Supplements to make you go fast and get (somewhat) big.
These are the only ones, in my opinion, that are worth using/ looking into if you are looking to maximise your performance in the gym as a bodybuilding or powerlifting person or anaerobic athlete.
I would not suggest dabbling with these (apart from caffeine) unless you have at least 3 months of training experience under your belt, otherwise you will have no previous mental/ physical training data to compare with from when you weren’t taking anything.
Caffeine: Try 3g/ kg before trying 6g/kg or more. The benefits tend to tap out at 9g/ kg but that’s a lot of caffeine to try off the hook. With all things, titrate up overtime if you are going to experiment with this. Note your personal tolerance level before jumping to 6g/kg unless you would like to become an internet meme.
Creatine: Not necessary to load unless you have product to spare. Take 3-5g daily and you should start to see the effects come after around 1-2 weeks. There is a 66% chance or being a responder. There are high responders, medium and non responders. Pretty good odds.
Beta-alanine: A variation of the amino acid alanine with robust data supporting improvements in work tolerance (particularly helpful if training in higher rep ranges for a lot of volume) and performance during high intensity cardio work. Loosely it feels like a few more reps, less lactic acid build up and your face tingling.
Betaine/ Trimethylglycine: A relatively new one with some interesting emerging data. Worth researching into if you really into supplements. You can’t obtain enough by actually eating beets but beet juice is an option. Anhydrous seems to be a more convenient way to take it, at least 1g per serving. It works a bit like creatine, by helping things go into and out of cells and also acts as a methyl donor. May be helpful to stack with creatine.
Notable mentions:
- Citrulline malate/ L-citrulline
-HMB