In reality, there are no quick and easy shortcuts to building muscle: hard work and eating properly are still the keys to getting bigger. However, two supplements have been shown time and time again to help build muscle effectively, efficiently, and quickly: protein and creatine supplements.

Protein is one of the fundamental building blocks of muscle fiber. In fact, without protein, your body would be completely unable to build muscle (or even survive). Anybody who is weight training and hoping to put on muscle needs to eat a diet that is high in protein. However, it can be extremely difficult to get an adequate amount of protein for muscle growth from diet alone.

When weight training, it is recommended to ingest 1 to 1.5 grams of protein for every pound of body weight. If you weigh 150 pounds, that means you should be getting between 150 and 225 grams of protein a day. That's no easy feat when you are relying exclusively on a diet of lean and healthy foods, which you will want to do if you want to remain healthy and avoid gaining body fat while bulking up those muscles. The solution to this problem is protein supplementation.

Protein supplements, particularly whey protein, are effective, safe, and proven to help you build muscle fast. Still, protein shakes should be used only as a supplement to your healthy, balanced, high protein diet.

Creatine is another extremely effective supplement when it comes to building muscle. Very few bodybuilding supplements ever live up to their hype, but creatine is one of the few that does. Whether you are using creatine ethyl ester or creatine monohydrate, creatine supplements have been proven to stimulate gains in muscle size, strength, endurance, increase energy, and speed recovery from workouts.

Creatine is also one of the most well researched bodybuilding supplements. Creatine should not be used continuously, and you should drink plenty of water while using both creatine and protein supplements to avoid adverse side effects.

If you are looking to build a bigger, more muscular body, remember that there are no easy shortcuts. Proper diet and weigh training are the only ways to achieve your goals. However, protein and creatine supplements, combined with proper diet and workouts, can indeed help you see better results faster.