Best L-Arginine Supplements for Bodybuilding – How to Workout Longer

March 20, 2024
Sam Andreas

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Top Pick

Do you find yourself reaching exhaustion in the gym quicker than most? Want to push yourself further in the gym, every time?

Well, this is where L-arginine supplements may come in handy. In this article, we’ll be discussing the science behind what makes L-arginine supplements so useful. Then, we’ll be showing you our top five on the market. Are you ready?

The Best L-Arginine Supplements for Bodybuilding

Here’s our list of the best L-arginine supplements on the market:

1. BulkSupplements L-Arginine A-Ketoglutarate (AAKG) Powder

Bulk Supplements are known for their pure ingredients, delivered in bulk. Containing relatively high levels of L-arginine and AAKG, combined, this forms a really effective product.

What we particularly love about this supplement is the value for money aspect of it. In fact, this product provides 192 servings, which is over six times greater than all our others listed below; a great option for anyone on a budget looking to get the best for their buck.

L-arginine HCl: 1768 mg.
AAKG: 702 mg.

Includes an extremely high level of servings per container compared to all our other options.
Great value for money.
Focused formula.
Contains effective levels of L-arginine.

Doesn’t contain L-citrulline.

2. Havasu Extra Strength L-Arginine

This capsule formula contains the three forms of L-arginine, which have been tested to the nines by the Havasu team. Their aim? To provide high-quality ingredients, backed by experts.

What makes this one stand out from the crowd is the inclusion of beetroot powder. This is known for its stamina-aiding properties due to the improvement of blood flow and circulation. These effects are very similar to those of L-arginine, so it’s clear that this product will enhance the effects of the L-arginine.

L-arginine HCl: 400 mg.
AAKG: 400 mg.
L-citrulline malate: 400 mg.
Beetroot powder: 100 mg.

Contains all three forms of L-arginine.
Quality ingredients, rigorously tested.
Includes beetroot powder to enhance the effectivity of the product.

This product contains the lowest concentration of L-arginine in all our five products.

3. Nutra Champs Premium L-Arginine

The Nutra Champs L-arginine capsules are a pill formula that provides a number of great and unique ingredients. For example, grape seed extract is packed with antioxidants to improve blood pressure. What’s more, cayenne pepper is also a great way to improve cardiovascular health.

Both of these ingredients are ideal in an L-arginine supplement, considering the vascular effects of this amino acid.

To add to this, the inclusion of all three forms of L-arginine makes this a powerful formula to see the effects of the supplement come to life.

L-arginine HCl: 500 mg.
AAKG: 500 mg.
L-citrulline malate: 500 mg.
Grape seed extract: 50 mg.
Cayenne pepper: 30 mg.

Includes some high-grade healthy ingredients.
Money-back guarantee.
Includes all three forms of L-arginine.

Doesn’t include a high amount of L-arginine on its own.

4. L-Arginine Pro

Coming in a couple of tasty flavors, including berry and orange, this powdered formula is great for a zingy drink. This option actually includes the highest amount of L-arginine out of all of our five choices. That said, they don’t stop there when it comes to useful ingredients.

Alongside L-citrulline, it also includes Aquamin. This is a patented formula, taken from the red, underwater algae, Lithothamnion, which contains many healthy minerals for your body. In general, it can be used to aid bone and joint health, which is ideal if you’re working out regularly.

Then, the addition of stevia leaf extract helps to improve the taste of the product through natural sweeteners.

L-arginine: 5.5 grams.
L-citrulline: 1.1 grams.
Stevia leaf extract: 125 mg.
Aquamin: 100 mg.

Includes natural sweeteners.
Includes ingredients that improve the general health of your body.
Contains the highest amount of L-arginine than all our other options.
A couple of tasty flavors are available.

The high quantity of L-arginine in this product may be unnecessary.

5. Genius L-Arginine Powder

The Genius L-arginine is another powdered formula, ideal for anyone looking to enjoy a tasty, lemon-flavored drink. Genius uses fermented plant sources to provide the most natural and pure formula it can.

This option includes a very different ingredient to our other four of the best L-arginine supplements. Indeed, alongside the usual L-arginine, they have included the patented ingredient, AstraGin.

This is known for its aid in improving digestive health, boosting the absorption of amino acids. This way, your body will reap the benefits of this amino acid as much it needs to. This is perfect when we consider the extremely high levels of L-arginine in this product compared to most of the others we’ve featured.

L-arginine: 5 grams.
AstraGin: 25 mg.

Includes an ingredient known for improving absorption and general gut health.
Includes one of the highest levels of L-arginine of all our choices.
Ingredients come from plant sources.
Comes in one tasty flavor.

Amount of L-arginine within this product is more than necessary to be effective.
Doesn’t contain any other forms of L-arginine.

Informational guide to L-arginine Supplements

What Does an L-Arginine Supplement Do?

L-arginine is a non-essential amino acid, which can be synthesized internally in the body. That said, in times of bodily stress, like intense workout sessions, your body may not be able to produce as much L-arginine as is required to function effectively.

This is why it may need supplementation to do so. But why is L-arginine important, particularly during exercise?

Well, L-arginine is responsible for improving the vasodilation of your blood vessels. This not only increases the oxygen your muscles receive but also the amount of nutrients and minerals, too.

This is super important for increasing the time taken to reach exhaustion, thus improving athletic performance, i.e. increases the pump in your workout.

The Benefits of an L-Arginine

That’s the ‘sciencey’ bit over with, but what does this all lead to? Well, some of the many benefits of L-arginine supplementation include:

Helps to grow and repair muscles.
Promotes healthy blood pressure.
Increases your anaerobic fitness capacity.
Can improve male sexual performance.
Increased endurance.
Exercise metabolism is supported.
Improves workout performance.

Here’s a really informational video that goes into great depth as to the benefits of L-arginine:

Naturally, any changes you make to your diet through supplementation should be checked with your doctor beforehand. Some drastic side effects of consuming L-arginine can include worsening of asthma, diarrhea, blood abnormalities and the like. Please take care when taking any form of supplementation.

What to Look for in the Best L-Arginine Supplement

There are so many L-arginine supplements on the market, so how can we sift through the rubble? Well, there are a couple of factors you may want to be aware of:

Pill vs. Powder

In our review of the best L-arginine supplements above, we have a choice of powders and pills. Powders can be mixed with your morning smoothie to create a tasty drink and often contain greater quantities of ingredients than pills.

Pills may take longer to absorb into the bloodstream but are much easier to consume. Simply swallow the required amount using a glass of water to help wash it down. Whatever you fancy, there’s an option for all.

Includes L-Citrulline

L-citrulline is a form of L-arginine, as L-arginine is often converted to L-citrulline in the body. So, if an L-arginine supplement includes an amount of this ingredient, it may be useful to further increase the effects of the product.

A fair few of our choices down below include either L-citrulline or L-citrulline malate, which may even help to enhance athletic performance. Either way, this is a pretty good inclusion that enhances the efficacy of the supplement.

Includes L-Arginine Alpha Ketoglutarate (AAKG)

A number of our options for the L-arginine supplements include AAKG. This is a compound of L-arginine that is often found in gym supplements due to its aid in boosting athletic performance. It’s said to improve the oxygen and nutrient levels in your muscles, helping to achieve great success in the gym.

Alongside L-arginine, AAKG simply improves the effectiveness of the L-arginine in your body.

Includes Other Ingredients

As I’m sure you’ll soon realize, the possibilities for L-arginine supplement ingredients are endless. In the individual products we’ve reviewed, we’ve specified the unique ingredients that each of the best L-arginine supplements includes. So, depending on what you’re looking for, there’s probably something for you.

Conclusion

Each of our choices for the best L-arginine supplements has a number of different qualities which set them apart from the rest. That said, it’s a no-brainer when it comes to which one is our favorite, which is the BulkSupplements L-Arginine A-Ketoglutarate (AAKG) Powder.

Firstly, we just love that this product gives you value for money, providing you with high amounts of product, for less. That’s not all though, as this option also includes really fantastic levels of L-arginine alongside AAKG, so you should be able to see the effects, fast.

The powdered formula also means that these high levels of L-arginine will be absorbed into the bloodstream pretty fast. So, all-in-all, we definitely rate this one as the best of our five L-arginine supplements.