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My main goal is to increase muscle mass through strength / heavy lifting. I am considering taking a Glutamine supplement and was wondering if doing so will result in quicker and more complete recovery which may yield better muscle growth?

In other words, do I risk not getting the most out of my workouts in terms of gains due to having only one days rest between workouts and not allowing my body sufficient time to recover? If yes, will taking a glutamine supplement help reduce the effects of this problem and allow a more complete recovery with better gains?

Not sure it makes a difference, but I am currently on a creatine supplement which seems to work great.

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  • Glutamine can easily be made in the body in sufficient quantities, unless you've got some sort of disease state, high stress or something else going on. And creatine is one of the very few supplements that has actually been a) proven to work, and b) classified as safe by just about every sports governing body known.
    – JohnP ♦
    Feb 19, 2014 at 22:30

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@Edgar has a point about the BCAAs, but taking Glutamine may not do much for you if you don't take it properly, and still may not help if you take enough.

The thing about glutamine is that a vast majority of what you take is absorbed by the gut. So, if you want some to make it to the 'muscles of the day', You're going to have to take a lot, and by a lot I mean 20+ grams in a setting, to get past the GI Tract since it has been observed to absorb up to %40 of the ingested glutamine.

In short, glutamine can be produced by the body, and during intense physical stress (such as a high resistance workout or surgery) glutamine levels in the blood stream can be depleted. The debate is whether or not it helps as much as its following claims it does. Check out the active ingredient in that one.

Sources:

Years of bodybuilding (partly taking glutamine along the way, 20+ grams daily), and extensive reading on the subject. Case in point here, and part 2 of that same article

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    +1, thanks for the reply! So after years of bodybuilding and experimenting with glutamine, are you a supporter?
    – AnchovyLegend
    Feb 19, 2014 at 12:51
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    I don't workout as much as I used to honestly. I'm getting back into it, but I won't be using the glutamine. BCAAs and Whey will probably be it for supplements for me, but not the glutamine. Most of the supplements on the market now are just wallet drainers to be honest, for the average healthy person.
    – MDMoore313
    Feb 19, 2014 at 12:56

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