Best Supplements to Support Athletic Performance & Recovery
It’s not uncommon for professional athletes to take supplements in order to help maintain or increase their level of performance, help support their body in their athletic goals, or help keep their bodies as healthy as possible for as long as possible to prolong their career.
Many athletes take supplements that target pre-workout performance or post-workout recovery. There are a variety of nutrients that can be helpful in both of these circumstances that can naturally support the way the body functions. Here are some of the reasons why serious athletes might want to supplement their nutrition, and what supplements may work best for them.
Best Pre-Workout Supplement Ingredients for Athletes
Beetroot
Endurance athletes in particular (including ) have come to rely on beet juice to sustain them through their workouts. “Beet juice or regular beetroot can help boost your energy production during exercise,” says . This practice is not simply anecdotal or observational — it has been backed by research.
According to researchers conducting a of the effects of beetroot on exercise performance, “beetroot juice increases levels of nitric oxide (NO), which serves multiple functions related to increased blood flow, gas exchange, mitochondrial biogenesis and efficiency, and strengthening of muscle contraction.” Upon conclusion of their review, they noted that the best time to take beetroot was “within 90 min before athletic effort, since the peak value of NO3− occurs within 2–3 [hours] after ingestion.”
Beetroot or beet juice is generally considered safe, and is relatively low-risk in terms of potential adverse side effects.
Creatine
is a 19 time World Champion and 38 time National Champion powerlifter who supervised drug testing at the Rio Olympics and will have a similar role in Tokyo. “I have been an athlete for some five decades and seen many highly touted supplements come and go. The only one that I have found that really works, which is backed up by the experience of many others, is creatine,” he says.
Creatine is found naturally within muscles — in fact, the vast majority of it is stored within muscles in the form of phosphocreatine. Its main job is to support muscles during intense exercise or heavy lifting. We can make it naturally from the amino acids glycine and arginine.
When you take a creatine supplement, you are increasing your stores of phosphocreatine and helping provide your muscles with the energy they may need in order to fuel your workout. Creatine is generally safe for people to take, provided that you follow the directions for dosage on the label.
Beta-Alanine
Beta-alanine is an amino acid that is naturally produced by the liver and supports our muscles. Its main function is to assist in the production of carnosine, which supports muscle endurance during exercise.
that beta-alanine (sometimes shown as β-Alanine) is “effective at increasing power output when lifting loads equivalent to the individual’s maximal strength or when working at maximum power output. The improvement observed at 1RM (one repetition maximum) was explained by a greater load lifted, or strength gain, in response to training in the participants who took this supplement.”
Like most other protein-based supplements, beta-alanine is generally safe when taken as directed.
B Vitamins
B vitamins (such as thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B6, B12 and folate) help convert protein and sugar into , in addition to helping in cellular repair. For athletes, getting adequate amounts of B vitamins is crucial for getting through workouts, and also recovering afterward.
As always, B vitamins should be sourced from food whenever possible. These nutrients can be easily found in healthy foods such as leafy greens, whole grains, nuts, eggs, and dairy products. For most people, supplementing with a B-complex is perfectly safe as long as it’s taken as directed.
Best Post-Workout Supplement Ingredients for Athletes
Protein Powder
Protein powder is perhaps one of the most common supplements associated with supporting athletic performance. Whey protein is derived from the byproducts of cheese production, and is a complete protein with high biological value. Plant proteins are usually sourced from several different plants and combined to make a complete protein that is suitable for those following plant-based diets. Because athletes need to consume so much protein in order to maintain muscle mass, many choose to supplement with protein powders.
In terms of how whey or plant protein may benefit athletic performance, it’s quite straightforward. “Protein provides essential amino acids to build, maintain, and repair muscle tissue,” says Norris. “Many athletes take protein after exercise because it optimally reduces muscle protein breakdown, builds muscle, and enhances muscle oxygen use. At recommended intake levels of up to 2 grams per kilograms of body weight, no safety concerns have been reported.”
Studies have shown that whey protein supports post-exercise recovery. found that not only can it help immediately after exercise — such as in the evening after a workout — but that it also helps the “following morning to attenuate overnight fasted-state protein losses and enhance exercise performance recovery.”
Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs)
Aside from whey protein, BCAAs are commonly used recovery supplements for athletes. The theory behind these supplements is that they provide additional amino acids that your body can then use to help repair muscle tissue. “The three branched-chain amino acids are leucine, isoleucine, and valine,” says Norris. “Unlike other essential amino acids, these can be metabolized by mitochondria in skeletal muscle to yield energy for exercise.”
The results are more mixed on these supplements. Some researchers believe that any difference they may make are so minimal that the user wouldn’t notice. found that “supplementing a controlled diet of 1.2 g/kg/day of protein with 0.22 g/kg body mass/day of BCAA[s] for eight days results in decreased perceptions of soreness in resistance-trained individuals with several years of experience.”
BCAAs are largely considered safe as long as they’re taken as directed.
Collagen
is the most abundant protein in our bodies. It is essential in many different respects, but for muscle health, the collagen we produce plays a major role in muscle expansion and contraction, as well as development and regeneration. About 1-2% of muscle composition is collagen, and they literally wouldn’t work without this critical protein.
Because of the part collagen plays in muscle repair, taking a supplement that contains collagen post-workout may help increase strength. found that a “combination of resistance exercise [60 minutes three times per week] and collagen peptide supplementation resulted in a more pronounced improvement of body composition, as indicated by a significant increase in muscle mass” in elderly men with age-related muscle loss.
Generally speaking, collagen supplementation is a safe and effective method of supporting muscle health. If taking a collagen supplement isn’t appealing, you could also try drinking bone broth, eating gelatin, and working plenty of dark green leafy vegetables into your diet. For most people, collagen supplements are safe.
HMB [β-Hydroxy β-Methylbutyrate]
HMB is a metabolite of leucine that may support muscles. have shown that HMB is helpful post-workout to help muscles recover. “HMB is purported to help stressed and damaged skeletal muscle cells re-establish function and structure,” says Norris. Some reports say that the effects take a couple of weeks to present themselves, and that people who use it aren’t as sore after intense workouts.
HMB is generally as safe as any other supplement on this list, provided it’s taken as directed.
Hydration/Sports Drinks
When people think of sports drinks, they often think of only a couple of specific brands — while these drinks may be designed to replace electrolytes expelled during exercise, they are often full of sugar, artificial colors and artificial preservatives.
However, you can opt for a healthier choice. Many companies make natural powdered drink mixes full of ingredients like BCAAs, glucosamine, glutamine, B-vitamins, quercetin, omega-3s, CoQ10, turmeric, green tea and electrolytes without all the artificial flavors and additives. These natural hydration powders help the body recover nutrients lost during exercise. There are many different tasty formulas to choose from based on your goals, and we should mention these are generally cheaper and more portable. You simply add the mix to your water bottle.
Why Support Your Athletic Performance with Supplements
One of the most common reasons that athletes might want to take supplements is to ensure they have all the proper nutrition necessary to maintain their overall health as well as their body mass. While most serious athletes (particularly professional and Olympic athletes) have nutritionists and training staff to consult on a regular basis, the average person who is serious about fitness and exercise may not have access to such individualized meal plans and recommendations.
Taking supplements may help give athletes an advantage if they’re planning to enter competitions, add support before an intense workout, or assist in recovery after tough workouts.
Supporting the body through the recovery process to prepare for the next event, race, or game can play a significant role in how an athlete performs in the future. As coaches will often say, it’s better to allow your body to recover for a few minutes so the muscles can rest, than to push yourself through and injure yourself.
What to Think About Before You Supplement
Before you decide to take supplements to aid workout performance or recovery, consider why you’re thinking of taking them. What are you trying to accomplish? Are you making efforts in other aspects of your life to ensure your health and well-being?
The answers to questions like these are important because no matter how much you supplement, they cannot replace an unhealthy lifestyle. Think of your athletic performance as a house: they must have a solid foundation before building the walls and ceiling on top of it. For athletes, two of the most important building blocks of the foundation are good nutrition and sufficient sleep.
How’s Your Diet?
First and foremost, it’s important to note that supplements can never replace a healthy diet. Dietary supplements are meant to do just that — supplement your diet. You cannot expect a supplement to make up for the fact that maybe you eat fast food multiple times per week instead of choosing to make your own nutritious meals.
“Nutrition is arguably the most important aspect of an athlete’s training program for staying fit and healthy,” says . “Eating foods that are high in nutritional quality (and at the right times) will improve an athlete’s ability to recover, heal, and perform at a high level.”
If you are unsure whether your diet is adequate (either because of allergies or because you don’t enjoy certain foods), you may want to consider first supplementing with a . Taking a multivitamin in the morning can make sure you have the B vitamins you need to fuel your workout. Additionally, you might want to consult a sports nutritionist to help you understand where your diet is lacking and how to improve it to meet your fitness goals.
Are You Getting Enough Sleep?
Furthermore, Norris encourages everyone — not just athletes — to get . “Sleep is a vital process in helping your body to recover, and developing proper sleep habits is crucial for athletes to recover and perform at a high level consistently,” says Norris. “Everyone (but athletes in particular) should focus on getting a minimum of seven to nine hours of sleep and waking up at the same time every day.”
“Athletes put their bodies through a lot of challenges and their performance is often dictated by their recovery level,” says . “Therefore, they need to have great nighttime routines in order to get high quality sleep to assist with the recovery process.”
As Lowery alludes to, the main consideration with sleep is that it’s the time the body uses to repair itself. When we lift weights, we’re literally creating tiny tears in the muscles so that when they repair themselves, they’re stronger. Sleep is when the vast majority of this healing occurs, and if you’re not getting enough sleep, your body cannot progress toward your goals.
“It’s the time when our bodies recover from damage caused during the day, and without adequate sleep, an athlete can’t perform at 100%,” says . “We’ve seen it clinically time and again: if you’re able to fall asleep better and get higher quality sleep, you’re able to recover.”
And the final consideration you should take before starting any supplements for athletic performance is the professional opinion of your healthcare provider. This is particularly important for teenagers, and if you have any underlying medical conditions. Your practitioner will be able to tell you if any medications you are currently taking will interact negatively with athletic performance supplements.
A Holistic Approach to Supporting Performance and Recovery
Athletic performance and recovery cannot be completely supported by the supplements alone — first and foremost, the athlete must maintain a healthy nutritious diet and get adequate levels of sleep. Furthermore, it’s important to allow for rest days, or days in which the athlete chooses to do (to stretch and restore) rather than a heavy weight workout.
It’s always advisable to consult with professional trainers and sports medicine experts who can provide advice when requested, and help you reach your goals.
It’s important to note that these supplements are generally tested on adults — not teenagers. It’s crucial for teens to learn proper nutrition and sleep routines early so they can build their solid foundation early on in life.
And as always, be sure to discuss these supplements (and your workout routine) with your doctor to make sure they won’t negatively interact with any underlying medical conditions or prescriptions you’re taking.
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