Introduction
Today, the world of sports nutrition supplements is becoming enormous. There are so many options for such supplements in the market. Thus, deciding to take the best sports supplement has become troubling.
You may be a novice who’s just started exercising and training. You could be a professional sportsperson who aims to excel in your sporting activity.
Here, we probe the 10 best sports nutrition supplements for every fitness and sporting need. These range from supplements for building muscle and strength to boosting athletic performance.
We also delve into what sports supplements are. Why do you need them? By being aware of these supplements, you can make better decisions on what to consume.
What are Sports Supplements?
Sports supplements are also called ergogenic aids. These are nutritional products that boost athletic performance and recovery after exercise. These products aid your body before, during and after sports activities and exercise.
Sports supplements aim to achieve the following goals:
- Boost athletic and sports performance
- Fulfil nutritional requirements like protein
- Reduce nutritional deficiencies
- Get support on your fitness goals
Sports nutrition supplements come in different types. These include:
- Vitamins and minerals
- Herbs and botanicals
- Amino acids
- Protein
- Food and plant concentrates
You’ll find sports supplements in different forms like gummies, powders, pills and liquids. These supplements are considered an addition to a balanced diet instead of a replacement.
People involved actively in sports take sports supplements so that their bodies can function impeccably. The motive is also to boost athletic performance.
Why are sports supplements needed?
You may be involved in sporting or exercise activities. There could be times when you’re not getting all from your diet alone. Thus, you can’t perform at your top level.
You need an extra boost for your sporting or workout activity at other times. Whatever your case, we look at the top reasons why you need sports supplements:
1. Fulfil Nutritional Requirements
As an athlete, your nutritional requirements are higher than those of general people. It’s because you need more energy to carry out physical activity. Sports nutrition supplements aid athletes in fulfilling their daily nutritional requirements. The following supplements help fulfil this:
- Protein Powders
- Multivitamins
- Green tea
2. Enhance Athletic Performance
Specific sports supplements are proven to raise athletic performance. They do this by improving power, strength and endurance.
These include:
- Creatine
- Caffeine
3. Build Muscle and Strength
You’ll find sports supplements that help to increase muscle size and mass. It results in increased strength, leading to improved muscular endurance and sporting performance.
These supplements include:
- Vegan Proteins
- Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs)
4. Support Healthy Joints and Maintain Flexibility
Some supplements help to support healthy joints and maintain flexibility. They also help to combat joint inflammation and stiffness. It can especially develop if you exercise for long periods.
Supplements for healthy joints and flexibility include:
- Fish Oils
- Glutamine
5. Fuel Endurance Training
Sports supplements like electrolytes help to fuel endurance training. It means that you can perform longer and do more intense workouts and sporting activities.
Best Supplements for Boosting Muscle Strength
1. Creatine
We start with creatine monohydrate, which is the most common creatine supplement. It’s certainly one of the most popular nutrition supplements on the market today.
Creatine is proven to boost physical performance in sports like football, weightlifting, boxing and rugby.
Research has shown that taking 3000mg of creatine daily in pill or powder form can:
- Boost muscle strength
- Increase muscle speed
- Enhance muscle power output
- Raise lean muscle mass
Creatine changes several cellular pathways, leading to the growth of new muscles. It also boosts the generation of proteins that make muscle fibres.
You may use creatine in the course of a workout. In this situation, it raises the water content in your muscle cells. It can lead to an increase in the size of the muscles.
Creatine is a supplement that has undergone extensive research. Men and women in all sports disciplines, whether professional or non-professional, use it frequently.
You’ll find creatine in foods like meat and fish. It’s also made by our bodies and stored in the muscle in short amounts. If you take part in any intense exercise, it means creatine stores can get exhausted.
A creatine supplement could be ideal for boosting muscle strength and improving performance. It’s especially suitable if you’re a vegan or vegetarian.
Best Supplements for Joints and Flexibility
2. Fish Oils
After creatine, we are eyeing fish oils, which are considered a popular sports nutrition supplement. It’s particularly useful for supporting healthy joints and maintaining flexibility.
You can see that there are around 350 joints in your body as an adult. They can get inflamed, stiff and painful. It’s particularly true after jumping, running, playing sports or walking for a long time. This stiffness and pain in joints can cause uncomfortable feelings.
Omega-3 fatty acids are found abundantly in food sources like oily fish and nuts. Examples of oily fish include mackerel, sardines and salmon. They can be the companion for your joints.
The Omega-3 fatty acids’ anti-inflammatory properties aid in combating this inflammation and stiffness. It ensures that joints remain flexible, supple and ready for sporting or exercising activities.
You can also take purified omega-3 fatty acids in liquid or pill form. It’s very significant if you don’t eat oily fish.
Furthermore, omega-3 fatty acids protect against many conditions like heart disease. Plus, they also enhance the oxygen movement into skeletal muscles, especially when exercising.
3. Glutamine
You may know that glutamine is the amino acid most abundantly found in our bodies. It’s also a conditionally essential amino acid. It means that our bodies can’t reproduce enough glutamine in specific situations, like during illness.
Thus, glutamine should be obtained from diet or a supplement. It provides several benefits for the body in general and for sportspersons in particular.
You may wonder how glutamine aids in having healthy joints.
A custom supplement formulation of glutamine could be the one you’re looking for. Glutamine aids your muscles to fight and push more. It enhances your strength and repairs your skeletal muscles. Skeletal muscles attach to your bones and let you bring about a wide range of movements. It also leads to healthy and stable bones and joints.
Apart from this, glutamine also boosts the immune system and supports gut health.
Best Supplements for Build Muscle and Strength
4. Vegan Proteins
Did you know that building muscle aims to increase muscle size? Strength training aspires to raise muscle functional ability.
We move on to vegan proteins, a popular sports nutrition supplement. Contrary to many people’s belief, you can gain muscle strength and size with them.
You’ll find a range of vegan protein powders. Some of the admired ones include:
- Pea
- Soy protein
- Hemp
- Quinoa
All these proteins are called complete. It’s because they have the 9 amino acids needed by our bodies. The goal is to repair present muscle fibers and develop new tissue.
A study was conducted on two groups. It was found that there were no significant differences between whey protein and pea protein. It’s about the increase in muscle thickness and strength. Remember that whey protein is an animal-derived protein.
One group used whey protein, and the other used vegan protein. It was followed by high-intensity functional training (HIFT) of eight weeks.
5. BCAAs
After looking at vegan proteins, we move on to the branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs). These are vital nutrients that increase muscle mass and strength during exercise and training.
They include:
- Leucine
- Isoleucine
- Valine
Note that our bodies can’t produce BCAAs. Thus, we need to acquire them from diet or supplements.
Essentially, BCAAs constitute one-third of all essential amino acids. Unlike the rest of the essential amino acids, BCAAs are sent straight to the muscles. It’s without processing by the liver. It means that BCAAs can do the following for you:
- Aid to increase muscle mass and strength rapidly
- Provide extra energy for longer periods
- Give extra support during training or exercising.
Thus, you’ll find many pre-workout supplements and protein shakes that also have them. It would be great to add them to the dietary supplements you take.
You can also get BCAAs from foods like:
- Legumes
- Meat
- Dairy products
Best Supplements to Fuel Endurance Training
6. Electrolytes
We look at the best supplement to fuel endurance training, i.e., electrolytes.
You may know that electrolytes are minerals that exist in the body’s fluids. They carry an electric charge and are vital for many body functions.
Some examples of electrolytes include:
- Sodium
- Potassium
- Chloride
- Magnesium
- Phosphate
Thus, electrolytes are necessary for anyone who exercises for longer periods. They are vital for many bodily processes, like maintaining fluid balance and contracting muscles.
Electrolytes are lost through sweat. Thus, getting them replaced becomes vital during long exercise sessions. It’s necessary for any endurance athlete or those involved with endurance exercise.
You’ll find many electrolyte supplements in different forms, especially from sports supplement brands. These include sports drinks and powders, to name a few.
You may want to look for three minerals, especially in an electrolyte supplement:
- Sodium
- Potassium
- Magnesium
These supplements aim to restore electrolyte levels during and after exercising and sporting activities.
Best Supplements for General Fitness
7. Protein Powders
We move on to protein powders that are well-acclaimed as a popular sports nutrition supplement.
Protein powders (like whey protein) are a complete protein source and in elemental form. Thus, the body will rapidly absorb them and use those proteins. That makes protein powders an ideal source of protein, especially for athletes and fitness lovers.
You may need an extra boost after a workout or all over the day. In this case, a protein powder will greatly help.
Thus, dietary protein like whey protein brings a myriad of health benefits. These include:
- Muscle recovery
- Brings about a feeling of satiety
- Management of healthy weight
You may know that whey protein is derived from cow milk. It’s also rich in nine essential amino acids, including the three BCAAs discussed earlier.
Thus, supplementing meals with protein powders like whey protein is suitable and cost-effective. It adds to your protein levels.
8. Multivitamins
Multivitamin supplements aim to meet the daily needs for essential nutrients. These include the likes of vitamins and minerals. In today’s busy times, consuming one has become essential. It’s because not everyone can include a balanced diet as part of their daily routine.
Thus, more people worldwide use multivitamin supplements to meet the recommended intake of vitamins and minerals. That also makes multivitamins one of the popular sports nutrition products.
Did you know that free radicals in our bodies cause muscle ageing and associated problems? Taking vitamin and mineral supplements can lead to neutralizing free radicals. Some nutrients that aid in the neutralizing of free radicals include vitamin A and zinc.
Furthermore, these multivitamin supplements boost the immune system. Thus, athletes are less likely to fall ill before workouts or a sporting contest.
Also, look at the example of the mineral magnesium. It can help you get a sound sleep, which is vital for exercise recovery.
Thus, vitamins and minerals can play a significant role in maintaining general fitness.
9. Green Tea
Green tea has become a well-known sports nutrition product, especially for general fitness.
It is produced with only the leaves of a specific plant, Camellia sinensis, which is native to Asia.
Black tea is also produced from the same plant. But the difference lies in the way the two teas are processed. Green tea is the least processed one and has more nutrients than other teas.
Green tea has been shown to increase physical performance; it’s also popular with fitness enthusiasts.
A study was conducted. It was found that people who intake green tea burned more fat and calories. Those who didn’t intake green tea burned less fat and calories. It was also discovered that green tea reduced fatigue during exercise and enhanced endurance.
You may know that green tea has an abundance of polyphenols. These compounds stimulate fat oxidation, which in turn leads to obesity management.
A variant of polyphenolic compound catechin is found in green tea. It’s called EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) and stimulates fat burning. It also enhances resting metabolism.
Furthermore, L-theanine and caffeine are prevalent in green tea. These help to improve mental clarity and enhance focus while exercising. That makes it easier to perform workouts.
Best Supplements for Boosting Athletic Performance
10. Caffeine
Lastly, we look at caffeine, which is well-known for enhancing and prolonging athletic performance. It’s especially true when involved with endurance sports, power sports and high-intensity exercises. Caffeine is also very inexpensive and somewhat safe to consume. You see that both caffeine anhydrous supplements and regular coffee can provide athletic performance benefits.
Caffeine anhydrous is a dehydrated, highly concentrated, and processed form of caffeine. It’s found in supplements like
- Pre-workout powder or pills
- Caffeinated chewing gum
- Energy bars
Caffeine doses of 3 to 13mg per kilogram of body weight (mg/kg) are significant. Such dosages have been shown to uplift exercise and athletic performance.
Caffeine has a stimulating consequence on the central nervous system. It leads to an increase in focus and alertness. As a result, your response time is faster, and tiredness and fatigue are delayed.
Caffeine also improves mental sharpness and perception. It also aids in carrying on with laser-like focus. The outcome is that your athletic performance gets a significant enhancement after caffeine consumption.
Caffeine is also known for high potency and quick absorption by the body.
Conclusion
By reading this article, you must know the most popular sports supplements.
We covered sports supplements for every fitness and sporting need. For example, creatine and caffeine help to enhance athletic performance. Yet, fish oils and glutamine intend to support joints and maintain flexibility.
Note that the outcomes of these supplements can differ from person to person. It depends on what exercise or sports they are involved with. It also depends on how these supplements affect their bodies.
If you want to start your own sports nutrition supplement brand and bring your products to market quickly, please contact us.