My Hierarchy of Supplements

In a world that seems to be run by fitness influencers, it's super easy to get caught up in trying to look a certain way or perform to a certain standard. With that comes the tendency to "buy whatever they're selling" in order to achieve that same end result. Now, there are great supplements out there and great brands with quality products! I have my fair share of protein containers and a PLETHORA of shaker cups (just ask my fiancé who cleans them every time she comes over haha). Anyways, today I want to cover a general overview of the supplements I see as important/necessary versus what I think is out there as the "cherry on top." Let's dive in!

Multivitamins

One of the most important supplements you should take, and one that I often don't prioritize enough because it's not a 'fun one', is a multivitamin. The uses of a multivitamin will most likely get put in a post of its own, but generally speaking, it fills in the gaps of a potentially not-well-rounded diet. We've all seen the various food pyramids and were taught about MyPlate, etc. While those are helpful, it's not always realistic to get the proper servings of fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy, protein, etc. every time we eat, 365 days a year. That's where taking a good, potent multivitamin can come into play! It can help anywhere from increasing energy levels to recovering more efficiently to boosting your immune system.

Protein

Getting adequate protein is easily one of the most important factors in achieving ANY sort of health and fitness goal. Most often, protein is associated with muscle repair and helping your muscle to come back stronger than before. On top of that, protein is also more thermogenic, meaning it takes more energy (calories) to break down the protein your body ingests. Yes, your body burns calories while it eats! It takes energy to break down and digest foods. As important as protein is, it's easily the least consumed of the three macronutrients, carbs and fats being the clear leaders. With how busy we are, it's harder to obtain foods on the go that have adequate amounts of protein without being extremely processed or without having large amounts of carbs and fats, thus making it an extremely high calorie meal. So all that being said, having a solid whey protein isolate as a post workout shake helps to not only repair damaged muscle tissue, but also fuel the fat burning processes of the body.

Fish Oil

Fish oil has a long list of benefits such as helping with heart health, cholesterol levels, reducing inflammation and increasing overall joint health. Fish oil is one of those supplements that I recommend to just about every person I come in contact with because everyone can use a boost in their Omega 3s. It's extremely difficult to consume the recommended amount unless you're eating fish 4-5 times a week, and even then it's not guaranteed! I always notice a different in how I move and how my joints feel when I'm taking my fish oil vs. when I'm not and it definitely rounds out my top 3 supplements that I would consider "necessary."

Pre-Workout, Aminos/BCAAs, Creatine, etc.

Now we start to get into the more fun stuff. I'll be posting in more detail on all of these supplements so I'll give a more brief overview of what I would consider the "athletic performance" type supplements, why people take them, and how important they are to achieving your goals.

First, and probably most popular, is pre-workout. If you've ever walked into GNC, you've seen a pre-workout and they probably tried to sell it to you. I worked there for 3 years so I can say that. Pre-workouts have a lot of benefits to performance, but its mostly in the realm of energy and focus. There are certain ingredients like Citrulline that help with blood flow to the muscles, caffeine for energy and focus, and beta alanine which helps with the endurance aspect. Beta Alanine and Niacin are also what cause you to feel a tingle sensation, especially if you've never taken pre workout before. Anyways, pre workouts have a purpose but they are definitely not "crucial." Do I use them? Yes. I greatly enjoy the benefits but I look at all my supplements from the standpoint of what my budget looks like. The order I'm listing these is the order to which I buy until I'm out of money.

Second, we have Creatine. Creatine is probably one of the most researched supplements on the market today, right up there with caffeine. Creatine's main purpose in the terms of working out is to increase the rate at which your body replenishes ATP and can therefore continue putting forth an adequate work effort. When your body does a rep on bench press, it breaks down ATP and loses one of the phosphate molecules. When your body has a surplus of creatine in its system readily available, one of those creatine phosphate molecules pairs with the ADP to restart the cycle. Creatine has also been shown to help with power and strength output as well as retaining lean muscle mass during a cut. Most people use creatine to bulk but I find it even more effective when I'm in a calorie deficit because I'm able to continue performing and lifting at a high level. I usually throw buy creatine because it's insanely cheap. Creatine Monohydrate is 99.9% absorbable and it's not worth a $60 price jump for any of the other options for 0.1%.

Lastly, we have Amino Acids and BCAAs. These are extremely common to help with recovery. BCAAs are Branched-Chain Amino Acids and are the 3 amino acids that are most closely associated with muscle repair and muscle building. While taking BCAAs can help in those areas FOR SURE, they are often pretty overkill. By that I mean that if you're already consuming 0.8g - 1.2g of protein per pound of lean body mass, then you're pretty much covered. Protein is broken down INTO amino acids and therefore, if your protein is elevated already and you're consuming some sort of fast digesting protein post workout, like a whey protein shake, then you're pretty well off. That being said, there isn't any damage done by taking BCAAs or Aminos. I often take them as they still keep you hydrated and I'm not always in the mood to drink plain water. But, they aren't a necessity.

So there you have it! There are PLENTY of other supplements out there, but those are the extremely popular ones, especially in the realm of working out. My word isn't law but based on the research out there, this is a pretty accurate ranking of supplements by importance and necessity and I hope it helped clear up a lot of the confusion and made things less overwhelming!