Last updated on March 26th, 2024 at 12:28 am
There’s hardly a regular gymgoer who isn’t dabbling with workout supplements. The right combo of supplements at the gym can help to boost your gains, strength, and aid in muscle repair.
Now, it won’t take long for you to realize that there are a lot of supplements on the market. Workout supplements are big business, and unless you know what you’re looking for, it can be tricky to work out exactly what you need. This is where we come in.
On this page, our goal is to list the most common supplements used both pre and post workout session. We are not going to mention specific brands here. Instead, we just want to cover the type of nutrients that you’ll find beneficial when looking to add a boost to your workout sessions.
Table of Contents
Protein (Whey Protein)
Protein is the most common supplement used by those working out.
Protein is the building block of the human body. It is used for a multitude of different processes, including building strength and repairing muscles.
When you work out at the gym (or doing any sort of workout, for that matter), your muscles will be torn. Only small tears, but it happens. The tears are important, and they don’t hurt. When your body fixes these micro-tears, the muscles get stronger. They’ll also tone themselves up a bit more. This is why, when you work out a lot, you’ll be boosting your muscle strength.
For your muscles to repair themselves properly, your body needs proteins. Taking protein supplements before and after a workout session can lead to faster gains.
So, why whey protein? Well, it is the type of protein most readily absorbed by the body. While any type of protein would work, whey is the most beneficial, and most supplements only have whey protein in them.
Creatine
Without getting too scientific, creatine is a source of energy. It is produced naturally by the body, but you will also get a little into your system by eating certain meats, drinking milk, or taking supplements.
Obviously, when you work out, you need a lot of energy. This is where creatine comes in. Creatine can act as a fuel for your muscles, helping you to workout longer and harder. However, it is the additional benefits that most people seem to go to creatine for. Studies have shown that creatine can lead to faster muscle growth, and it may even help to boost muscle strength.
You’ll find a lot of pre-workouts will contain creatine, as will many post-workout supplements.
Carbohydrates
We know that many people believe that carbs are a bad thing, and they can be. Sugars are carbs, and you don’t really want to overload on sugar. However, carbohydrates are essential to a healthy diet, and they are essential when you are working out. This is why many workout supplements will contain carbs.
Carbs provide quick, fast energy to your body. Pre-workout supplements that contain carbs are there to provide you with an energy boost to get you through your workout session. Supplements designed for after your workout session are there to help you to recover lost energy stores. This will help you to feel far less tired.
You probably won’t want to overdo it on the carbs, mostly because too much can be bad (it will spike your blood sugar), but you wouldn’t want to do without some carbs when working out.
BCAAs
These are amino acids. While your body needs lots of different amino acids, BCAAs are the most important. Supplements that contain BCAAs will include three amino acids known as leucine, valine, and isoleucine.
BCAAs help with muscle gains. This is because the BCAAs are essential when it comes to the synthesis of proteins. By now, you already know that proteins are essential for building muscles. BCAAs can also help muscle recovery, and even boost your energy levels.
Many supplements nowadays will contain BCAAs, and you can even find them in certain brands of energy drink.
Caffeine
Finally – many top supplements (especially some of the best pre-workouts for men) will now contain caffeine. This will help to boost your energy levels while you are working out, and it can even help to improve your focus.
Studies have shown that those who take caffeine supplements (normally through their pre-workout) before their sessions can work out for longer and harder.
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Final Thoughts
Remember – we are just scratching the surface of beginner workout supplements here. However, we do think we have given you enough information to know what the main supplements on the market do. Almost supplement that you encounter will contain at least one of these ingredients. So, if you’re just getting started with workout supplements, whether pre or post workout, stick to something that contains an ingredient on this list (or maybe even multiple ones), and it won’t be long before you start to see the benefit in your gains, energy levels, and performance.
