Athletes are always seeking an edge. In my experience, this is true of the pros and weekend warriors alike.
Achieving peak athletic performance requires physical conditioning, sport-specific training, and a dialed-in nutrition plan.
But once these foundational elements are in place, supplements can make the difference for those last few percentage points.
If you are looking to boost your athletic performance, there are only a handful of truly evidence-based supplements.
These are the best of the best, according to the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism:
Caffeine
Anecdotally, I know my morning run feels a whole lot easier after a couple cups of coffee. It turns out my experience is backed by science.
In fact, caffeine has been shown to improve endurance capacity (e.g. running, cycling, swimming), speed (short sprints), and strength (weight lifting).
Low to moderate doses of caffeine (3–6 mg per kg of body weight), consumed 60 minutes pre-exercise, appear to have the most consistent performance benefits. That equates to roughly 2–4 standard cups of coffee for a 150lb person.
Low doses of caffeine (100–300mg) consumed during endurance exercise have also been shown to enhance performance. This is why you often see caffeine coming in chewing gum, sports gels, or energy bars.
When consumed in these quantities, before and/or during exercise, athletes have seen performance improvements in the range of 1–8%.
Of note, higher doses of caffeine (more than 9mg per kg of body weight, equivalent to 6+ cups of coffee for 150lb person) can hurt performance, causing nausea and anxiety.
Creatine
Creatine Monohydrate has been one of the most widely-studied sports supplements, with consistently positive performance benefits.
Creatine has been shown to enhance lean mass, maximal power/strength, and performance of short high-intensity exercise (less than 2.5 minutes, with the most robust effects for bursts of less than 30 seconds). The benefits of creatine for endurance exercise are less clear.
The most common strategy for creatine supplementation includes a loading phase of ~20g per day for 5–7 days, followed by a maintenance phase of 3–5g per day after that. Some people choose to bypass the loading phase and just start with the maintenance phase, which is effective but takes longer for creatine stores to build up in the muscles (30 days vs. 5–7 days).
Research has shown that it is safe to consume creatine daily, even over several years. Some reports have even shown that creatine has anti-inflammatory benefits and reduces exercise-induced oxidative stress.
If consumed properly, creatine can improve strength or high-intensity performance by 1–15%.
Nitrates
Dietary nitrates have been shown to improve performance in endurance sports.
Leafy green and root vegetables (e.g. spinach, arugula, celery) are the primary source of dietary nitrates, but beet juice is the supplement that has been studied most, with consistent performance benefits.
Nitrate supplementation can yield significant improvements (4–25%) in time to exhaustion. These benefits have been seen mostly in exercise that lasts between 12–40 minutes, but improvements in the range of 1–4% have been observed in shorter, sprint-based workouts as well.
It appears to be most effective to consume 1–2 cups of beet juice 2–3 hours before exercise. Following this routine for more than 3 days can be beneficial, especially for well-trained athletes. In fact, performance benefits can be maintained for at least 15 days if beet juice is consumed daily.
Beta-Alanine
Beta-Alanine supplementation has been shown to improve high-intensity exercise performance.
It can increase maximal exercise tolerance by 2–3%, most notable in workouts lasting 30 seconds to 10 minutes.
Beta-alanine dosing strategies usually involve split doses consumed over the course of the day and/or slow release formulations to minimize side effects (paraesthesia — described as “tingling of the skin”).
A split dose of 3.2–6.4 g per day (about 65mg per kg of body weight) per day, taken for a minimum of 2–4 weeks up to 12 weeks, appears optimal to enhance high-intensity exercise performance.
Sodium Bicarbonate
Sodium bicarbonate, also known as baking soda, has been shown to enhance high-intensity exercise performance.
Benefits have typically been seen in short sprints lasting around 60 seconds, with a diminishing return in workouts of more than 10 minutes.
The performance improvements range from 2% for a single sprint to over 8% for repeated bouts.
Sodium bicarbonate supplements can be found in capsule or tablet form. The optimal dose appears to be 0.2–0.4g per kg of body weight, taken 60–150 minutes prior to exercise. Splitting this amount into several smaller doses throughout the day can help to minimize GI upset, which is a common side effect.
One final proven supplement to mention is Protein. It is generally recommended to consume at least 20 grams of protein after an intense workout to support muscle recovery and growth. Adequate protein intake over the long term enhances performance, with a daily recommended intake for athletes of up to about 2g per kg of body weight.
…
If you are training hard and eating right but still seeking a competitive edge, these supplements might do the trick.
As most athletes know, small performance improvements can go a long way.