Title: Fish Oil for Bodybuilding: What Are the Benefits?
Headings: Should You Take Fish Oil for Bodybuilding?
Nutrition
Should You Take Fish Oil for Bodybuilding?
What is fish oil?
Potential benefits for bodybuilding
May reduce muscle soreness
May improve workout quality
May aid muscle health as you age
Should you supplement with it?
The bottom line

Content: Taking the same amount of fish oil daily lessened the temporary loss of muscle strength and range of motion after exercise ( 9
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). What’s more, a 6-week study in 20 resistance-trained men following a low-calorie diet for weight loss showed that supplementing daily with 4,000 mg of fish oil (containing 2,000 mg of both EPA and DHA) maintained or even increased lower-body muscle strength ( 12
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). As such, fish oil may help maintain muscle strength alongside dieting, which is a regular component of bodybuilders’ training. Nonetheless, additional research on fish oil’s effects on muscle size and strength is necessary ( 13
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, 14
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). May aid muscle health as you age
Aging is associated with the progressive loss of muscle mass. After age 30, muscle mass declines by 0.1–0.5% per year — with a dramatic increase in loss after age 65 ( 15
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). As you age, it becomes more difficult to maintain and build muscle, partly due to a decreased response to both resistance training and protein intake ( 16
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). Interestingly, the anti-inflammatory properties of fish oil may enhance your muscles’ sensitivity to protein and resistance training, allowing for greater gains in muscle size and strength as you age ( 17
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). For example, a 16-week study showed that supplementing daily with 4,200 mg of omega-3s (containing 2,700 mg of EPA and 1,200 mg of EPA) significantly increased muscle growth after exercise in older adults, compared with younger adults ( 18
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). Other studies likewise demonstrate that fish oil may boost or maintain muscle mass in older adults — particularly when combined with resistance training ( 19
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, 20
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, 21
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).