Let’s be honest:
Supplements are a dime a dozen, and new products that promise incredible muscle growth appear every day.
So, as someone looking to supplement the effort you’re already putting into your training and nutrition, you probably wonder what products, if any, are worth your hard-earned money.
So, let’s discuss the 5 best supplements for muscle growth and why they work.
The 5 Best Supplements for Muscle Growth
1. Whey Protein
If I had to pick just one product for this list, it would be whey protein. I’m not suggesting that you need this supplement to build muscle, but adding it to your toolbox can help you get enough protein more easily.
Research suggests around 1.6 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilo of body weight or 0.7 to one gram per pound to optimise muscle growth (although this can vary depending on a few factors). Reaching that mark through food alone can sometimes be a challenge, especially if you’re sick of eating the same old high protein foods: meat, egg whites, and cottage cheese.
So, by having some whey protein (for example, a scoop with water or with milk in the morning), you don’t have to eat as much chicken breast, steak, scrambled eggs, or canned tuna.
Whey provides high-quality, complete protein rich in leucine––an amino acid that plays a crucial role in muscle protein synthesis. This is why whey protein tops our 5 best supplements for muscle growth list!
You can expect around 80% protein per scoop, depending on the type. If a scoop weighs 30 grams, it will provide around 24 grams of protein, with the rest coming from a blend of fats and carbs. If you need help with protein supplementation, get in touch here and we will be happy to provide some advice!
2. Creatine Monohydrate
Creatine monohydrate is arguably one of the most popular and widely used sports supplements for muscle growth. Research on it dates back to the early seventies, and the compound reliably improves performance and contributes to muscle growth without affecting your health.
It works as such:
Creatine is primarily stored as phosphocreatine in your body. During exercise, your body breaks down and uses adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to get energy for muscle contractions. Usage can increase up to 1,000 fold.
As your body burns through the available ATP, fatigue sets in, and performance declines to the point where you can’t continue training without taking a break first.
Creatine lends phosphate molecules to help regenerate ATP more quickly, thus maintaining the cycle slightly longer. As a result, you can train slightly harder, go for a bit longer, and lift a bit more weight.
The result is more productive training and a better workout stimulus directly supporting muscle growth. Plus, the best part is that you only need to take a daily dose of three to five grams to reap its benefits.
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3. Vitamin D3
Vitamin D is an underrated compound that greatly affects our health, well-being, and fitness results. It’s necessary for mental health, protein synthesis, bone health, energy levels, and healthy muscle contractions, among other things.
But get this:
According to research, around a billion people worldwide are deficient in vitamin D (which is a hormone your body creates when enough of your skin is exposed to sunlight). This means roughly one in eight people doesn’t produce enough vitamin D.
Some adverse short-term effects of low vitamin D levels are:
Impaired muscle recovery
Poor performance in the gym
Suppressed protein synthesis
Low mood and loss of motivation
In other words, a bad combination if you want to train hard, feel good, and build muscle.
That said, while it could be tempting to order a bottle of vitamin D3 and start supplementing as soon as possible, I recommend getting a blood test done to see where your levels are now and then deciding if you need it.
Indeed, vitamin D3 is one of those conditionally essential muscle-building supplements that can be useful, but only if your body isn’t producing enough of it.
4. Caffeine
Caffeine is a nervous system stimulant that makes you energised, alert, and motivated, all good things when you want to have a solid session at the gym.
Research suggests that supplementing with a high enough dose of caffeine around one hour before training can reliably improve power, total strength, endurance, and alertness, leading to better performance.
According to data, a high enough dose is 4-6 mg per kilogram. For someone weighing 80 kilograms (176 lbs), that would be 320-480 mg of caffeine.
However, there are a couple of caveats to consider:
Up to 400 mg of caffeine daily is considered a safe dose for healthy people; a heavier person taking 6 mg per kilogram can easily exceed that.
Caffeine can impair your sleep if you take it too late in the day. While its performance benefits can be great, they should never come at the expense of good sleep because it plays a huge role in your muscle-building potential.
Here are some quick tips to make the most of caffeine for muscle growth:
Take it as a pre-workout stimulant only if you work out in the late afternoon (at the latest).
Avoid caffeine in other forms throughout the day (e.g., a morning coffee or energy drinks).
Start with a lower dose of no more than 3-4 mg per kilogram and see how it affects you, provided you don’t have blood pressure problems. If in doubt, it’s always best to consult your doctor.
5. Citrulline
Citrulline is an amino acid that increases nitric oxide (NO) production, which helps blood vessels relax and widen. As a result, blood flow improves, offering some muscle-building benefits.
Most notably, by widening blood vessels, more blood can enter your muscles during training, leading to better pumps.
Aside from the vanity advantage, more blood means more oxygen and nutrients travel to your muscles and support energy production. This results in stronger contractions and may improve gym performance by allowing you to train harder and do more reps before getting tired.
Another advantage of improved blood flow is a more efficient clearing of metabolic by-products following a workout. This can speed up recovery, allowing you to train the same muscle more often, do more volume, and see slightly more growth in the long run. This is why citrulline takes our number five spot in the 5 best supplements for muscle growth.
Conclusion
So there you have it. The 5 best supplements for muscle growth. While supplements are entirely optional, they can offer some muscle-building advantages.
Of all products claimed to support muscle gain, two stand head and shoulders above the rest: protein powder because it helps you get enough protein more easily and creatine because it supports energy production, performance, and growth. That said, vitamin D3 can be helpful if you’re deficient, and caffeine and citrulline can offer performance-boosting benefits, leading to better workouts and possibly more growth in the long run.
Which supplement has worked best for your muscle growth? Let us know in the comments!
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