There’s a reason that supplementation is one of the final things I focus on with the lads I work with.
It’s because the effect they can have is generally much smaller than getting other elements of nutrition optimised.
With that said, once you’ve gotten the bulk of your nutritional approach in order, appropriate supplements can have their place, allowing you to address deficiencies in your diet or to provide ergogenic (performance-enhancing) aids.
In this article, you’ll find a series of supplements that may be useful to you, depending on your situation.
As an important note, it is recommended to only use supplements that are batch-tested and certified as free from illegal performance-enhancing drugs, so be sure to do your research when it comes to the quality of your supplement provider.
Looking for certification marks like those from ‘Informed Sport’ will help ensure you’re covered here.
Please also note that this list is not exhaustive, so there may be supplements outside of the list that infer benefits.
You also shouldn’t feel the need to use every supplement on the list.
In fact, adding one at a time will allow you to assess any benefits and correctly attribute them to the specific supplement.
Finally, it is recommended to speak with your physician before undertaking any nutritional supplementation intervention.
Protein Powder
Protein, whether from food or supplements, contains the amino acids needed for recovery and growth of muscle tissue, as well as other tissues in the body, making protein essential for the growth and repair of those tissues.
Hitting a sufficiently high protein intake through food alone can be difficult.
In this case, a protein powder, such as whey protein, becomes a high-quality, convenient, versatile source of this protein.
The most popular form of protein powder, whey protein, is actually a by-product of the cheese-making process, and can be seen as much as a food or ingredient as a supplement.
It can be added to meals (e.g. porridge oats or yoghurt) or mixed with a liquid (e.g. water or milk) and drunk as a stand-alone shake in order to increase protein intake.
Various non-dairy protein powders are also available, and can be used for similar purposes.
The serving size is generally around 25g, but this can be increased or decreased to suit your needs.
It is often used as a post-training recovery drink, due to its convenience and the need for protein intake post-training for recovery, which is a worthy use of it, but it can be consumed at any time of day.
Carbohydrate Supplements
Carbohydrate supplements also fall into a category somewhere between food and supplement.
The main source of concentrated carbohydrates throughout history was honey, and this concentrated source of energy (in the form of carbohydrates) was said to have been used by warriors before going into battle as an energy aid.
Scientists have since done many studies on the effects of carbohydrates on exercise performance, and carbohydrate intake before and during intense training and competition has been shown to be beneficial to performance, providing a fast-digesting, dense energy supply when it’s needed most.
This is partly why sports drinks have become so popular, and these can be viewed as a carbohydrate supplement.
However, there are also less expensive methods of garnering the benefits of carbohydrates in a supplemental form.
Glucose, dextrose, maltodextrin, vitargo, and highly branched cyclic dextrin are popular forms of supplemental carbohydrates that can be consumed around training and matches in order to provide that extra supply of energy substrate.
These examples usually come in the form of powders or energy gels, for use in various situations, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Those who are aiming to lose weight, or even some people who are trying to maintain weight, and are struggling with managing general hunger levels might be best served by leaving out or limiting these extra carbohydrate supplements before and during exercise, since the calories therein obviously contribute to one’s daily caloric intake, potentially leading to that person having to cut down their food intake elsewhere.
There are others in this situation who find benefit in having carbohydrates during this time to offset the fact that they are consuming less carbohydrates during the day.
However, even swirling a sugary drink in the mouth and spitting it out has been shown to provide some performance benefits.
Carbohydrate supplementation is not for everyone, as some people experience excessive blood sugar fluctuations during exercise after excessive carbohydrate consumption.
This may also be related to the amounts, and so trial and error will allow individuals to assess this for themselves.
Digestive issues can also occur with large intakes of these supplements, although the gut can be ‘trained’ to handle more over time, so timing and amounts are something to experiment with if you decide to use carbohydrate supplements.
In terms of recommendations, you can start consuming your carbohydrate powder (mixed with water or diluted juice) or energy gel 30 minutes before the workout/session/match, and continue to consume it right through the warm-up, and throughout the activity.
Around 30-60g of carbohydrate per hour of activity in total is recommended for most sports, coming from a sports drink, a mixed drink of water with a carbohydrate powder (with flavour from another source such as diluted juice if needed), an energy gel, or other source, such as jelly sweets. There is more information on this in the intra-training article.
Creatine
Creatine is a collection of a specific set of amino acids, found naturally in foods like fish and meat, and is also naturally created within the body.
It is involved in energy production in activities lasting a short amount of time, where a quick turnover of energy is needed.
This includes activities like sprinting, jumping, and lifting weights.
It is the most researched sports supplement, and no consistent negative side effects have been shown.
Supplementing with creatine monohydrate provides the body with greater stores of creatine than you could reasonably get from food, leading to greater performance in those short, intense activities.
This can lead to improvements in power output, strength, speed, and possibly even endurance activities over time.
Most athletes will benefit from supplementing with creatine for the performance benefits, and it would be of particular benefit to those who are trying to gain muscle and strength.
The recommended daily dose of creatine is 3-5g per day of the creatine monohydrate form.
The creatine stores in the body will become saturated over a period of weeks/months, as opposed to having an immediate effect, so you can take it at any time of day.
However, having it at a time of day that you’ll remember to take it, such as with breakfast, or in your post-workout shake, can improve your likelihood of taking it regularly, and therefore reaping the benefits.
Caffeine
We all know the wakening effect of a cup of coffee on a tired weekday morning, but the benefits of caffeine consumption can also extend to athletic performance, with improved cognition and muscular performance being seen when taken before exercise.
Its effects on wakefulness are caused by caffeine interfering with adenosine (a molecule that signals sleepiness in the brain), and the more performance-enhancing effects are, at least in part, caused by increases in hormones like dopamine and adrenaline.
Caffeine can be used by those who want a bit of a boost before training or matches.
It’s particularly useful for those who don’t usually drink a lot of coffee or other caffeinated products, as it is more effective in people who don’t usually use it.
However, regular users can get similar effects by taking an increased dose (within reason).
General supplementation recommendations for exercise performance are 100-400mg, depending on your tolerance, general caffeine use, and subjective feeling when using it.
It’s usually best to start off low and increase the dosage if needed, so that you know what to expect (jitters and increased anxiety can be side effects of excessive caffeine intake, for example).
Supplementation can be in the form of a cup of coffee, or other supplements like caffeine gum, energy drinks, and caffeine pills.
Another issue worth considering is caffeine's effect on sleep.
It takes about 5 hours for half of the caffeine consumed to leave your body, so it is important to monitor how your sleep is affected, particularly for evening training sessions and matches, adjusting the timing and dosage of your intake as needed.
This will vary based on the person, but in general, having a cut-off time for caffeine intake somewhere in the late morning/early afternoon is a good place to start.
With evening training sessions and matches, weighing up the performance benefits vs sleep detriments will be a personal decision, but prioritising the sleep aspect, outside of perhaps those most important matches, is likely to lead to better outcomes over time.
Fish Oil
Omega-3 fatty acids are essential in the human body, meaning that they cannot be created within the human body and need to be consumed through food or supplementation.
They are found, most notably, in oily fish, but given the lack of oily fish that is eaten today, people tend to under-consume these essential fatty acids compared to what is optimal, and doing so can increase your risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and several forms of cancer.
On a lower level, getting sufficient intake of these nutrients can help with recovery and possibly even muscle growth.
Supplementing with fish oils in the form of liquids or capsules can be a convenient and effective method for increasing Omega-3 intake.
Anyone who is seeking optimal health should aim to consume at least 2-3 servings of oily fish per week, but if this isn’t possible or practical, then supplementing daily with fish oils can be a good second option.
The recommended daily dosage of fish oils is 1-2g of combined DHA/EPA per day.
When selecting a fish oil supplement, it’s important to note that this 1-2g recommendation is the combined DHA and EPA amount (usually found on the back of the label), and not the total fish oil amount (usually found on the front of the label).
These can be consumed at any time of day but are generally best consumed with food to aid with their digestion.
Choosing a liquid version over a capsule version is usually less expensive, albeit there is a trade-off of having to taste the liquid.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is known as the sunlight vitamin, due to the fact that our body creates vitamin D when our skin senses sunlight.
It is involved in the absorption of calcium and therefore affects bone health, but it has also been shown to significantly affect other aspects of health such as inflammation, the immune system, and even mood.
Unfortunately for most of us, it’s not practical to get a lot of sunlight, especially in the winter.
Supplementation is recommended for anyone living in a part of the world where it isn’t often sunny, and/or for those who don’t spend much time in the sun.
The recommended daily dosage for vitamin D is 1000-4000IU, which can be taken at any time of day, but should be taken with a source of fat, since it is a fat-soluble vitamin.
For this reason, taking it with a meal, which will also help you to remember to take it each day, can be a good idea.
There is a lot of research showing benefits across various health markers with supplementation of vitamin D, and research continues to show more benefits as time goes on.
It is also relatively inexpensive and readily available.
For these reasons, it is a supplement very worthy of your consideration.
Magnesium & Zinc
These 2 supplements grouped together here, simply because they are most commonly found together in ZMA supplements, which also contain vitamin B6 (surprisingly though, since it doesn’t seem to have much effect).
Magnesium and Zinc can be taken as separate supplements, which is generally a better approach for sourcing quality versions in the quantities that you want.
Athletes, in particular, are often deficient in magnesium and zinc, and bringing levels back up has a combination of effects including enhanced insulin sensitivity, increased testosterone levels, improved mood, better exercise performance, better sleep, and many other benefits.
ZMA supplements are an easy way of getting both Zinc and Magnesium in sufficient doses all in one supplement, but these can be supplemented separately.
Athletes tend to be lower in magnesium and zinc when compared to average populations, as intense training and sweating can deplete levels in the body.
It is recommended for those who are training at a high level, and/or have some other reason to consider themselves at risk of deficiency.
Most ZMA supplements contain the recommended supplemental amounts in each serving, which is about 10-50mg for Zinc, and about 200-400 mg for Magnesium (Magnesium glycinate is a form of magnesium with high bioavailability so is recommended).
Zinc supplementation at the onset of a cold has also been shown to decrease the duration of symptoms, and magnesium supplementation before sleep has been shown to improve sleep quality.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is involved in the immune system, as well as in regeneration of connective tissue, and it is also an antioxidant.
Supplementation has been shown to decrease the likelihood of getting a cold, for example, as well as the duration of an already present cold.
It is generally quite easy to get the recommended amount of vitamin C through the diet, by consuming plenty of fruits and vegetables like oranges, peppers, and greens.
For this reason, most people probably don’t need to regularly supplement with vitamin C, but it might be worth supplementing with up to 2000mg (spread throughout the day) if you feel a cold coming on, or if you already have one, in an attempt to decrease the length and severity of it.
It can also be worth supplementing at times when you would be at greater risk of getting a cold, like during winter, and/or during a tough training cycle.
Multivitamin
Multivitamins contain many of the recommended daily intakes of various vitamins and minerals.
With a healthy, varied diet, we can get most of these without the need to supplement.
For athletes with particularly high intakes of foods, this ability to hit the recommended intakes can be increased.
However, there is also an argument that athletes need more, due to the demand they are placing on their body.
We see this with the depletion of magnesium/zinc stores, for example.
A multivitamin is by no means essential, but can be a relatively inexpensive means of covering off any potential deficiencies within the diet.
However, taking a multivitamin should never be used as a reason not to maintain a diet filled with a wide variety of healthful foods.
For those who are in a weight-loss phase, and are therefore likely eating less food, it could also be worth supplementing, particularly if the training load remains high.
Another case for supplementation would be for those people who have identified various potential deficiencies in vitamins and minerals that can be rectified by a multivitamin, without the need to buy the various vitamin and mineral supplements separately.
There is a wide range of options when it comes to buying multivitamins, but opting for trusted brands and choosing an option that suits your budget, towards the higher end if possible, is recommended.
Beta-Alanine
Beta-Alanine increases the body’s ability to buffer acid build-up in the muscles, particularly in activities that involve repeated bouts of intense activity lasting 60-240 seconds.
For athletes, this can mean delaying the time it takes for the feeling commonly referred to as “Lactic Acid” build-up to occur in the muscles, meaning better performance in training sessions that involve that type of training.
This can also potentially help us get out more reps in the gym, leading to greater strength and muscle gains.
Beta-Alanine is potentially useful for those who have already optimised their overall diet, are training extremely hard, and have the budget to experiment with an additional supplement.
The benefits of Beta-Alanine supplementation occur only after a period of consistent use over a period of weeks, so it’s not necessary to take it directly before a workout or training session.
Supplementation with beta-alanine can lead to a tingling feeling in the skin, which is thought to be harmless, but can be avoided by spreading out the dosage throughout the day, which may also be a more optimal intake in terms of the benefits.
The recommended dosage is 2-5g per day.
Citrulline Malate
Citrulline Malate supplementation increases L-arginine levels in the blood, which increases Nitric Oxide Production, which has the effect of increasing vasodilation (the opening of blood vessels), and therefore increasing blood flow.
This potentially improves the body’s ability to get oxygen, glucose, and other key nutrients to the working muscles whilst also allowing for an improved ability to remove ‘waste products’ from the muscles.
It is beneficial in terms of reducing fatigue, possibly due to its ability to increase the body’s ability to replenish energy substrates (mainly glucose and phosphocreatine).
All that is a long way of saying that it increases blood flow, helping the flow of nutrients and energy to the muscles.
This is a supplement worth considering for those who have already got the rest of their diet on point, and are looking for something that might bring a small percentage of benefit, if the budget allows for it.
It is only likely to show benefit in those who are training hard, and often reaching a point of muscular fatigue.
It is also worth noting that the research is mixed, with some research showing lesser effects than others, so it may be worth experimenting with for yourself.
The recommended dose is 6-8g (6000-8000mg) around an hour before training sessions and/or matches.
Beetroot Juice
500mg of nitrates (from about 500ml of beetroot juice or 1-2 concentrated shots), has been shown to increase exercise performance in both running and cycling time trials, as well as increasing time to exhaustion.
This may have some carry-over into athletic performance, with both fatigue and time to exhaustion being important.
This effect is most likely due to the increase in Nitric Oxide production in the body, leading to increased blood flow and therefore increased ability to provide nutrients and energy to the working muscles.
High-nitrate food like beetroot can be a beneficial addition to your overall diet, so if you enjoy the taste, add them in.
Supplementing with them prior to training/matches could have a slight performance benefit in terms of reducing fatigue, so for those who already have the rest of their diet nailed down, and have the budget for it, it could be worth experimenting with.
The recommended dose of about 500mg of nitrates, 2-3 hours prior to exercise, can be provided by 500ml of beetroot juice, 500g of whole cooked beetroot, or 1-2 shots of concentrated beetroot juice.
Collagen Hydrolysate/Gelatin
Recent research suggests that consuming gelatin (which is coincidentally the main ingredient used in making jelly), also known as collagen hydrolysate, can help with the recovery of joint injuries.
Given the high amount of joint injuries seen in athletes, this can be a useful supplement to have in mind to use when needed.
Gelatin/Collagen Hydrolysate provides the amino acids necessary for the synthesis of new joint tissue.
Given the shortage of blood flow through joint tissue in general, it can be useful to supplement with this shortly before rehab/training sessions where the target joint is going to be used, in order to give the amino acids the best chance of being transported to the recovering area.
Although this is a relatively new field of research, those who have joint injuries or general issues with their joints should consider supplementing.
Note also, that whilst this product will technically provide protein, it shouldn’t be seen as a replacement for protein in the diet, since the amino acid profile is not similar to that protein which contributes significantly to muscle gain/muscle recovery.
A 10-15g dose around an hour before an exercise session involving the injured joint has been shown to be effective.
Some vitamin C is required along with the gelatin/collagen hydrolysate for joint tissue synthesis, so it is recommended to consume either some fruit juice or a multivitamin/vitamin C supplement along with it.
Article Written By Conor O’Neill
Conor O’Neill is a Nutritionist, Strength & Conditioning coach, Psychologist, and Author.
He has helped 1000+ everyday athletes to pursue excellence in their physique and performance through optimising their nutrition, training, and psychology.
You can find out more about The Everyday Athlete Program by going to everydayathleteprogram.com/coaching.