“Supplements are progress enhancers...not progress starters.”

— Alwyn Cosgrove

Key Takeaways

Compared to our first and second tiers, the research supporting these supplements is more mixed and the significance of any effect is even more questionable.
While the study of probiotics is relatively new, researchers have found that it:
- Treats Diarrhea and improves symptoms of inflammatory bowel diseases
- May improve mood
- May boost immunity, though the results are mixed
HMB offers one major advantage that prevents it from being a complete waste of time and money - it reduces rates of muscle breakdown (24).
Researchers have found citrulline malate to be effective for:
- Improving aerobic and strength performance
- Improving recovery
- Improving blood flow and supporting heart health
- Treating erectile dysfunction
The research shows that Yohimbine:
- Acts as a stimulant, increasing energy expenditure and reducing appetite
- Accelerates fat loss
- Targets “stubborn” fat

Full Story

(Be sure to check out the first and second tier supplements in parts one and two, in case you missed it).

Supplement companies are pure evil. They prey on the deepest desires of teenage fitness enthusiasts with large goals and tiny prefrontal cortexes.

It’s true, I’m a victim. The amount of bogus fitness supplements I’ve fallen for could topple an Amazon Prime truck.

Over the years, I’ve learned from the fake fat burners and the asinine amino acids. My near fully developed brain is firing on all cylinders and it’s my mission to keep you from making the same mistakes (and if you’re on the younger side, blowing a LOT of your parent’s money).

Not A Complete Waste Of Money

Though the money wasted on garbage supplements did not pay dividends for my fitness, it did teach me how to evaluate the claims of these snake oil supplement salesmen. Even more importantly, it taught me how to take the power into my own hands and find out for myself if a supplement is worth my time and money.

As a quick refresher, your top of the line, “everyone from your little brother to your grandma can benefit from taking these” supplements are:

Creatine
Caffeine
Protein Powder
Vitamin D

And your second tier, “ehh, most of the evidence points to these having a benefit” supplements are:

Fish Oil
Magnesium (ZMA)
Ashwagandha
Beta-Alanine

As we get further into the weeds, the research supporting the next group of supplements is more mixed and the significance of any effect is even more questionable. Today, and next week when you see the “undrafted”, waste of money supplements, you’re going to be shocked. Because:

You’ve seen these products advertised in magazines and on posters
Everyone from the strongest guy in your local gym to your own doctor has advised taking them
You’ve believed that they work, and have been taking them, your entire life. “Surely they must work!”

I hate to break it to you, but you’ve been bamboozled.

Don’t blame me, blame the marketers. Fooling you was their goal all along and they got away with it.

The Late Round Fliers

To be a late round flier, a supplement must have:

Moderate amount of research supporting it with mixed results
At least a small positive benefit
Little to moderate side effects

If you have money to burn or really want to squeeze out every ounce of potential, take these for the final few weeks or months before a competition/end goal.

1. Probiotics

What is it supposed to do?

Treat Diarrhea and inflammatory bowel diseases
Improve mood
Boost immune function
Prevent cancer, increase intelligence and make you immortal
(okay, I made up that last one - but it’s what some will have you believe!)

Does the research support it?

As we continue to learn more and more about the benefits of a healthy microbiome, hype surrounding probiotics has absolutely exploded. While the study of probiotic supplementation is relatively new, researchers have found that it:

Treats Diarrhea and improves symptoms of inflammatory bowel diseases (1)

May improve mood (2-4)
May boost immunity (5, 6), though the results are mixed (7)

According to the Mayo Clinic and other reputable sources, most of the purported health benefits of probiotic supplementation are not well supported (just ask Dannon) (8, 9, 10). This 2018 study found that probiotic supplementation for 30 days had little to no effect (11). Interestingly enough, they found that the probiotics either went in one end and out the other, if you catch my drift, or were “overpowered” by the microbes already in the body.

Other studies have also found that taking probiotics has little impact on the gut microbiota in healthy people (12) Finally, this review of 63 studies found mixed results of probiotics’ effect on the microbiota but found the most significant effect in those that were recovering from a compromised state such as sickness or a round of antibiotics (13).

We are learning more about the microbiome every day and it is a rapidly growing field of research. Right now, we don’t know much (14). Because of the added nuances that come with:

Dose
Strain of bacteria
Individual response
Other confounding factors

…we know even less about the effect of probiotic supplements.

Here’s what we do know:

Having a healthy gut microbiome is beneficial for many reasons
In general, to nurture a healthy microbiome you want to consume a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and fermented foods and avoid eating a diet that consists primarily of ultra-processed foods, highly refined carbohydrates, and excessive amounts of alcohol.
Taking a probiotic supplement may improve the health and diversity of your gut microbiome, or it might not.

That’s it.

If you’re healthy, i.e. don’t suffer from chronic diarrhea or inflammatory bowel disease, and consume a well balanced, mostly whole foods diet, you probably will not benefit from regularly taking a probiotic.

Final Grade - Mid to late round steal (if you suffer from digestive/gut health issues) OR

A waste of a pick (if you’re healthy and consume a diverse diet).

2. HMB

What is it supposed to do?

Increase strength
Preserve muscle during a diet

Does the research support it?

HMB, or beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate, for short, is a muscle-building supplement that emerged in the 1990’s as a contender to creatine as the #1 fitness supplement. After decades of research, it has utterly failed to live up to the hype (15). But it’s not completely useless.

Although many studies have shown that HMB does not:

Improve protein synthesis rates to a meaningful degree (16, 17, 18)
Improve power (19)
Increase anaerobic endurance (20, 21)
Improve recovery (well, probably not - the research is limited and mixed) (22, 23).

Seems pretty useless, right? It does, except HMB offers one major advantage that makes it the ace up your sleeve in certain situations - it reduces rates of muscle breakdown (24).

There are two times we want to minimize risk of muscle loss:

Fat-loss phase
Fasted training

If you train fasted (12+ hours after eating or drinking any calories) or are deep into a fat-loss phase and want to preserve as much muscle as possible, there’s evidence that taking HMB could have a slightly beneficial effect (25).

Final grade - Late round value pick for unique circumstances.

3. Citrulline Malate

What is it supposed to do?

Improve performance
Improve recovery
Increase blood flow and support heart health

Does the research support it?

L-Citrulline (or citrulline malate - it’s just L-Citrulline combined with malic acid) i is a nonessential amino acid that is popular among athletes and bodybuilders that has been shown to have many intriguing effects.

Researchers have found citrulline malate to be effective for:

Improving aerobic and strength performance - this study even found that it increased the participants max number of reps on the bench press 52%! (26-30)

Improving recovery - that same study found that l-citrulline significantly reduced soreness and others have found that reduces exercise-induced free radical damage (31, 32).

Improving blood flow and supporting heart health - As L-citrulline boosts nitric oxide production (which plays a role cardiovascular function), l-citrulline has also been shown to reduce blood pressure and improve arterial health , although the results are inconclusive (33-36).
Treating erectile dysfunction (37).

Put simply, taking citrulline malate will likely result in:

Increase blood flow and a better “pump” in the gym
Better muscular endurance
Less fatigue
Improved recovery

Impressive benefits, but here’s the catch - the significance of these effects is small. Not zero, but tiny. Citrulline malate will not overhaul your physique or transform you into The Rock.

Best case, it will slightly improve your fitness results over time. For a deep dive on the available research supporting citrulline malate, check out this article from examine.com (38).

Final Grade - Late round steal with high potential.

4. Yohimbine

What is it supposed to do?

Improve energy (stimulant) and boost performance
Blunts appetite
Helps you burn “stubborn fat” and improve body composition

Does the research support it?

As a rule of thumb, fat burners are ineffective and dangerous, but Yohimbine may be an exception to the rule. Yohimbine is an alkaloid, a plant substance that causes chemical reactions in the body. Though not a “fat burner” in the traditional “Lean Xtreme Max 3000” sense, it is a mild stimulant that many use to increase energy and facilitate fat burning.

Sounds good in theory, but does it really work? Probably. The research shows that Yohimbine does:

Act as a stimulant, increasing energy expenditure and reducing appetite (39, 40)

Accelerate fat loss (41)
Targets “stubborn” fat (42, 43, 44)

(For more details of this “how” behind this targeted fat loss effect, check out this explanation from Mike Matthews) (45)

Might treat erectile dysfunction (what doesn’t, these days?) (46)

The supporting research is promising, but, again, it’s inconclusive and doesn’t include large or diverse sample sizes. Although the speculative effects appear to play out in small-scale trials, there is simply not enough evidence to know for sure if taking Yohimbine will make a significant difference.

If you supplement with Yohimbine, you can expect:

A slight increase in energy
A slight reduction in appetite
A slight increase in rate of fat loss

Personally, I occasionally take Yohimbine for the last few weeks of a fat loss phase. It might slightly improve my energy and reduce my appetite, but the effects are not extremely noticeable. And because I knew what it’s supposed to do, any difference I feel after taking it may be explained by the placebo effect (47).

Final grade - Last pick of the draft. Stash it on your bench, just in case.

Wrap Up

That’s it. That’s all of the fitness supplements that are worth your time, money, and attention. The final list:

1st tier:

Creatine
Caffeine
Vitamin D
Protein Powder

2nd tier:

Fish Oil
Magnesium (ZMA)
Ashwagandha
Beta Alanine

3rd tier:

Probiotics
HMB
Citrulline Malate
Yohimbine

Shocked that some of your daily staples didn’t make the cut? That I mistakenly left off:

Multivitamin
BCAAs
Pre Workout
Fat Burners
Green Tea Detox Cleanse

It wasn’t a mistake. If I left it off the list, it’s because I made a calculated, informed decision.

Just because If it didn’t earn a spot on my rankings doesn’t mean that you should stop taking any particular supplement…

If you take a supplement because you have a…

Deficiency
Specific goal
Or for any other reason (placebo counts!)

…I’m not going to tell you to toss it in the trash. However, for the general, otherwise healthy population looking to improve their health and fitness, these 12 supplements are the most important ones you can take.

Next week, I’ll explain why every other supplement is a waste.

Sources:

GIF Sources: Scarecrow JoeyandRoss Michael Homer The Rock SpongebobandPatrick Dwight

(giphy.com)

Fitness Supplement Rankings - Late Round Fliers

Key Takeaways