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I receive a lot of questions about dietary supplements to improve performance. Questions usually revolve around enhancing endurance, typically for longer duration events. However, I do field the occasional question about increasing strength or improving body composition and physique through targetted supplementation.

While I am not a big proponent of supplementation, it would be unprofessional and ignorant to deny that certain supplements taken in an appropriate context provide a performance boost. In this post, I go over the few proven supplements from a highly reliable resource.

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Before tackling supplements, it is best that you first dial in your macronutrient intake – Protein, Carbs and Fats – from whole-food sources.

Without adequate Protein, you’re not providing your body with the building blocks for tissue growth and regeneration. Further, inadequate or low-quality protein intake will quickly depress your immune system. Your training will break you down faster than you can build yourself up. Similarly, sufficient and balanced Fat intake plays a crucial role in this process too.

It is well known in all endurance training circles that properly timed Carbohydrates offer a boost to performance. Depending on your needs, this can mean decreasing Carbs in the context of training and then ratching up the Carbs for the competition – the “train low, race high” approach. Or, you may be an athlete that must stay above a certain carbohydrate threshold year-round to support the health of your muscular, endocrine or other body systems.

Eating whole food will minimize micronutrient deficiencies, promote digestive health and allow you to derive more satisfaction and satiation from your meals. If you end up with a micronutrient deficiency, your performance can quickly and unexpected deteriorate depending on the severity. Same goes for your digestion. Too many processed and artificial foods will stop you in your track if gastrointestinal distress kicks in.

And, last but not least, you must ensure your sleep is adequate, and daily stress is in check. If your goal is optimal performance, all the supplements in the world can not make up for a poor diet, inadequate sleep and a stressed-out lifestyle. Food, Sleep and Stress Management is the base of the pyramid, proper training is the middle, and Supplements are only the tip.

I know you’re here for the supplements. So I digress. I will return to the topic of macronutrient balance, sleep and stress in future articles. For now, onto the supplements!

Supplements for Performance

I am not going to discuss Carbs supplements in this post. Consuming Sports Drinks, Gels and other Carb-centric sports food before and during competitions is common. And if the dose and timing are correct, performance gains will be made. I will discuss the specifics of timing and dosage in a future article.

Similarly, I am not going into electrolyte supplements either. If you are training long or exercising in high heat or humidity, electrolytes during and after training help to maintain or replenish hydration status. Electrolytes will receive its own post with more details.

The focus here is on “supplements for performance” – those that can directly improve sports performance.

To help guide your decisions about supplements for performance, I’d highly suggest you read the full text of the 2018 IOC consensus statement: dietary supplements and the high-performance athlete. It is an invaluable resource on the topic.

As I’m sure you can imagine, there are many supplement protocols used by high-performance athletes to gain an edge on the competition. However, high-performance athletes and Olympians must be extremely selective with their supplementation choices. There is always a risk of ingesting a tainted supplement with unlisted banned substances in the formula.

In fact, in July 2019, a Canadian Athlete had “an adverse analytical finding […] following an out of competition doping control that took place in late July (2019). At this point, the source of the banned substance is unknown.” This quoted from a message sent out by Own the Podium in August 2019. The athlete was using four common supplements and now is in limbo waiting for the results of a doping violation – a real shame.

So, the IOC’s consensus statement is a very sensible guide of what is worth it and what isn’t. And the list below are the supplements that have, as the article claims, “an adequate level of support to suggest that marginal performance gains may be possible.”

Caffeine

Caffeine before exercise and during training (i.e. a carbohydrate gel with caffeine added in), improves endurance, short-term power, even sprinting.

Aim for 3-6mg/kg bodyweight about 60min before exercise. Pills or Powders allow you to dial in the dose. Caffeinated gum is an option too – it enters the bloodstream more quickly. You can also drink coffee, though usually not as potent as pills or powders though. For example, if you weigh 80kg (175lbs) you’d aim for 240mg to 480mg of caffeine. That’s about 3-4 cups of coffee.

The main concern with caffeine is an interference with your sleep if you train at night and consume the caffeine beforehand. Also, if you drink a few coffees and take caffeine supplements, your total daily load of caffeine may be too high. Then you’ll be exposed to the most common side-effects of caffeine: nausea, anxiety, insomnia or restlessness.

Lastly, caffeine is most potent if your body has not already adapted to its stimulant properties. For example, some people require caffeine to maintain their baseline day-to-day function. Caffeine supplementation will not likely yield as high a performance benefit for these people. However, an athlete that consumes caffeine strategically only around important workouts and competitions will typically gain more of an edge.

Protein

Protein powder, like whey protein, enhances muscle protein synthesis and suppresses muscle protein breakdown. Also, it supports immune function, which is crucial since hard training tend to depress the immune system.

A high-quality whey protein with little to no additives is a great addition to a post-workout drink. Vegan and vegetarian alternatives won’t deliver as much bang as whey protein or protein powders derived from animal sources. But if whey protein gives you digestive distress, vegan and vegetarian alternatives are an option.

Drink a protein shake daily can also be an insurance policy to ensure you reach a daily protein intake of at least 1.6g/kg body weight per day.

Creatine

Creatine improves short-term and long-term performance in resistance and interval training regimes. Plus, it leads to gains in muscle mass, strength and power. It is less commonly used to enhance endurance performance.

Creatine supplementation involves a five- to seven-day loading phase of 20g per day, followed by a maintenance phase of 3-5g per day for during of the supplementation protocol.

Creatine supplementation enhances performance in training blocks that include resistance training workouts or bouts of high-intensity interval training. Better quality training will lead to a more significant training effect long-term.

For strength, power and team sport athlete, Creatine is an excellent choice. For elite endurance athletes, the biggest concern is gaining muscle mass. However, for age-group endurance athletes fighting the muscular atrophy that comes naturally with age, Creatine is a good option. Use it during training blocks that include less endurance work and more time in the gym and hammering out intervals.

Nitrate

You may have heard of beetroot juice. Well, that is a form of Nitrate supplementation. Nitrate improves skeletal muscle function, promotes blood flow to the muscles and increases the efficiency of your mitochondria.

There is a definite benefit in events lasting 12-40min. However, the magnitude of the effect is less for highly-trained athletes – likely because elite athletes are closer to their genetic upper limit of muscle and mitochondrial function.

The best approach is to consume lots of leafy green and root vegetables, including spinach, rocket salad, celery and beetroot regularly. However, digestive upset can quickly become a limiter because of the high fibre content of these foods. This is why juicing is usually the go-to strategy – all the Nitrates with none of the fibre.

Sodium Bicarbonate

Yes, that’s right, Baking Soda is a supplement for performance. It buffers the build-up of acidity in your blood critical for events limited by acidosis that are 1-10min in duration. A track event like the 800m is the classic example of a race limited by acidity.

Consume 0.2-0.4g/kg bodyweight 1 to 2.5hrs before exercise. If you weigh 80kg (175lbs), that’s 16-32g of Baking Soda or 1-2 Tbsp.

Unfortunately, GI distress is highly associated with Sodium Bicarbonate supplementation. Spreading the one large dose over several smaller doses 30min to 3hours prior is helpful. Or you can spread even smaller doses 3-4 times per day for 2-4 days before the competition. You need to experiment with Sodium Bicarbonate in training before thinking about using it in competition. Through trial and error, you’ll no doubt find a dose that works for you.

The IOC consensus statement includes a lot more valuable information about all kinds of supplements. Check it out. It is worth it.