For serious strength or physique athletes, the role of supplements in optimizing intense training and precision nutrition is well-recognized—but navigating the oversaturated supplement market can be as challenging as a bodybuilder fitting into a child’s blazer. While it’s tempting to turn to "get-big" blogs or guru websites, these sources are often rife with misinformation.
Fortunately, this guide clarifies evidence-based supplement use—what to take, dosages, and timing—to maximize returns on your training investment. Below, we focus on the optimal supplement stack for hypertrophy and strength goals.
1. Creatine Monohydrate
Creatine monohydrate is a muscle-building, power-enhancing supplement with an exceptional safety profile and robust evidence supporting its efficacy. It works by elevating intramuscular creatine and phosphocreatine (PCr) stores, which sustains energy during high-intensity exercise (e.g., weightlifting) and may accelerate inter-set recovery.
Long-term creatine use enhances resistance training adaptations, with typical strength and performance gains 5–15% greater than unsupplemented training.[1]
Recommended Dose
Loading phase: 20 g/day for 5–7 days (rapidly saturates muscle stores).
Maintenance phase: 5 g/day (sustains levels).
For those avoiding the 2–4 lb weight gain associated with loading, a chronic low dose (5 g/day for 28 days) achieves identical saturation.
2. Caffeine
Caffeine is the world’s most widely used stimulant, with strong evidence as an ergogenic aid for endurance and high-intensity exercise. Its effects on strength performance are mixed: some studies report increased bench press one-rep max (1RM) with pre-workout caffeine, while others find no benefits.[2–4]
However, caffeine consistently reduces fatigue rates and perceived exertion—critical for high-volume/high-intensity sessions or when motivation is low.
Recommended Dose
150–300 mg, 30–60 minutes pre-workout.
3. Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs)
For strength athletes and bodybuilders, intra-workout BCAAs are a no-brainer—beyond palatability, BCAA ingestion between sets accelerates post-workout recovery and repair.
A 2010 study in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism demonstrated that BCAA ingestion (100 mg/kg bodyweight—~9 g for a 200-lb athlete) reduced muscle soreness and damage after high-volume squats.[5]
BCAAs—particularly leucine—modulate protein metabolism by stimulating protein synthesis and inhibiting degradation, enhancing recovery from resistance-induced muscle damage.
Recommended Dose
6–10 g, pre- or intra-workout.
4. Citrulline Malate (CM)
Citrulline malate was initially used as an anti-fatigue agent—40 years ago, it was prescribed to post-surgical patients for mental and physical fatigue. Today, it’s valued for performance enhancement.
CM’s benefits stem from the synergistic action of L-citrulline and malate, which boost intramuscular ATP production during exercise and accelerate PCr recovery post-exercise.[6]
Research shows a single 8-g dose of CM:
Increases upper-body repetition volume and reduces soreness at 24–48 hours post-exercise (vs. placebo).[7]
Enhances lower-body repetitions in resistance-trained men.[8]
Recommended Dose
8 g, 60 minutes pre-exercise.
5. Nitric Oxide (NO) Boosters
Nitrate-rich foods (beets, radishes, pomegranates) naturally boost nitric oxide (NO) production—critical for blood flow and nutrient delivery to muscles. While research on beetroot juice or pomegranate extract for resistance training is limited, these ingredients:
Increase skeletal muscle blood flow.
Reduce post-exercise soreness (potential precursors to strength gains).[9,10]
Multi-ingredient supplements containing these extracts have improved strength, hypertrophy, and performance in resistance-trained men—but it’s unclear if effects are due to the ingredients alone or synergistically with others.[11,12]
Recommended Dose
500 mg of beetroot juice or pomegranate extract, 30–60 minutes pre-workout.
6. Whey Protein
Fast-digesting whey protein is ideal post-workout, as it enhances muscle recovery and adaptation to strenuous exercise. Whey stimulates muscle protein synthesis (MPS) more effectively than casein or soy.[13,14]
A meta-analysis in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that protein supplementation during prolonged (≥6 weeks) resistance training yields greater muscle mass and strength gains than training alone.[15]
Key Considerations
Whey-casein blends (e.g., milk) enhance hypertrophy and body composition more effectively than soy post-exercise.[16–18] The fast-digesting whey and slow-digesting casein maintain an anabolic state—sustaining MPS and reducing muscle breakdown.
High-volume/high-intensity lifters (e.g., bodybuilders) may benefit from combining whey with a high-glycemic carb post-workout: this increases insulin and glycogen resynthesis vs. placebo.[19]
Recommended Dose
20–30 g of whey (or whey-casein blend) with a high-glycemic carb, post-workout.
7. Glutamine
Though glutamine (a non-essential amino acid) doesn’t produce dramatic strength gains or hypertrophy, it’s critical for recovery. It removes exercise-induced ammonia buildup, regulating acid-base balance—especially beneficial for:
Lifters doing heavy resistance training.
Those on two-a-day splits.
Athletes in a calorie deficit.
Recommended Dose
20–30 g daily, with 10 g post-workout.
8. Fish Oils
Fish oils are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which offer broad health benefits—for strength athletes, the focus is on their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Intense resistance training causes microscopic muscle damage and inflammation; while acute inflammation is adaptive, excessive inflammation delays recovery.
Omega-3s:
Reduce post-exercise muscle soreness and accelerate recovery.[20,21]
Enhance MPS when combined with BCAAs and carbs, leading to greater muscle gains.[22,23]
Recommended Dose
2 g daily, ideally with a meal.
References
[1] Kreider, R. B. (2003). Effects of creatine supplementation on performance and training adaptations. Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, 244(1-2), 89–94.
[2] Beck, T. W., et al. (2006). The acute effects of a caffeine-containing supplement on strength, muscular endurance, and anaerobic capabilities. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 20(3), 506–510.
[3] Astorino, T. A., et al. (2008). Effect of caffeine ingestion on one-repetition maximum muscular strength. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 102(2), 127–132.
[4] Woolf, K., et al. (2009). Effect of caffeine as an ergogenic aid during anaerobic exercise performance in caffeine naive collegiate football players. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 23(5), 1363–1369.
[5] Shimomura, Y., et al. (2010). Branched-chain amino acid supplementation before squat exercise and delayed-onset muscle soreness. International Journal of Sport Nutrition, 20(3), 236.
[6] Bendahan, D., et al. (2002). Citrulline/malate promotes aerobic energy production in human exercising muscle. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 36(4), 282–289.
[7] Pérez-Guisado, J., & Jakeman, P. M. (2010). Citrulline malate enhances athletic anaerobic performance and relieves muscle soreness. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 24(5), 1215–1222.
[8] Wax, B., et al. (2014). Effects of Supplemental Citrulline Malate Ingestion During Repeated Bouts of Lower-body Exercise in Advanced Weight Lifters. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research/National Strength & Conditioning Association, 29(3), 786–92.
[9] de Nigris, F., et al. (2007). Effects of a pomegranate fruit extract rich in punicalagin on oxidation-sensitive genes and eNOS activity at sites of perturbed shear stress and atherogenesis. Cardiovascular Research, 73(2), 414–423.
[10] Trombold, J. R., et al. (2011). The effect of pomegranate juice supplementation on strength and soreness after eccentric exercise. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 25(7), 1782–1788.
[11] Lowery, R. P., et al. (2013). Effects of 8 weeks of Xpand® 2X pre workout supplementation on skeletal muscle hypertrophy, lean body mass, and strength in resistance trained males. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 10(1), 44.
[12] Kraemer, W. J., et al. (2007). Effects of a multi-nutrient supplement on exercise performance and hormonal responses to resistance exercise. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 101(5), 637–646.
[13] Cribb, P. J., et al. (2006). The effect of whey isolate and resistance training on strength, body composition, and plasma glutamine. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 16(5), 494.
[14] Volek, J. S., et al. (2013). Whey protein supplementation during resistance training augments lean body mass. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 32(2), 122–135.
[15] Cermak, N. M., et al. (2012). Protein supplementation augments the adaptive response of skeletal muscle to resistance-type exercise training: a meta-analysis. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 96(6), 1454–1464.
[16] Hartman, J. W., et al. (2007). Consumption of fat-free fluid milk after resistance exercise promotes greater lean mass accretion than does consumption of soy or carbohydrate in young, novice, male weightlifters. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 86(2), 373–381.
[17] Wilkinson, S. B., et al. (2007). Consumption of fluid skim milk promotes greater muscle protein accretion after resistance exercise than does consumption of an isonitrogenous and isoenergetic soy-protein beverage. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 85(4), 1031–1040.
[18] Josse, A. R., et al. (2010). Body composition and strength changes in women with milk and resistance exercise. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 42(6), 1122–1130.
[19] Roy, B. D., & Tarnopolsky, M. A. (1998). Influence of differing macronutrient intakes on muscle glycogen resynthesis after resistance exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology, 84(3), 890–896.
[20] Jouris, K. B., et al. (2011). The effect of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on the inflammatory response to eccentric strength exercise. Journal of Sports Science & Medicine, 10(3), 432.
[21] Tartibian, B., et al. (2009). The effects of ingestion of omega-3 fatty acids on perceived pain and external symptoms of delayed onset muscle soreness in untrained men. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 19(2), 115–119.
[22] McDonald, C., et al. (2012). Omega-3 fatty acids and changes in LBM: alone or in synergy for better muscle health? Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, 91(6), 459–468.
[23] Smith, G. I., et al. (2011). Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids augment the muscle protein anabolic response to hyperinsulinaemia-hyperaminoacidaemia in healthy young and middle-aged men and women. Clinical Science, 121(6), 267–278.
