In a previous post we talked about the need to take supplements if the diet did not cover everything necessary, always from a health point of view, but today we are going to talk about supplements for athletes.

In this new entry on supplements we are going to talk about those supplements that work and that can help you, knowing that they will not do miracles as they sell us some sites or false gurus on the internet, to achieve your goals.

First of all emphasize that this post does not say that you have to take supplements to reach your goals, because if you plan well meals, you take your time to cook, eat after training and rest well, surely do not need any supplement, but In many occasions we can resort to these to help us in our diet and, therefore, in our objectives.

Creatine

Undoubtedly one of the most used and important sports supplements on the market, as it is a very important element to regenerate ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the main source of energy of our cells for any activity.

In summary we can say that it allows you to have more ATP available (mainly in the muscle tissue) so that you can move more weight because it allows you to have a little more strength and not get to muscle fatigue so fast.

It is proven that a greater amount of creatine (up to about 5 gr / day) your body generates more strength . You can find out more about this great supplement in the post [all about creatine: when to take it, how to do it, in how much and the most frequently asked questions] (All about creatine: when to take it, how to do it, how much and the questions more frequent).

Whey protein

Whey protein is only protein, of very high quality and with a very complete aminogram, but nothing else, the magic that many people presuppose does not exist. It’s as if you eat chicken breast or hake, no more.

It comes from milk, an almost optimal protein source and therefore it is a good complement if your diet is not very protein. You can read much more about the protein in the post. Do you need protein supplements or are you throwing away the money?

Its ability to help you build muscle and lose fat is sufficiently proven, in addition to many other benefits such as improved protein synthesis, improve insulin sensitivity, lower blood triglycerides, lower LDL cholesterol …)

Caffeine

Caffeine is an alkaloid (organic compound produced by plants) that functions as a nootropic (stimulates at the level of the central nervous system – CNS) and acts by blocking the effects of adenosine (which can be said to “sedate” the CNS).

This way you get benefits with this supplement as it stimulates the central nervous system, prevents the onset of fatigue and sleepiness associated with adenosine, in addition to increasing potency, increase catecholamines, have diuretic effects, increase workload or oxidation of fat among others.

You can expand more information on the use of caffeine in our post series all about caffeine : effects on the athlete , doses to increase performance and its side effects.

Beta-Alanine

Beta-Alanine is a non-essential amino acid (the body can synthesize it without having to use external sources) being a precursor of carnosine (which is a chemical “plugger”) helping to delay muscle failure.

There are a lot of studies that show its great benefits in aerobic (resistance) and anaerobic (strength) training, all referred to the improvement of sports performance as increase of repetitions per series, improvement in the final sprint capacity or delay of muscle failure.