Supplements to boost muscle hypertrophy 💊💪
Strategies to augment muscle growth.
Nutritional Supplements for Muscle Hypertrophy: Mechanisms and Morphology-Focused Evidence
Study Details
This new review of the literature assessed the effectiveness of different supplementations strategies on muscle hypertrophy 📚
But only included studies where hypertrophy was directly measured via ultrasound/MRI 🩻
Not surrogate measures derived through body composition assessments (e.g. lean body mass) ❌
Here are the supplements that can make a direct difference to your gains ⬇️
Key Findings
Protein / essential amino acids when…
📉 total daily intake is < 1.6 g/kg/day
🍽️ per meal leucine provision is < 2 - 3 g
The effects of protein for muscle hypertrophy plateau at ~ 2.0 g/kg/day 📈
💊 Creatine monohydrate (3 - 5 g/day) with or without loading produce significant gains after at least 8-weeks
💊 HMB (3 g/day) may be beneficial during high training stress or caloric deficit
…but unlikely to have any impact in well-fed resistance-trained individuals ❌
The following supplements may support training tolerance, recovery or connective tissue but have limited effects on hypertrophy…
🐟 Omega-3 (1 - 2 g/day)
💊 L-citrulline (6 - 8 g pre-exercise)
🥤 Collagen (10 - 15 g/day + vitamin C)
Conclusion
A four-tiered model was proposed by the authors ⬇️
🥇 Protein as foundation
🥈 Creatine as amplifier
🥉 HMB as conditional agent
4️⃣ Others (omega-3 etc) as facilitators
Reference
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41305653/
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