Nutrition rules! Here are the 75 commandments of muscle-building nutritioneverything you need to know about dieting, supplements, food and lifestyle - Supernutrition Special!

Supplements are a tool to help you achieve your goals. They are not magic pills and potions that will grant your physique wishes. You must use supplements intelligently, with reasonable expectations of what they can do for you. You still have to train and rigorously follow your diet. If you do the hard work and use supplements as they're designed, then you'll get the benefits that you seek from them.

20 USE PROTEIN SUPPLEMENTS

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Take a protein supplement at least once a day. If you choose a product from a good manufacturer, this practice can give you an extra 40-50 g of protein per day, and it will help bring you into compliance with FLEX's standard protein recommendation (at least 1 g of protein per pound of bodyweight daily). It's often enough to cause acceleration in muscle growth, usually noticeable within four months. It's especially important to follow this formula when dieting. Higher protein needs and restricted caloric intake make a protein supplement essential.

21 TAKE GLUTAMINE

Known for its immunity-enhancing properties, glutamine is not only one of the most prevalent aminos in the body, but also one of the most important for bodybuilders. If you are overly stressed from dieting or training, supplementing with glutamine allows your body to maintain its storage supply of glutamine in muscle tissue, enhancing overall muscular growth and recovery. Take 10-40 g of glutamine a day. For more information, check out "Timing."

22 TAKE CREATINE

Supplementing with creatine can provide bodybuilders with tremendous benefits, including faster recovery from intense weight training, decreased postexercise muscle soreness and increases in muscle mass. Take 5 g of creatine a day. For more information, take a look at "Timing."

23 TAKE A MULTIVITAMIN/MULTIMINERAL PACK

Take a multi with breakfast each and every day for insurance. Being low in any vitamin can cause breaks in the blueprint of muscle construction. A fast-food world combined with the demands of bodybuilding training can leave you short of a host of micronutrients. That's bad when you consider that many of them are needed for the things an ironhead is most interested in, such as building muscle and burning bodyfat.

24 MIX YOUR ANTIOXIDANTS

Take a mix of antioxidants; a good cocktail has an anticatabolic effect by quenching free radicals formed during and after intense exercise. In your antioxidant regimen, include FLEX's top candidates: 400-800 international units (IU) of vitamin E, 500-1,000 milligrams (mg) of vitamin C, 200 micrograms of selenium (from selenium yeast). Get the rest from five or six servings of fruits and vegetables per day.

25 USE THERMOGENICS INTELLIGENTLY

Use thermogenic supplements sparingly and intelligently to reduce bodyfat. Supplements containing ephedra or mahuang, combined with caffeine, can help curb appetite, boost metabolism, enhance workouts and preserve muscle mass during a cutting phase. The side effects are irksome for some trainers, but they usually can be avoided by starting with a low dose in the morning only and working up to the recommended dose of 20-25 mg ephedrine and 200 mg caffeine three times per day over two or three weeks, Do not exceed the recommended dose. Do this consistently for at least three months to achieve significant, fat loss. Check with your doctor before taking thermogenics if you suffer from depression or other psychiatric conditions.