Top 10 Workout Supplement for Best Results
Richard Haberkost
It doesn’t matter how hard you work in the gym if your diet is off you aren’t going to get results that your efforts deserve. Supplementation is a vital part of the nutritional equation. Knowing the supplements that actually work for your pre and post-workout, fat loss and muscle building are key to maximum performance and results. This mega article brings together the best supplements to get you jacked in 2019.
In a Hurry? The test winner after 17 hrs of research
Pure creatine
Mixes well
Additive-free
10 Best Workout Supplements
1. Optimum Nutrition Creatine Powder
Pure creatine
Mixes well
Additive-free
Tasteless
Creatine is the most heavily studied workout supplement on the planet. Time and again, studies have shown the effectiveness of creatine supplements in restoring ATP, the body’s main energy source, to the muscle cell.
Read moreEffectiveness
This allows for more strength, explosive endurance, and less workout fatigue. Optimum Nutrition’s pure creatine powder provides 5 grams of 99.9% pure micronized creatine. The micronization process means that the creatine will mix more readily and more quickly absorb into the bloodstream.
Ease of Use
Optimum Nutrition creatine is unflavored, making it ideal for stacking with such other supplements as beta-alanine and glutamine. It mixes very well with water or juice and can also be added to your post-workout protein shake (take a look at the best protein shaker bottles). This product is completely additive and artificial flavoring free.
Value
This is a good value product that will reward you through visible physical results and help build up impressively shaped muscle mass.
2. Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Powder
3 types of whey
Includes BCAAs and Glutamine
21 great flavors
Formula changed from original
Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey has been rated as the top whey powder on the market for many years, attesting to its effectiveness as an anabolic booster.
Read moreEffectiveness
It contains three different types of whey – whey isolate (whey with lactose and fat removed), whey concentrate (whey with the fat and lactose left in) and whey peptides (amino acids that have broken into tiny chains). This blend also contains 5 grams of BCAAs and 4 grams of glutamine.
Ease of Use
Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey uses the natural sweeteners Ace-K and Sucralose to deliver their impressive array of delicious flavors. Also included is Amino Gen, Optimum’s own enzyme brand designed to break down amino acids. This lean protein powder is easily digestible. Gold Standard mixes very well and tastes great.
Value
A high-value supplement which is very popular because this gives great results.
3. Beta Alanine
Pure beta-alanine
Vegan-friendly
Cost-effective
Unpleasant taste
Beta-Alanine, whichever brand you choose, the results are very impressive, being an amino acid and a known precursor for carnosine which works for being an antioxidant this high performing supplement is great for healthy muscle and organ functions
Read moreEffectiveness
Beta-Alanine contains 75 grams of pure beta-alanine in every capsule. Beta-alanine is a naturally occurring amino acid that increases the body’s production of carnosine. Carnosine, in turn, helps to delay the onset of fatigue. It also works alongside creatine to restore ATP levels and allow the trainer to push through to get that extra one or two reps.
Ease of Use
Contains no sugar, salt, starch, yeast, wheat, gluten, soy, milk, egg or preservatives. It is also a vegan-friendly supplement.
Beta-alanine supplementation may cause a slight tingling sensation to the outer extremities when you first take. This is a normal reaction and is not harmful.
Value
Universally known for being very effective, easy to use for consumption and seriously good value.
4. Legion Pulse Pre Workout
All ingredients are scientifically proven
Natural sweeteners
Made in the USA
Expensive
Looking for a pre-workout supplement that will work for you, this is it, very popular supplement, easy price and highly effective.
Read moreEffectiveness
Legion Pulse is a pre-workout supplement that has been designed to cover all of your training bases. It provides increased energy and blood flow, reduces fatigue, improves muscular endurance and even sharpens mental focus.
Ease of Use
Rather than packing their pre-workout with cheap stimulants, Legion has only added caffeine as a stimulant in order to provide a smooth energy rush effect. Key ingredients in this formula are citrulline malate, ornithine, beta-alanine, betaine, caffeine, and theanine. Legion Pulse is 100% naturally sweetened and flavored. It is made in the USA and comes with a 100% money-back guarantee.
Value
Value through research and use.
Each of the ingredients in Legion Pulse has been selected on the basis of peer-reviewed research studies to demonstrate its ability.
5. Optimum Nutrition BCAA Capsules
1000 mg per capsule
2:1:1 ratio
Easy to swallow capsules
Expensive
Branch chain amino acids are vital for muscle building. These three essential amino acids are leucine, valine, and isoleucine. Together they provide a muscle sparing effect during your workout, preventing you from going into a catabolic state.
Read moreEffectiveness
When taken after your workout, they will kick start protein synthesis, shunting your body into an anabolic, muscle-building state. Optimum Nutrition 1000 BCAA capsules deliver 1000 mg of branch chain amino acids directly to your muscles.
Ease of Use
Optimum Nutrition BCAA Capsules deliver the three amino acids in the ideal ratio for absorption by the body of 2:1:1: where you get twice as much leucine as you do valine and isoleucine. The capsule format makes the formulation easy to swallow and is quick and easy.
Value
For increasing muscle this gives value and a consistent benefit, money spent wisely for good results.
6. Legion Athletics Recharge
Natural, scientifically proven ingredients
Includes corosolic acid to regulate blood glucose
Naturally sweetened and flavored
May cause a bloated reaction
Legion Athletics Recharge is a post-workout supplement that is designed to allow you to build more muscle and strength, while also reducing post-workout muscle soreness and speeding up recovery.
Read moreEffectiveness
To achieve this, Legion has included in this product a handful of ingredients that have been scientifically proven to be effective. All of the ingredients are 100% natural, with no artificial ingredients added. Each ingredient is used at the clinically effective dose.
Ease of Use
The Legion Athletics Recharge formulation includes creatine monohydrate, L-Carnitine, L-Tartrate, and Corosolic Acid. This last ingredient improves blood glucose control and boosts insulin signaling to enhance post-workout carb consumption.
Value
This product is 100% naturally sweetened and flavored. It is made in the USA and comes with a 100% money-back guarantee.
7. BSN N.O. Explode
Includes Creatine and Beta-alanine
Great taste
Good caffeine dosage
Nasty taste
BSN NO Explode is the original pre-workout formula from BSN that first came out in 2004, reformulated and more potent than ever.
Read moreEffectiveness
The new NO Explode formulation includes 275 mg of caffeine to deliver the right amount of energy and focus without bringing on the dreaded post exercise crash. 1.8 grams of beta-alanine provides extra training endurance, offsetting fatigue. This is combined with 3 grams of creatine for even more power.
Ease of Use
BSN NO Explode features a unique myogenic Matrix that consists of an advanced creatine blend. It boosts the effects of creatine to the max, allowing you to train with more intensity.
Value
Good value.
You’ll also get enhanced endurance from the Endura Shot blend.
8. Cellucor C4 Pre Workout Energy Drink
Ready to drink
Creatine
Great tasting
May produce a tingling sensation
Cellucor C4 Pre Workout Energy Drink is ready to drink version of Cellucor’s popular powdered pre-workout formula. It is designed to provide you with explosive training energy, intense and workout focus. It comes in ultra handy 10z bottles.
Read moreEffectiveness
The product contains scientifically proven ingredients that promote energy, pumps and performance. These include beta-alanine for muscular endurance. Creatine is blended with nitrate for strength and a pump effect.
Ease of Use
All of the flavors of Cellucor C4 provide a great tasting pre-workout drink. Unlike may pre-workouts, it isn’t overly sweet. The Pink Lemonade version is naturally colored with beetroot. This product includes caffeine and beta-alanine. People who are sensitive to these ingredients may experience some tingling when they take the product.
Value
Effective and very affordable.
9. Pre-Workout Creatine Powders
Faster absorbing
No loading phase required
No fillers or sweeteners
Many powders cause bloating
Creatine powders are an easily accessible source of energy for exactly when you need it. There are many advanced patented brand forms of creatine designed to maximize the already amazing and beneficial effects of this essential pre-workout supplement.
Read moreEffectiveness
Magnesium creatine has been shown to be absorbed more readily by the human body. This allows the creatine to take effect much sooner, flooding your cells with ATP energy and allowing you to push harder for longer. Unlike many creatine formulations, there is no loading phase required when you use this product.
Ease of Use
There are no fillers or artificial ingredients in this product – just pure magnesium creatine to power your workouts to new heights.
Value
Naturo Nitro Creatine comes in capsule form. You get 90 capsules in each bottle, giving you a full month’s supply of the product.
10. Pre Workout Powders
Great source of energy
Many flavors available
Easy to store
Available in capsules or powder
Can give a bloated feeling
Pre-workout supplements that come in powder form, sachets or capsules. This range of supplements is designed to make you a lot stronger in the gym, with more endurance while training harder and more effectively.
Read moreEffectiveness
Pre-workout supplements are great for a surge of energy exactly when you most need it, with your surge of energy you will still retain good focus while benefitting from prolonged endurance. Dedicated training at home in your home gym often means you have more time to spend on training and this means that you may well want to have convenient bursts or surges of energy to aid reaching your targets while training. Offered in a very good range of tasty flavors and in powder form for easy storage.
Ease of Use
Pre-work supplements give excellent ease of use when you want them, these powders come in packages which can be easily torn open, or as a powder in containers. Simply add to water, stir in the powder to dissolve and your energy boost is ready.
Value
Energy powders are a good value for money and can be purchased easily and have a long storage life span meaning you get value for money and instant access to needed bouts of extra energy whenever you need it.
Criteria Used for Evaluation
Effectiveness
Effectiveness results from Ingredients.
Caffeine
Caffeine is, by far, the world’s most popular stimulant. There are gazillions of studies that show that dropping some caffeine pre-workout can help:
Boost energy
Increase focus and alertness
Burn fat
Prolong your workout
Caffeine has a powerful effect on the central nervous system. It excites the spin Caffeine has a powerful effect on the central nervous system. It excites the spinal cord while improving muscle fiber recruitment.
During Your Workout
Water + Dextrose
During your workout, your priorities are to stay hydrated and to replenish your glycogen levels. Water is a great way to do both. Adding dextrose to the mix (literally mixing it into your water bottle) will make your H20 even more potent. Dextrose, also known as glucose, is a corn-based energy source that is readily absorbed by the body. It stimulates an immediate insulin response, which will drive nutrients to the cells, allowing you to perform longer and be stronger.
Post Workout
Glutamine
Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the human body. It is a non-essential amino acid, meaning that your body can produce it by itself. 61% of your skeletal muscle is composed of glutamine.
Glutamine is a key transporter of nitrogen throughout the body. It is, in fact, the main way that nitrogen gets into your muscle cells. Nitrogen is the driver of muscle growth. Being in a state of positive nitrogen balance will determine whether your body is in an anabolic (muscle building) or a catabolic (muscle depleting) state.
When you work out, you lose a lot of glutamine. Heavy, frequent, intense training will actually remove the majority of these amino acids from your system. After your workout, your body is in a glutamine depleted state. It will take up to 6 days for your glutamine levels to return to normal after just one heavy workout. Therefore, if you are training intensely several times a week, you will be in a constant state of glutamine depletion. Yet this amino acid is the most important substance that you need for recovery. That is why you need to take a quality glutamine supplement.
Vitamin B12
Supplementing with B12 with help ward off fatigue and exhaustion. In addition, it keeps your nerves and red blood cells working optimally helps maintain a healthy digestive system and promotes healthy skin, hair, and nails. To top it off, Vitamin B12 helps battle breast, colon and lung cancer. The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for Vitamin B12 is 2.4 micrograms per day.
Whey Protein
Taking whey protein in shake form within twenty minutes of working out is the most effective way to fast track amino acids to your muscle tissue. This will provide the building material that the cells need to repair and regrow.
Whey protein does more than build muscle. It also helps to regulate the storage of carbs and fats. In this way, it acts to assist in the loss of body fat. The amino acids from whey are converted into blood sugar in the liver, acting as an appetite suppressant.
What Supplements Should I Take to Lose Weight and Gain Muscle?
To say that the fitness supplement market is saturated is a bit of an understatement. With so many brands in your face, all promising to get you leaner and more massive than the competition, it’s no wonder that people are confused when trying to figure out which supplements to take to lose weight and gain lean muscle.
Let’s break it down to the absolute essentials that you need to be taking in order to get big while getting lean:
Protein Powder
Protein is the cement from which your cells build muscle. When you work out, you break down the muscle cell. It is the amino acids that are contained in the protein that you take into your body that rebuilds the cell. You need to be having a constant supply of protein coming into your body. On a daily basis, you need to be consuming at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight.
It is especially important that you take in quality protein after your workout. That is when your muscles are depleted the most. The best way to get the protein to the cell is to consume a fast-acting shake and mix in whey within 20 minutes of finishing your workout.
Creatine
ATP is the fuel that powers your muscles. When you are working out, ATP gets used up by being converted to ADP. When this happens, you lose strength and can no longer perform. Creatine is a naturally occurring compound that has the ability to reconvert ADP back to ATP. This allows you to extend your set, enabling you to push out more reps with heavier weight – and that makes al the difference in your muscle-building endeavors.
BCAA’s
The Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAA’s) are the amino acids L-Leucine, L-Isoleucine, and L-Valine. They are used more readily by the muscle tissue of your body than other amino acids. Branch Chain Amino Acids are necessary post-workout to get your body out of a catabolic state.
Protein powders are not all created equal. Many of them are packed with fillers and additives that will make you fat. Some also contain too many carbs in the way of maltodextrin and other sugars.
There are two most common categories of protein: whey and casein. Of the two, whey is the fastest to be absorbed by the body, making it a better choice during the day. However, the slow release of casein makes it the best option as a pre-bedtime source of protein, allowing for a slow release of amino acids as you are sleeping.
Whey protein can be further divided into isolate, hydrolysate, and concentrate. They each have their benefits. Isolate will provide the highest level of bioavailability, while hydrolysate is the fastest to be absorbed, and the concentrate is the cheapest.
What About Fat Burners?
The manufacturers of fat burning supplements make all sorts of outrageous claims about their ability to strip off body fat. The truth is that they can help to boost fat loss so long as you’re training hard and eating clean. Look out for fat burners that contain stimulants, such as caffeine and green tea, designed to give you a training boost. Other ingredients are designed to speed up metabolism and suppress appetite.
Meal Replacement Shakes for Weight Loss for Women
Taking a meal replacement shake one or two times per day is a great way to reduce your daily caloric consumption while ensuring that you’re stilling getting the macro and micronutrients that you need. The key things you need to look for when trying to decide what’s the best meal replacement shake for weight loss are a decent amount of protein, fiber and under 300 calories per serving. Make sure, too, that it is low in sugar and additives.
Ease of Use
Ease of Use concludes our criteria for the best workout supplements.
The supplement market is saturated with all manner of products promising to give you the best workout possible while building max muscle. In this article, we’ve waded through the market to bring you the best supplements on the market. Our single favorite product is Optimum Nutrition’s pure creatine powder, which provides 99.9% pure creatine, mixes well and is additive-free.
Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey is our second favorite overall. This top-rated protein powder is a mix of three types of whey, includes glutamine and BCAA’s and comes in 21 great flavors. Our third-ranked supplement overall is NOW Foods Beta-Alanine 75 grams, which is a cost-effective pure beta-alanine product.
Value
Value is paramount when selecting your choice of workout supplements
When looking for a workout supplement that matches your training aims or schedule, doing comparative research will enable you to be on target for whatever product you settle on using. We looked over a wide range of options, the brand names available are seemingly limitless but take away the brand name and these products generally have the same core ingredients. Differences arise in strength/doses, the higher the dose the bigger the impact on your body in terms of performance, bulk and muscle growth. Using supplements for training purposes is for most of us is not a short term involvement but involves use over prolonged periods of time until you feel you have achieved your peak physical aims. Training is hard work and so there are many energy-boosting supplements.
This means a consistent layout of money and so the value is very important.
You should shop around when looking for a supplement which boosts energy, consider the purpose of your supplement, do you want a pre-boost of energy for a short time or a long energy boost.
Carry out some research and check reviews online, there are many choices available and they can come as gels, capsules, liquids, energy bars or powders. also available are a good range of flavors so you can choose a supplement which appeals to your taste buds. Check the ingredients to see what is in your supplement to boost energy, consider the side effects and ensure that there are not any effects which might be detrimental to your health.
When you look for a whey product you will find many choices are available, highly nutritious and known to have positive health benefits. Packed with healthy amino acids and very easy to digest compared to other forms of protein.
Your lowest cost type of whey comes as a concentrate and very good for increasing muscle mass, do your research and this way you will choose the best whey supplement for your specific needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
q: I'm about to start using supplements, any advice?
You should start with a basic supplement, best to start with protein powder, if you feel you need more supplements, add one at a time until you feel that you have the best balance for your needs and body. Generally, you should look at pre-workout supplements, and post-recovery supplements. You can also look at using creatine as and when you need it, I advise you to do more research via online articles and forums.
q: Can I eat food together with supplements?
Vitamins are fine with food but other supplements tend to be situational so you should carefully the guidelines which come with your choice of supplements.
q: What amounts of protien powder can I have?
The accepted amount is around 30 to 40 grams with a meal, how well or quickly it is absorbed varies between people and can be affected by what other foods you eat.
q: How can I bulk up on a low budget
Go for whey protein, is easy to digest and helps build muscle mass.
q: Is beta-alanine safe? i get tingling from it.
The tingling that you feel is called paresthesia, it is not harmful to you, the nerves beneath your skin fire up due to your nerve receptors reacting to the beta-alanine.
