You’ve been going to the gym for a few months now and you’re noticing the first results in the mirror.

But you feel like your progress is starting to slow down.

On top of that, you’re getting gassed out by the end of each workout.

So, you start looking into supplements for a solution.

But here’s the problem:

There are so many supplements around.

You don’t know which supplements will benefit you.

Which ones could harm you.

Or which ones are a waste of money.

So, in this article, we will uncover the truth about the supplements you truly need for your training.

What Are Workout Supplements Exactly?

Supplements are products meant to supplement or add to your existing diet.

You can find supplements in many different forms, such as:

• Pills
• Capsules
• Powders
• Liquids

Unlike many believe, workout supplements can only complement an excellent preexisting diet.

Not replace it.

Why?

Because whole foods are much more than a bunch of minerals and vitamins.

Food contains hundreds of other building blocks like carbohydrates, fats, and fibers.

Which are essential for our bodies.

You can’t skip out on your fruit and vegetables, take supplements, and feel just as healthy.

That’s not how it works.

The Most Popular Workout Supplements and The Science Behind Them

If you try to type ‘’workout supplements’’ on Google, you’ll get thousands of different products.

Some you already know about, like creatine.

Some others are more obscure, like beta-alanine.

But the truth is that only a few of them have proven health benefits.

And when it comes to strength training specifically, the most popular supplements are:

Protein Powder

Protein powder is a protein supplement in powdered form that can come from plants, eggs, or milk.

Powdered protein is one of, if not the most popular workout supplement out there.

In fact, you’ll frequently see gym guys having a giant protein powder jar next to them.

But is it actually beneficial?

The short answer is: Yes.

Protein powder is an extremely convenient protein source both for price and versatility.

For example, protein powder is the perfect solution if you’re struggling to hit your daily protein intake or don’t have time to cook a protein-filled meal after work.

On top of that, you can use protein powder (specifically the Whey kind) to cook a wide variety of low-calorie meals.

Which helps a lot when it comes to weight loss.

For example, you can use protein powder to make a delicious and easy cake in 90 seconds.

Creatine

Creatine is a natural compound in our skeletal muscles, and it helps our bodies produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP.)

ATP is crucial to supply our muscles with energy, and without it, our muscles would stop functioning.

You can get creatine from red meat or seafood.

Or, you can use the supplement version of it.

So is creatine a good workout supplement to enhance training performance?

Creatine is one of the most researched and safe supplements to take.

In fact, many studies show how creatine helps athletes by increasing muscular strength and decreasing muscular damage after each training session.

On top of that, creatine also helps with muscle swelling, making you look fuller and bigger once you saturate your muscles.

Generally, most experts advise taking between 3–5 grams of creatine per day and it takes around 2–3 weeks to get your muscles fully saturated.

Caffeine/Coffee

Caffeine is a powerful stimulant that increases brain and nervous system activity.

Multiple studies show how it benefits athletic performance for high-intensity and endurance activities.

In fact, according to a study by Frontiers, three out of every four athletes consume caffeine before or during a sports competition.

So, yes, you can drink coffee before your workout and it will help your training performance.

But how much caffeine do you need?

Research done by the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition concluded that you need a dose between 3 to 6 milligrams per kilogram of body weight to be effective for aerobic endurance training.

For comparison, a standard 8-oz cup of coffee contains 95mg of caffeine.

Pre-Workout

Pre-workout and coffee are very similar supplements.

Most pre-workouts out there have a considerable amount of caffeine as it’s the main compound that gives you that energy boost in the gym.

So, is there no real benefit to pre-workout compared to regular coffee?

In reality, there are differences.

Pre-workout is a mix of different useful substances, not just caffeine.

For example, some pre-workouts might have creatine or BCAA, making it pretty convenient.

Additionally, if you dislike coffee’s flavor, pre-workouts come in a wide variety of flavors.

Make sure your pre-workout has no weird ingredients and that it’s not underdosed with caffeine.

BCAA

BCAA (branched-chain amino acids) are three amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, and valine) and are a key component of muscle protein synthesis.

Multiple researches showed how BCAAs, particularly leucine, help protein synthesis and suppress protein breakdown.

However, that‘s only for the short term.

The same studies also found that in the long term, leucine’s benefits on muscle synthesis plummet, and BCAAs are not as beneficial for your workout.

On top of that, high BCAA intake can lead to negative effects on glucose metabolism and diabetes.

In particular, leucine can disrupt the regular action of insulin, a hormone that regulates the glucose in your blood.

Electrolytes

Electrolytes are the body’s essential minerals, like sodium, calcium, and potassium that help regulate vital functions like hydration.

In fact, when you sweat during exercise, most people think it’s your fat sweating away.

But that’s not true at all.

When you sweat, it’s your body trying to regulate its internal temperature.

And as a result, you lose water and electrolytes, the main one being sodium.

The more electrolytes we lose during a workout, the more impact it will have on our performance.

And to keep the performance up, you need to replenish those lost electrolytes.

So are electrolytes necessary as a workout supplement?

If the exercise you’re performing is aerobic, then yes, but if your activity is anaerobic, like the gym, then probably no.

Fun fact: Every pound you lose through sweat you also lose 250mg of sodium.

Mass Gainers

Some people consider mass gainers as the ultimate solution for skinny people trying to gain weight.

Turns out, they’re not as helpful as you might think.

Why?

Because they’re empty calories, and in most cases not very healthy ones too.

Now, it is true that mass gainers can give you easy access to lots of calories.

But you can get the same benefits from making your own mass-gaining shakes at home.

Plus, your shakes will be much healthier and cheaper.

Multivitamins

Multivitamins are perhaps the most well-known supplement in the world.

And while they’re not very useful for exercising per se, we have to shed some light on these extremely popular supplements.

Let me explain.

Many studies have tried to study multivitamins over the years and their supposed benefits.

The results?

Most people don’t actually need them, and you can get all the vitamins and minerals you need from a healthy diet.

Having said that, some very common deficiencies like Iron, vitamin D, and calcium, may need vitamin supplementation to improve your health.

But, that’s something you’d have to confirm with the help of a doctor and some blood work.

Moral of the story?

Don’t waste your money on multivitamins before knowing your deficiencies.

Beta-Alanine

Beta-alanine is a non-essential amino acid that helps regulate muscle acid and prevent fatigue.

Some studies have found that beta-alanine can help improve exercise performance.

However, in most cases, it’s a marginal improvement.

So, should you take beta-alanine to supplement your workout?

The short answer is: Yes, you could.

While it’s true that there isn’t enough evidence to support beta-alanine’s real benefits, the research also shows how, in appropriate doses, it causes no harm to your body.

You’ll either get no benefits from it in the worst-case scenario or a little boost to your training performance.

The advice is to try it for yourself and see how it affects your training.

Other Workout Supplements (Ashwagandha)

The realm of ‘’niche’’ supplements can be a dangerous slippery slope.

Most of these supplements are not backed up by any meaningful science.

And in the best-case scenario, you would get a supplement that does nothing to your body.

However, the worst-case scenario is a bunch of health issues and the squeeze isn’t worth the juice in most cases.

Having said that, there are some supplements in this category that people find useful.

An example of that is Ashwagandha.

Ashwagandha is an herbal treatment in Ayurvedic medicine and some studies suggest that it can have multiple health benefits, including:

• Reduced stress
• Reduced anxiety
• Increased testosterone

The most important benefit for workouts being the increased testosterone.

Higher testosterone directly influences training performance and muscle gain.

So should you add Ashwagandha to your diet?

The herbal supplement isn’t backed nearly enough by science to give you a definitive answer, but some people swear by it.

On top of that, Ashwagandha doesn’t pose serious health risks.

So you might try it and see for yourself if there are improvements.

Are Workout Supplements Worth It?

Here’s the age-old questions:

Are supplements really worth it?

Or are they just placebo and a marketing gimmick?

The short answer is: It depends.

It depends on your goals and which supplements you choose to add to your diet.

For example, taking creatine and pre-workout will likely help with your training performance.

However, if on top of those you’re also taking every supplementation under the sun, you’re probably overdoing it.

And even if you add the ‘’best’’ and most researched supplements out there, their benefits on your training will generally be marginal.

And only fitting for those who want to squeeze every minuscule optimization out of each training session.

The bottom line?

Develop a healthy diet and lifestyle, and you probably won’t ever need to take supplements.

Also, too many supplements can cost you a fortune, especially if you buy them monthly.

Consider the cost-to-reward ratio of every supplement because some of them can be pretty expensive.

What Is the Ideal Supplementation Protocol for Workouts?

If you’ve decided that you want to get the most optimal supplements to optimize your workouts, here are the crucial ones I’d recommend:

• Creatine: Helps with muscle recovery and gives you a little bit of extra strength, which can help you squeeze a few more reps each session. On top of that, creatine fills your muscles with water, which makes you look fuller. Lastly, creatine is safe and inexpensive.
• Protein Powder: If you live a busy life with a 9–5 job, a family, and a workout routine, protein powder can be a godsend. Protein powder is super versatile, easy to prepare, and inexpensive.
• Pre-workout: Pre-workouts can give you a much-needed energy boost before your workout, especially if you feel like you gas out too quickly during your workouts.

Besides these three you won’t need much else.

Except maybe electrolytes if you practice an intensive aerobic sport like HIIT or CrossFit.

Better Living Through Chemistry Still Requires Better Living

Many people think that having a healthy lifestyle isn’t enough to be healthy and you need supplementation on top of that.

But the truth is, that a healthy lifestyle is more than enough for 99% of people.

Why?

Because food, and whole foods in particular, give you more than enough minerals, vitamins, and nutrients to keep you healthy.

But can you do something extra to improve your health even further?

Yes, and it has nothing to do with supplements.

In fact, these ‘’health hacks’’ are arguably much more beneficial to your body than traditional supplements.

Let me explain.

If you’re training consistently, the two most important things you can do to keep a healthy body and mind are:

• Consistent and quality sleep
• Quality recovery
• Proper hydration

Regarding sleep, most experts recommend between 7–9 hours, especially if you work and train between 3–5 times per week.

Recovery is also important because people think the more you train, the more you gain.

But that’s not necessarily true.

Studies found that you need between 24–48 hours of rest ideally between each training session to allow muscle recovery.

Lastly, water intake should always be on your priority list, regardless of your type of training.

How much water should you drink a day?

Experts recommend around 3.4 liters for men and 2.6 liters for women.

Helpful or Placebo?

As the name suggests, supplements can only supplement a preexisting healthy diet.

Not replace it entirely.

So you shouldn’t believe in any supplement that promises you to fix an unhealthy lifestyle by just chugging pills.

But now I want to know your take on this one.

What do you think about supplements?

Have they actually helped you in your training or are they just placebo?

Let me know in the comments below.