Supplements for Lifters: What a Strength Coach Recommends

Supplements are the last step, not the first. My order of operations: handle the basics, then consider what has the most research behind it.

Handle the basics before supplements, and get health advice from your doctor, someone measuring the levels in your body.

Which supplements are worth taking?

Whey protein and creatine are the two I recommend, with caffeine as an optional extra if it leaves your sleep alone.

What "the basics" means here

By the basics I mean a program you can follow, enough sleep and enough food, each covered in other guides here. Supplements sit on top of those, not in place of them. See sleep for lifters and how to eat for muscle.

Is whey protein worth taking?

Yes, as a convenience: whey is another complete protein source and an easy way to get protein in when it's hard through the day. My caution: people shouldn't be reliant on shakes. Food comes first.

Is creatine worth taking?

Creatine is very highly studied, and I say people who want to take it should. Start around 5 g a day. Its benefits and safety are summarized in the ISSN position stand on creatine. Full details are in the creatine guide.

Is pre-workout okay to take?

If you want to take it and you feel good when you take it, take it. But if it affects your sleep, don't take it for the workout; that's a poor trade-off. Make sure any caffeine or pre-workout isn't affecting your sleep. For reference, the ISSN position stand on caffeine reports performance benefits at about 3 to 6 mg per kg of body weight, with a lot of variation between people (Guest et al., 2021).

Which supplements help with sleep?

For people who sleep badly, magnesium, melatonin and GABA can also help. My ordering still applies: routine, temperature and light first, and a doctor's advice before you start anything.

Does protein powder help you build muscle?

Protein powder helps when it raises your daily protein total, and the research on protein supplements is encouraging. A meta-analysis of 49 trials found that protein supplementation added to the muscle gained from resistance training, and that the benefit leveled off around 1.6 g of protein per kg of body weight a day (Morton et al., 2018). The practical reading is that a shake is one way to hit your total, and the total is what counts. How much to aim for is covered in how to eat for muscle.

How much caffeine is used for performance?

The ISSN caffeine position stand reports performance benefits at about 3 to 6 mg per kg of body weight, which for a 180 pound lifter (about 82 kg) is roughly 245 to 490 mg. Responses vary a lot between people, and my rule applies whatever the dose: if it affects your sleep, leave it out of your training day. A pre-workout label that lists the caffeine amount lets you check the number instead of guessing.

How do you choose a supplement brand?

Choose a product with independent third-party certification, such as NSF Certified for Sport. In the United States, dietary supplements are not approved by the FDA before they are sold (FDA), so what is on the label is not guaranteed to be what is in the tub. It is a practical filter and it costs nothing to check.

How to read a supplement claim

Before you buy something because of a headline, ask three questions:

1. Was it tested in people, and in people like you, or only in animals or cells?
2. Was the effect big enough to matter, or only big enough to be statistically detectable?
3. Is the dose on the label the dose the study used?

Whey and creatine pass those questions for strength training. Plenty of products sold to lifters do not.

What this guide leaves out on purpose

I cover whey, creatine and caffeine here, and mention magnesium, melatonin and GABA for sleep. This guide does not rank other supplements because I have no coaching view on them to share and have not reviewed their evidence. A shorter list you understand is better than a long list you do not.

A sensible order

1. Fix the basics. Program, sleep and food come first. See how to choose a workout program, sleep for lifters and how to eat for muscle.
2. Talk to your doctor, especially if you have a health condition or take medication.
3. Start with the best-researched options, whey and creatine, if you want them.
4. Add one thing at a time. If you start two at once, you cannot tell which one did what.
5. Re-check your sleep whenever you add a stimulant.

Why the doctor comes first

My rule is to get health advice from someone measuring the levels in your body. That is more specific than it sounds: it means testing, not guessing, before adding something to your routine. It is also the reason this guide gives general information and not advice for your situation.

A short checklist

1. Is the program, sleep and food in order?
2. Have you checked with your doctor, someone measuring your levels?
3. Is the supplement well researched (whey, creatine)?
4. If it's caffeine or pre-workout, does it leave your sleep alone?

Sources

1. Guest NS et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: caffeine and exercise performance. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2021;18:1. doi:10.1186/s12970-020-00383-4
2. Kreider RB et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2017;14:18. doi:10.1186/s12970-017-0173-z
3. Morton RW et al. 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. Br J Sports Med. 2018;52(6):376-384. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2017-097608
4. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Dietary supplements. fda.gov/food/dietary-supplements
5. NSF International. Certified for Sport. nsfsport.com