Fitness supplements are an industry worth billions. Though experts generally advise prioritizing diet over supplements, sometimes supplementation can speed your way towards your fitness goals more quickly.
As a rule, fitness supplements should fit with your goals and needs. Here are some popular fitness supplements:
Pre-workout supplements
Pre-workout supplements promise to provide energy, mental focus and physical performance enhancement during a workout. Most come in powder form that you mix into water or juice before taking half an hour prior to exercise – however it’s essential that you know exactly what’s involved before embarking on this path.
Pre-workout supplements often consist of creatine, beta-alanine and amino acids to maximize performance during exercise. Caffeine is another common addition, according to 2021 research from Journal of International Society of Sports Nutrition; studies suggest it can increase energy, endurance and alertness during physical exertion by blocking adenosine receptors in the brain and thus improving energy, endurance and alertness during workouts.
There are also compounds with thermogenic effects, or “thermogenics”, which help your metabolism increase and promote calorie burning in your body. Acetyl L-carnitine may even assist your muscles in using fat as fuel and thus further increase fat burning.
Post-workout supplements
After exercise, your body needs to replenish its energy stores (known as glycogen) quickly. Carbs provide immediate and sustained energy during post-workout sessions; post-workout supplement containing carb blends contain both simple and complex carbohydrates for immediate and sustained energy delivery; these supplements also contain B vitamins that aid the body in turning glucose into fuel; beta-alanine helps reduce lactic acid build-up while increasing performance.
Many post-workout supplements come in powder form that must be mixed with liquid, such as water. They often include ingredients designed to promote muscle growth and recovery, such as whey protein (to aid repair and protein synthesis), creatine (which boosts strength), BCAAs (which reduce muscle breakdown) and electrolytes (which replenish what has been lost through sweat) among others.
Supplements have their place, but should never be seen as the answer to achieving fitness. Achieve success requires dedication, hard work and a healthy diet – not simply supplements!
Weight loss supplements
When trying to lose weight, supplements like carnitine may help accelerate metabolism. You could also try supplements containing soluble fiber for added satiation.
Diet is the cornerstone of healthy living, so fitness enthusiasts often turn to supplements as part of their workout regimen to push themselves further in the gym.
These supplements, commonly referred to as ergogenic aids, claim to increase strength or endurance, help you reach performance goals faster or increase tolerance for intensive training more quickly. Unfortunately, most studies on such supplements for exercise and athletic performance only include highly trained athletes – however NIH resources help dispel confusion by offering insights into what we know about their effectiveness and safety – such as BCAAs (branched-chain amino acids), creatine monohydrate, beetroot powder and caffeine as popular choices that could boost performance.
Muscle support supplements
No matter if your goal is gaining muscle or simply performing better in the gym, your body requires specific vitamins and supplements that provide strength to its muscles. Vitamin C is an effective way to prevent muscle injury and recover quicker after workouts by helping metabolise carbohydrates, absorb iron and repair micro-tears produced during exercise. Vitamin B9 (folate) also plays an integral part in muscle growth as it produces red blood cells that carry oxygen into muscles – it can be found both naturally in food sources such as animal meat as well as in supplement form.
Beta-alanine is an amino acid that increases carnosine levels in skeletal muscles to help buffer against lactic acid build-up and decrease fatigue during high intensity exercises lasting 1-4 minutes. When taken alongside sodium bicarbonate it increases efficacy while simultaneously decreasing any unpleasant tingling side effects associated with beta-alanine use; available both as tablets and powder.
