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I regularly get asked what supplements to take if gaining muscle is the goal. The truth is, supplementation is one of the last things you should be thinking about if you want to gain muscle. Compared to effective training and nutrition, even the most scientifically validated supplements have a minimal effect on your progress [1].
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With that said, if your diet does not provide sufficient amounts of certain nutrients that are beneficial for muscle growth, supplementation can help. As you can see if you swipe left, only a few supplements are in most people effective for *slightly* increasing muscle growth.
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First, we have the most obvious one, whey protein. If you are not able to consume close to 1.6g/kg body weight of protein per day of protein, supplementing with whey protein can help you gain more muscle [2].
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Then we have 3 ergogenic (performance-enhancing) supplements. Supplementing with creatine, caffeine, and citrulline likely will help most people perform better in the gym [3-5]. Better performance ultimately leads to greater training adaptations.
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Again, none of these supplements are necessary to get great results. As a general recommendation, use supplements whenever necessary to fill a "gap" in your diet, but try to spend most of your energy on improving your training and nutrition.
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References:
1. Evidence-based recommendations for natural bodybuilding contest preparation: nutrition and supplementation
2. A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults | British Journal of Sports Medicine
3. International society of sports nutrition position stand: caffeine and performance | Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition | Full Text
4. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: creatine supplementation and exercise | Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition | Full Text
5. Citrulline malate enhances athletic anaerobic performance and relieves muscle soreness. - PubMed - NCBI
-
With that said, if your diet does not provide sufficient amounts of certain nutrients that are beneficial for muscle growth, supplementation can help. As you can see if you swipe left, only a few supplements are in most people effective for *slightly* increasing muscle growth.
-
First, we have the most obvious one, whey protein. If you are not able to consume close to 1.6g/kg body weight of protein per day of protein, supplementing with whey protein can help you gain more muscle [2].
-
Then we have 3 ergogenic (performance-enhancing) supplements. Supplementing with creatine, caffeine, and citrulline likely will help most people perform better in the gym [3-5]. Better performance ultimately leads to greater training adaptations.
-
Again, none of these supplements are necessary to get great results. As a general recommendation, use supplements whenever necessary to fill a "gap" in your diet, but try to spend most of your energy on improving your training and nutrition.
-
References:
1. Evidence-based recommendations for natural bodybuilding contest preparation: nutrition and supplementation
2. A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults | British Journal of Sports Medicine
3. International society of sports nutrition position stand: caffeine and performance | Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition | Full Text
4. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: creatine supplementation and exercise | Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition | Full Text
5. Citrulline malate enhances athletic anaerobic performance and relieves muscle soreness. - PubMed - NCBI
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