Best Supplements for Athletes
Best supplements for athletes
When it comes to being the best athlete you can be, you want to cover all the bases. Whatever sport it is you play, you want to be at your best physically and mentally. Supplements have been a huge help in getting the body and mind ready for a hard practice, or game day. Supplements can help with strength, endurance, energy, and even quicker reaction time. But what supplements should we be taking as an athlete? Whether you’re a professional, amateur, or just playing sports for fun, let's go over my top supplements for athletic performance.
Creatine Supplements for athletes
First on my list of supplements for any athlete is creatine. Creatine is one of the most studied supplements out there with well over 60,000 reviewed studies. Creatine works by allowing the body to create more ATP. This allows our muscles to hold more water, create more energy, and give us a strong increase in muscular endurance and this allows us to perform exercises longer and at a higher pace.
Therefore, creatine supplements for atheltes should be taken in doses of 5-10g per day post workout, and in the morning on non training days.
Beta-Alanine
Beta-Alanine allows the body to use glycolysis at a much higher rate. It works by making a key amino acid that provides a molecule known as carnosine. Just like creatine, this allows our muscles to create more ATP. Beta-Alanine improves athletic performance in exercises lasting 60 to 240 seconds. More ATP equals more muscular endurance.
So Beta-Alanine supplements for athletes should be taken in doses of 2.5-5g per day pre-workout. If you feel a tingly itching sensation after taking Beta-Alanine, don't fear, this is completely normal and safe.
Caffeine
Firstly, Caffeine is the single most used supplement in the world. 75% of adults have reported usage of caffeine in some way. It is extremely popular for waking us up, and keeping us awake for our long busy days. Caffeine reduces fatigue, and increases time to exhaustion. Caffeine increases alertness by blocking adenosine, which causes us to fatigue.
The average dosing of caffeine is between 3-9 mg per kg of bodyweight, with 300mg being the recommended dosage for healthy adult athletes.
So if you’re looking to take your athletic performance to the next level, grab these supplements and give them a shot. Proper nutrition and hydration are always the utmost important aspects of increasing athletic performance, but supplements can play a huge role as well!