Creatine Monohydrate
NOW Foods
- Form
- Unflavored micronized powder
- Dose
- 5 g daily. Timing doesn't matter, consistency does
The most-studied sports supplement there is. Supports strength output, training volume, and cellular hydration. Cheap, boring, and it works.
✦ Skip the loading phase. Skip anything labeled HCl at four times the price.
Whey Protein Isolate
California Gold Nutrition
- Form
- Powder, about 25 g protein per scoop, third party tested
- Dose
- 1 to 2 scoops daily to close the gap to about 0.8 g per lb bodyweight
Food first. But most men miss their protein target by 40 grams a day, and a shake closes that gap without a fight.
✦ Isolate if dairy sits heavy on you. Grass fed is nice to have, not the point.
Ideal Sea Salt
Dr. Murray
- Form
- Mineral salt with a 2:1 potassium to sodium ratio, 16 oz
- Dose
- Use in place of table salt, or a pinch in your water on hot or training days
You sweat out more than water. Most men run high on sodium and low on potassium, and this flips that ratio without a sugary drink mix. In Phoenix heat this is not optional.
✦ A salt, not a candy stick pack. No sugar, no dyes, no 2 grams of cane sugar hiding on the back.
L-Citrulline Malate
Nutricost
- Form
- Unflavored powder, 2:1
- Dose
- 6 to 8 g, 40 minutes before training
Supports nitric oxide production and blood flow to working tissue. This is the ingredient doing the heavy lifting in most pre-workouts.
✦ Buy it bulk and unflavored. You are paying for citrulline, not for blue raspberry.
Cordyceps
NOW Foods
- Form
- CS-4 or militaris fruiting body extract
- Dose
- 1 to 2 g in the morning
Used for supporting oxygen utilization and endurance. The mushroom that pairs with breath work.
✦ Stack it with the Qigong practice, not with a pre-workout.
Collagen Peptides
California Gold Nutrition
- Form
- Hydrolyzed type I and III powder
- Dose
- 15 g with vitamin C, 30 to 60 min before loading the joint
Supports tendons, ligaments, and connective tissue, the parts that fail long before the muscle does.
✦ Not a protein source. Count it separately from your daily protein target.
Tart Cherry Extract
NOW Foods
- Form
- Capsule or concentrate, standardized
- Dose
- Evening, on heavy training blocks
Studied for supporting recovery from muscle-damaging work and for naturally occurring melatonin content.
✦ Situational. Pull it out during a hard block, put it away after.
Add one thing at a time. Start four of these on a Monday, feel different by Friday, and you have
learned nothing about which one did it.