your bedroom performance!
Aside from nitrous supplements, eating foods that enhance blood flow such as cacao can also help. Proper exercise, the right foods and the best supplements can help you achieve the body of your dreams.
Product Image credits: Amazon.com
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