Top 3 Essential Supplements

One of the most asked questions on fitness is what kind of supplement to use. It’s quite hard to determine what kind of supplement to buy in the first place since everyone has different goals. However, there are some supplements that are better than others in terms of how they perform.

Supplements for performance:

There are some supplements one would need for goals that are performance-based. If you’re someone that cares about the number of the weight on the bar, how fast your quarter mile is, and other performance metrics, these supplements for fitness are for you.

Creatine is the most researched and studied supplement and it has consistently been shown to be effective and safe for the vast majority of people. It helps your energy levels by increasing ATP production in your body. You can often lift more weight and perform better on physical activity with creatine and it’s definitely worth a try. An added bonus is that it increases muscle size.

Pre-workout is a concoction drink that has several ingredients shown to increase power and force production. It often contains caffeine which increases alertness and reduces fatigue, beta-alanine which increases force production, and L-citrulline which helps with vasodilation in the muscle. They have a lot of other ingredients that help with performance and it’s definitely worth trying if you need that extra boost.

One of the most underrated elements of recovery and performance is your electrolyte balance with hydration. Just by improving hydration and the level of electrolytes you have, you can dramatically increase power production and performance.

Muscle size:

Hypertrophy is the goal of many gym-goers and it’s one of the biggest reasons why people take supplements. Here are a few supplements that have been shown to increase muscle size.

When you break down muscle, you increase muscle protein synthesis in the muscle which requires having enough high-quality protein. Whey protein increases your overall protein intake during the day which helps you synthesize protein in the muscle leading to more muscle gains.

BCAAs can be taken intra or pre-workout in order to improve how much protein is available in the body. Moreover, it helps you recover faster between sets which can cause more damage to the muscle leading to more muscle gains.

Casein is a form of whey that digests slower than regular whey protein. It’s good to take if you’re in a fasting diet where you need that protein synthesis to take longer so you’re less likely to go catabolic and risk losing muscle.

Health:

Some supplements not only help with muscle and performance, but they also help with health and they should be taken by everyone. Here are a few of the ones that work.

A lot of people like to hate on multivitamins using the jack of all trades is a master of none analogy. However, most fail to realize that the jack of all trades while not a master of one is better than a master. Having a high-quality multivitamin can actually help you increase your nutrient intake throughout the day even if it’s just a bit more. It would be very difficult to take all your vitamins through food or by taking them separately as supplements.

Most people have an imbalance in omega 3, 6, and 9. By adding more omega 3, you are increasing the good cholesterol and improving heart health overall. Moreover, a lot of studies have shown that it helps with memory and joint health as well.

Vitamin D is responsible for a lot of functions in the body and it’s necessary to have. However, if you live in a cold climate where you don’t get a lot of sun, then you might not have an opportunity to convert D3 in your body which is why it’s important to take it as a supplement.