If you’re an athlete, then it should be a goal to find as many ways to maximize your
performance on the field.
And while there’s no “secret” or “shortcuts” to becoming a world-class athlete, there are
some tips, tricks, and tools that you can use to rapidly speed up the process.
Whether you’re on the court, field, etc. we’re going to be taking a look at the top 3
supplement stacks to maximize your performance.
So with that said, let’s get into it.
The 3 Main Goals
First, before we get into the stacks specifically, we should take a look at the main goals
to help determine which one is best for you.
The first stack will help you pack on pounds of muscle and increase strength naturally.
These will include supplements like a quality natural testosterone booster, creatine, etc.
The second stack will be focused on helping athletes to maximize their recovery. Things
like melatonin, 5-htp, etc. will help to get much deeper sleep and recover faster.
Lastly, the third stack will be to help athletes lose fat and improve endurance. As an
“under 6-foot dunker” I can tell you that every pound of fat leads to a HUGE increase in
athletic performance.
To recap, here are the 3 stacks and goals:
- Stack #1: Muscle Building & Strength
- Stack #2: Recovery & Sleep
- Stack #3: Lose Fat & Improve Endurance
Any one of these stacks will get you running faster and jumping higher, but all of them together will take your game to a whole new level.
Goal #1: Muscle Building & Strength
For muscle building and strength it’s best to remember that nothing will replace the
basics.
That means getting in the gym and pushing yourself at least 4-5 times a week, or more
if your body can handle it.
But most importantly, it means getting your diet in check and specifically protein.
Without enough protein, your body will struggle to build the muscle necessary for you to
get stronger and faster.
Studies have shown that a good amount of daily protein will be around .6-1 gram
of protein per pound of bodyweight. [R]
So if you have your training and diet down, THEN and only then should you look to
supplements to further your results.
The best muscle building and strength stack includes:
- Creatine
- Natural Testosterone Booster
- Whey/Casein Protein Powder
Again, you take any one of these and your strength will improve greatly, but for best results, it’s best to stack all three.
Let’s quickly go over why these work and the best way to use these for optimal performance.
Creatine
Creatine is one of the fundamental supplements every athlete should be taking if they
want to be ahead of the competition.
Creatine is a natural substance found within your muscles and lean meats and it helps
produce more energy for your muscles, causing them to be bigger and stronger.
In fact, a study done on creatine’s effects on professional football players found a
near 10% increase on all of their major lifts (squat, deadlift, bench, etc.)
INSTANTLY.
In short, creatine will drastically improve athletic performance and muscle gains, with
some users claiming to gain 4x as much muscle when supplementing with creatine.
Natural Testosterone Booster
Next, and my personal favorite is a natural testosterone booster.
If you don’t know, testosterone is your body’s primary hormone for things like building
muscle, confidence, strength, and more.
Improving your testosterone naturally has a whole list of benefits but for the sake of this
article we’ll focus on muscle building and strength.
When I was taking a high-quality natural testosterone booster, I wasn’t really expecting
too much at first.
I took a couple of the pills one night and went to bed. The next morning I woke up with a
crazy feeling of confidence, and calm, like I was just in charge.
I went to the gym later that day, and I loaded up my 8 rep max for incline bench and I
absolutely DESTROYED the set, and immediately loaded up more weight, it was pretty
surreal.
Not only that, but while I was taking it was also when I got into one of the best shapes of
my life, because not only does testosterone help you build muscle, but it helps you lose
fat at the same time.
So, if you’re looking for an extra edge to your workouts, and your athletic
performance, I highly recommend a quality natural testosterone booster.
Whey & Casein Protein Powder
Lastly, I want to talk about whey and casein protein.
As an athlete, it can be hard to get enough protein during the day, every single day of
the week. You don’t always have time or the budget.
That’s where supplementing with whey and casein protein powder comes in.
Literally, with just 2 scoops you can have 50 grams of protein down just like that.
The casein is a bit different as it’s a slow-digesting protein, and if you want the
best results, it’s best to take casein right before you go to bed.
This will kind of be like giving your body an IV-drip of protein throughout the night so that
you build muscle while you sleep.
Goal #2: Recovery & Sleep
Next up, we have one of the most commonly neglected elements of improving
performance, and that’s quality recovery techniques.
It’s common to embrace the “nobody cares just work harder” mentality and stay up till 4
am working, but that’s actually one of the worst mistakes you can possibly make.
Remember, whether you’re in the gym or on the field, you break down your
muscles while you’re there, but you GROW while you’re at home.
If you’re always breaking your body down and not giving it time to recover, then you’re
significantly hindering your progress.
This is especially true with younger athletes. I’ll get lots of questions like “Why aren’t I
progressing when I’m literally working out for 3 hours every day?”
The answer is in the question my friend.
In a nutshell, focus on getting 8-9 hours of sleep EVERY night, and taking at least 1-2
rest days per week.
Get the basics down and then you can move onto the supplements which we’ll get into
right now.
Here are the top 3 supplements for deeper sleep:
- Melatonin
- 5-HTP
- GABA
Again, sleep is crucial for athletes as it’s the time when your body will rebuild itself.
Getting quality sleep is essential for improving athletic performance.
8-9 hours per night is ideal, but if that’s not possible, aim to get at least 30
minutes of extra sleep per night for the next week.
I promise the results will delight and shock you.
Melatonin
Melatonin is essentially your body’s main sleep chemical and it can also be found in
supplement form.
Studies have shown that when users take melatonin an hour or two before bedtime, it
drastically improves sleep duration and quality.
Be careful when supplementing with melatonin, however, as your body can and
will develop a tolerance if you abuse it.
Melatonin is best used the night after a grueling workout, or if you simply can’t fall
asleep and need that extra help.
5-HTP
5-HTP on the other hand, isn’t mainly a sleep chemical but it IS a serotonin precursor,
meaning your body uses it to create serotonin.
Due to the increase of serotonin, supplementing with 5-HTP greatly enhances feelings
of happiness and serenity.
Taken during the day, and your day will just overall be better. You’ll be happier, won’t get
nearly anxious, improved confidence etc.
Taken at night however, it calms your body and mind down so that you can enter a
deeper sleep than was previously available.
Personally, I aim to take 5-HTP every single day and I highly recommend it.
GABA
Lastly we have GABA (Gamma aminobutyric acid) is a chemical found in the brain and
is mainly used to help calm anxiety.
This will work in the same way as 5-HTP essentially, as when taken during the day,
you’ll notice that you’ll feel less anxious in general and can approach things with a calm
and clear mind.
Taken before bed however, and you’ll not only sleep deeper but also get to sleep faster.
The best part about GABA however, is the fact that it’s dirt cheap. You can literally get a
3 month supply for like ten bucks.
Goal #3: Fat Loss & Endurance
Last, but certainly not least is getting your body fat down and your endurance levels up.
If your goal is to try to dunk a basketball, but you’ve got 20 pounds of extra weight, it’s
going to be a LOT harder to do so.
Keep in mind however, that losing weight should always start with your diet.
Having a good diet has been and always will be king when it comes to losing fat and
improving your overall health.
A bad diet would look something like mainly sugary cereals, heavily processed and fatty
fast foods, and really anything with a lot of sugar.
A good diet would look something like, lots of lean proteins like chicken, tuna, as well as
lots of leafy green veggies, fruits, and healthy fats and carbs.
If you’re really dedicated to losing weight, I’d recommend downloading a calorie tracking
app like MyFitnessPal and start taking your diet seriously.
You don’t have to do this however, but it’s a great goal to have, for now try to focus on
cutting out as much sugar and junk food as possible and you’ll be in a much better spot.
After dieting however, there are other supplements that can greatly enhance your fat
loss efforts while also improving your endurance at the same time.
The top 3 supplements for fat loss and endurance are:
- Caffeine
- Tons of Water
- Green Tea Extract
Even though water isn’t a supplement I still included it as your body NEEDS water in
order to flush out the fat in your body.
The caffeine and green tea extract however, are legit fat burning supplements and will
greatly enhance your ability to lose fat.
One more thing to note, there are also fat burning pre-workouts that are stacked with fat
burning ingredients, and I’ve found them to be quite effective.
Caffeine
Caffeine is literally a godsend for athletes for many reasons from improving
performance to its fat loss benefits.
Caffeine is so powerful that there was a time where it was banned from the
Olympics because it gave the athletes an unfair advantage over their competition. [R]
However, caffeine also has a half-life of 8 hours, meaning that if you want optimal
performance during the day and quality rest at night, then you should avoid caffeine at
least 8 hours before bed.
I’m quite the caffeine consumer myself as I’m an athlete, blogger, coach, and influencer.
What I’ve found to work best is having a cup or two of coffee in the morning on
weekdays, and then I cut all caffeine during the weekend to let it flush out of my system.
Whatever you do, caffeine can be a powerful ally if you use it correctly.
Green Tea Extract / Fat Burning Pre-workout
I grouped these last two together because green tea extract is often used in fat burning
pre-workouts.
Fat burning pre-workouts also usually have a ton of caffeine in it too, so you’re killing
two birds with one stone.
If you’re just going for the fat loss benefits, I recommend taking the pre-workout on an
empty stomach then going for a jog.
Because your stomach is empty, your body will use the next best source of energy: fat.
When you go for a jog with a fat-burning pre-workout AND on an empty stomach
you will literally shed weight like melted butter.
However, a fat-burning pre-workout on an empty stomach is a rather intense experience
and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who’s sensitive to stimulants.
That being said, this was something I used to do back in my pro basketball days and the
results were jaw-dropping.
Conclusion
All in all, remember supplements are meant to supplement your pre-existing diet and
training routine and are never meant to replace it completely.
You will get 3x better results with a good diet & workout routine with no supplements
than a ton of supplements but a terrible diet and workout.
Take a look through the stacks/goals and figure out which one is best for you. I’d
recommend starting off with one at a time rather than trying to jump in the deep end.
Feel free to take a peek at the other great articles at strongerrr.com and good luck!
