Supplement Recommendations for High Intensity Training
To put it bluntly, the supplement industry is chock full of BS and fancy marketing to try to sell you overpriced products that simply don’t work as well as being very poorly regulated. Most supplements that are marketed tend to be a waste of money, high cost combined with little to no effects supported by evidence. Here are some recommendations for supplements that are backed by science, and not just trying to sell you powder in a can.
Protein supplements are a super easy and effective tool to help you get extra protein in your diet, if that’s something you struggle with, while you can get all of the necessary protein you need to recover from hard training through regular food alone, it can be difficult at times and this can be a quick and easy tool. It tastes good by itself, has many different flavours and can be used in a bunch of different recipes as a lower calorie replacement for sweet desserts like pancakes, brownies and mug cakes and is also really tasty in a smoothie.
Multi vitamins are another quick and easy tool to help you get all the necessary vitamins and minerals you need that you might have trouble getting in with your normal diet. It can be hard to prepare enough variety of fruits, vegetables, grains and meats everyday to meet your daily micronutrient needs, so a multivitamin can be a simple way to add in those extras that are so important for your health, wellbeing and performance.
For the average gym goer, who just wants to stay strong, fit and healthy, there’s no real reason to take anything else as they are either not worth the effect they give, or not conducive to a 9-5 schedule.
That being said, if you are very serious about your training and want to optimise your performance as much as possible, here are the supplements I suggest.
Caffeine is not really thought of as a supplement because most of us drink it regularly. But it is actually a fantastic performance enhancer, it not only improves energy levels, many studies show direct performance increases in high intensity exercise, long endurance exercise and strength.
Now be wary of this, to actually get these benefits, you have to consume a lot more caffeine than what is in your regular morning coffee. Studies show the optimum range for caffeine dose to get the most benefit is 2-4mg/kg taken 30-60 minutes prior to a workout. More is definitely not better here guidelines show the safe upper limit is 400mg for healthy adults, a higher dose can actually decrease performance due to side effects like dizziness and nausea. So there’s definitely a cautionary warning with this one, if you workout in the afternoon, taking this much caffeine will disrupt your sleep, you will also build up a tolerance to caffeine over time, so you have to be careful with your intake.
Creatine monohydrate (there are other, more expensive, types of creatine that the guy at the supplement store will try to sell you, but monohydrate is the best and cheapest) is the most highly studied and effective supplement available right now.
Simply put, creatine is a naturally occurring substance in muscle cells that is a part of the energy production process, it has been shown that taking a creatine supplement increases the stores in your muscle cells, allowing (very slightly) more energy to be produced. There are many studies showing an increase in high intensity performance due to creatine supplementation.
The creatine intake guide suggests 5g daily, as you need to give the body time to increase stores in muscle cells, and you will start to see the effects after about 2 weeks.
Beta-alanine is another supplement that has been highly studied, not to the extent of creatine, but has shown great results. It works similarly to creatine as it indirectly increases carnosine storage in the muscle cells. Carnosine (like creatine) is also a part of energy production, it buffers lactate in the muscles allowing you to do more reps before having to rest.
Beta Alanine intake guide suggests 2-5g daily with a meal, and also needs time for the body to store in the muscle cells, it will take about 2 weeks for you to start noticing the effects. Unlike creatine, beta alanine can cause a tingling sensation after ingestion, but will fade after about an hour.
Both creatine and beta-alanine have no taste, just a powdery substance you can mix with water or any other drink, so it's also very easy to use.
Keeping all of this information in mind, you don’t by any means need these supplements, you will get by perfectly fine without them. They are just there for a small extra boost you might want.