I don’t remember the first time I bought a supplement nor do I remember the effects of that supplement. But I definitely remember the reason why I bought that supplement….to get bigger and stronger. At the time I thought one tub would have me look like the people in magazines and movies endorsing these supplements, boy was I wrong. I’m 25 now and I have been consistently training and taking various types of supplements for the past 6 years so I think I’ve learnt a thing or two. But the big question is how much have they contributed to my fitness goals? It’s difficult to say because how you look is dependent on a multitude of factors (diet, genetics, consistency, training methodology etc.) but they certainly have and for this post, I’d like to condense all that I have learnt from my personal experience and education into my top 5 supplements.
#1 Whey Protein
This is by far the most common supplement people request but most people don’t actually know why they should buy whey, they just know they need it. So, what exactly is whey? It is 20% of the protein in cow’s milk, with the other 80% being casein which is a slow digesting form of protein (ideal to take before bed). There are many benefits of whey protein but the main one is it supports muscle gain. Whey is a complete protein, meaning that it contains all the amino acids that are considered essential and must be taken in through food (i.e., the body can’t make them naturally). That gives whey an advantage over plant proteins such as rice, which needs to be combined with other types of protein powder or food to offer the full spectrum of aminos in amounts that the body can use to build muscle.
How much do you need?
A 2017 research analysis by the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) revealed that for those looking to maximize muscle gains, they recommended eating protein in moderate doses of 20–40 grams (1-2 scoops), spread among three or four meals throughout the day. Using whey protein makes it much easier to consume these recommended amounts, so instead of having to cook a full chicken breast, you can just have 1 or 2 scoops of protein and you are sorted for the day.
#2 Vitamin D3
Vitamin D is a vitamin that helps the bones absorb calcium, supports the immune system and may aid strength gain and fat loss. When your skin absorbs ultraviolet radiation, a cholesterol precursor in your body is converted to vitamin D3 (one type of D vitamin). However, this is a challenge for most people to get the amount of vitamin D they need from the sun alone. Fortunately, vitamin D is available in food but the best source is from supplements.
Outside of promoting bone health and growth, vitamin D3 has been linked to the following:
Weight management
A study by The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition followed overweight and obese women on a diet and exercise routine for one year. Half the subjects received a vitamin D supplement, and the other half a placebo. Researchers found that the ones who got up to healthy vitamin D levels lost more weight than the placebo group—by an average of seven pounds.
Strength
A 2015 meta-analysis of seven studies found that vitamin D supplementation significantly aided gains in upper- and lower-limb strength. The subjects ranged from 18 to 40 years of age.
#3 Creatine
Creatine is a molecule produced naturally in the body and can be found in foods such as red meat. There have been hundreds of research papers done on creatine and the results always seem to be the same, more strength, power and energy. I personally rank it as the number one supplement everyone should try when they are first starting off.
Click here for a more in depth explanation of creatine
#4 Caffeine (Pre-workout)
Caffeine is the most consumed psychoactive drug on the planet and research has shown that consuming caffeine before training results in an increase in power while suppressing fatigue. But not only does caffeine make you stronger but it also increases energy expenditure meaning you can burn more calories whilst on caffeine then if you were not.
It is important to note that caffeine is very susceptible to tolerance which, means that after long term use, the effects will begin to diminish and will eventually become ineffective even if the dosage is increased. The best way to avoid this from occurring is to cycle your usage of caffeine, my recommendation is to take a week off caffeine every 1-2 months for resensitization.
The goal of ingesting caffeine before training is to increase vascularity which will improve the so called ‘pump’ feeling during a workout. However, I do think people tend to overdo it with caffeine with individuals sometimes taking excessive scoops of a pre-workout supplement whilst also include a morning coffee into their diet. This may lead to a disease called caffeinism. I recommend not going above 500mg of caffeine a day.
#5 Omega 3s & Fish Oil
Omega 3s play a huge role for fat loss. And this is not because they are a healthy fat but its because they activate something known as uncoupling protein 1 in our bodies. Uncoupling protein 1 signals our body to increase or body temperature which is great for fat loss. It signals brown fat, which is the good fat in our body, to trigger what is called thermogenesis. Thermogenesis is the process of heat production that occurs in our bodies, the higher your body temperature is the more calories you burn and ultimately the more fat you burn.
Our bodies contain good fat and bad fat, brown fat and white fat. Brown fat is the fat that gets our body temperature up but for this to occur it has to get activated. Uncoupling protein 1 activates it but what’s even better is that the fish oil (which contains omega 3) activates even more of the uncoupling protein 1. So, a simple equation would look like this, more fish oil = more uncoupling protein 1 = higher body temperature = more calories burned.
There are two different kinds of fats stored in omega 3s, EPA and DHA. EPA is good for modulating inflammation throughout the body and DHA is good for brain health. Ideally you want a fish oil that contains the right ratio of both EPA and DHA. But most supplement companies produce fish oil which has copious amount of EPA but very little DHA. What you should look for is a ratio of 3:2 (EPA:DHA) when purchasing fish oil supplements.
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