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If you’re looking for healthy, organic supplements to improve your athletic performance, we’ve got you covered.
If you’re a professional or amateur athlete, or even just exercise as a hobby, you undoubtedly want to get the most out of your workouts. Therefore, you may opt for sports supplements that can enhance muscle growth, improve endurance, or boost energy levels, but how do you know which ones will best support your workout and sports performance?
We analyzed some of the best brands for supplements to bring you our top 5 favorites that will support your activities in and out of the gym.
Best Supplements for Athletes: Our Top 7 Picks
Qualia Mind – Best to Improve Athletic Focus
BiOptimizers – Best for Building Strength
Natural Stacks – Best Capsules for Athletes
Akasha Naturals – Best Plant-Based Supplements
Pure Essence Labs – Best for Stress Relief
Onnit – Best Whey Protein for Athletes
Organixx – Best Athlete Supplements for Recovery
What Are Sports Supplements?
Legal sports supplements have the potential to support your body and mind before, during, and after workouts. Supplements are not designed to replace a healthy diet but rather an accompaniment to one.
They come in many forms, such as powders, capsules, pills, and gels, and have been formulated to help:
- Alleviate nutritional deficiencies*
- Support nutritional needs, e.g., protein*
- Meet fitness goals
- Enhance exercise performance
There are numerous types of supplements for sports nutrition, including:
- Amino acids
- Vitamins
- Minerals
- Herbs
- Botanicals
- Food and plant concentrates
The kind of supplement you may need will depend on your goals and your chosen sport.
1. Best to Improve Focus in Athletes – Qualia Mind
“The Zone” is far more mental than physical.
It’s where precise split-second decision-making, relentless willpower, and effortless focus collide. Qualia Mind empowers “The Zone” to actually happen, and is a must-have for all athletic pursuits.
It’s 28 of the most well-researched dietary ingredients on earth for promoting brain health, focus, mood, and the mental A-game needed to end laziness and brain fog, and actually stick to a workout routine or sustain focus while practicing and preparing.*
And it is compatible with almost all diets because it’s vegan, non-GMO, gluten-free, and even backed with a 100-day money-back guarantee.
Before you even think about addressing your body, help your mind be fully nourished and primed each morning for athletic accomplishment. One serving a day is designed to put your mind in a place to actually follow through on your physical and athletic goals.*
Pros
- Promotes brain health, focus, mood, and mental game*
- Compatible with almost all diets*
- Vegan, non-GMO, gluten free
- 100-day money-back guarantee
- Only one serving a day
- Comes with or without caffeine
Cons
- Flavor profiles could be better
What we love about these athlete supplements
We love how Qualia Mind includes 28 ingredients that promote a healthy mind, mood, and focus. This is a great option for those who want that extra push to focus on their athletic goals.*
The non-GMO, gluten-free, and vegan ingredients also make it our number choice for athlete supplements.
The Qualia line of products offers bundles with formulations designed to promote:
- Boosted energy*
- Better aging*
- Enhanced cognition*
Furthermore, these bundles offer significant savings compared to buying the supplements separately.
>> Buy Now
2. Best for Building Strength – BiOptimizers
If you’re looking for an all-in-one athlete supplement to support your muscle building and recovery, BiOptimizers has you covered. Not only does Magnesium Breathrough help you build strong bones and muscles, but it also helps you get the rest you need to recover and be at 100% the next day.
You get all 7 forms of magnesium in these athlete supplements, which offer additional benefits, such as:
- Regulating heart rhythms
- Treating heartburn and acid indigestion
- Relieving migraines
- Relieving chronic pain
- Increasing energy
- Supporting peak performance
Pros
- Several benefits in just one capsule
- 365-day money-back guarantee
- Save up to 37% when you subscribe
- Includes 7 forms of magnesium
Cons
What we love about these athlete supplements
BiOptimizer has made getting the most from your supplements easier, packing in all the benefits of magnesium into these capsules. These supplements tackle more than one issue faced by many athletes, helping you to enhance your performance but also get your much-needed recovery.
Both the President and CEO of BiOptimzer were trainers who worked with pro athletes, so they know what they’re talking about when it comes to optimizing athletic performance. They have created a formula that supports strength and also comes with several other benefits to keep your heart, body, and mind healthy and in sync.
3. Best Capsules for Athletes: Natural Stacks
As the name suggests, Natural Stacks create supplements that are designed to be combined (stacked) for maximum benefits. Specializing in supplements for brain and gut health, supplements from Natural Snacks can help with focus, sleep, mood, and energy levels. They come in convenient capsules, so you don’t need to mix a protein shake or add the supplement to your food.
Pros
- Selection of supplements for brain health
- Lab-tested and verified
- Only natural ingredients used
- Supplements can be stacked together
- Personalized approach
- Subscribe and save
- 30-day money-back guarantee
Cons
- No supplements designed for athletic performance
Why we love these supplements for athletes
Mental focus and clarity are crucial components of training. Supplements from Natural Stacks will help an athlete prepare the mind to help them maintain optimal performance, both mentally and physically.
The brand’s supplements are made using only natural ingredients like vitamin B6, essential amino acids, caffeine, magnesium, and Forskolin, which can support:
Motivation and mental endurance
Focus and alertness
Mood and quality of sleep
When it comes to formulations, Natural stacks are completely transparent, with everything being open source, so anyone can see what goes into their supplements. Furthermore, each batch of supplements is tested for purity, potency, and quality.
Unsure about what supplements from Natural Stacks are best for you? Take the brain assessment quiz that gives personal recommendations to ensure you’re getting the optimum supplements for you.
4. Best Plant-Based Supplements for Athletes – Akasha Naturals
The supplements from Akasha Naturals are developed by a multidisciplinary team of board-certified medical doctors and licensed practitioners in alternative medicine. Combining the advances of Western medicine and the wisdom of Eastern medicine, the brand’s dietary supplement addresses multiple health and wellness concerns.
The Akasha Natural Vita Meal is both plant-based and gluten-free and can be used as a healthy meal replacement. It promotes a healthy gut and ensures you’re getting the key nutrients required for peak performance.
Pros
- Huge variety of supplements
- Specialized supplements for men and women
- 100% natural and free of GMO ingredients
- Supplements to support joint, muscle, and bone pain, great for recovery
Cons
- Supplements are on the expensive side, particularly those for cleansing and detoxing
- No supplements designed for muscle growth and strength
What we love about these supplements
Akasha Naturals takes a total body health approach to supplements, focusing on supporting three different aspects of a person—the body, spirit, and mind. Ingredients are chosen carefully based on real scientific evidence and proven health benefits from traditional medicines to provide the best possible supplements.
The entire product range from Akasha Naturals is completely natural in origin and GMO-free. Plus, eliminating as many processing steps as possible keeps the ingredients close to their raw and pure form. To ensure the quality of the ingredients, the formulations are regularly tested for purity.
Athletes can support whatever body system they need with Akasha Naturals with supplements to support:
- Brain and heart health
- Immunity
- Digestion
- Women’s and men’s health
- Joints and muscles
5. Best Supplement to Relieve Stress – Pure Essence Labs
Pure Essence Labs pride themselves on providing a truly holistic approach to health care, being very particular in the ingredients and the processes they use to create their supplements. Each ingredient used by the brand must have the backing of scientific evidence in its proposed effect.
With peak athletic performance comes stress, both on the body and mind. AdrenalStability is specifically designed to help relieve stress and support your adrenal functions. Just two capsules a day can help reduce stress, anxiety, and lack of focus, ensuring your training regime is not interrupted.
Pros
- Clean ingredients tested for purity
- High levels of nutrients in each supplement
- Subscribe and save
- Get supplements tailored to you
- 90-day money-back guarantee
Cons
- Limited product line compared to other brands
What we love about these athlete supplements
The product line from Pure Essence Labs contains products that support joint and bone health, cognition and focus, sleep and energy, and much more.
A safe and effective product starts with its ingredients, so Pure Essence Labs carefully sources all the constituents of their supplements. Each ingredient is tested multiple times for purity and the presence of heavy metals and toxins to ensure it is completely safe to consume.
Also included in the supplements of Pure Essence Labs are phytochemicals, the bioactive nutrient plant chemicals found in fruits and vegetables, which are believed to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, ideal for supporting recovery.
6. Best Whey Protein Powder for Athletes: Onnit
Onnit’s brand mission is “Total Human Optimization,” which they aim to achieve through a wide selection of supplements, probiotics, nutrition solutions, and fitness equipment. With Onnit, athletes aren’t limited to making physical gains but mental ones with supplements that support cognitive processing and focus.
Pros:
- Wide range of supplements for gains in and out of the gym
- Supplements backed by clinical evidence
- Certifications from known organizations including Rainforest Alliance and UTZ
- Suitable for a wide variety of diets, including keto and gluten-free
- Caffeine-free
- Supplements regularly tested for banned substances and purity
- Subscribe and save
Cons:
- Some supplement packages are highly-priced
- Claims not currently evaluated by the FDA
What we love about these athlete supplements
If you’re looking to boost your overall wellness, as well as your performance, Onnit is the supplement brand for you. Their extensive product line contains supplements to support mental well-being, immune function, aid sleep, and boost cognitive function, as well as a wide variety of sports supplements.
Onnit has a supplement to support your workout regime, no matter your sport. Those in power sports may benefit from “Total Strength and Performance,” which has been clinically proven to significantly improve squat, bench, and deadlift performance. Endurance athletes are better suited to “Shroom Tech Sport,” which is designed to help the body with cellular energy and cardiovascular endurance.
A key worry for athletes when taking supplements is the possibility of a positive test result. Professional athletes can take any of Onnit’s supplements safe in the knowledge that they’re backed by a Gold Star Standard by the Banned Substance Control Group.
Athletes can also support performance through Onnit’s nutritional supplements, including whey protein in several palatable flavors. MCT oils can be added directly to your coffee for a quickly absorbed energy boost.
7. Best Supplements for Recovery and Immune Support – Organixx
Organixx delivers a wide range of supplements made from natural ingredients, including certified organic ones, to ensure the purest formulations possible. Find support for digestion, immunity, inflammation, and daily nutrition.
The Organixx Clean Sourced Collagens contains five different types of collagen from real food sources, along with added vitamins to lubricate the joints and reduce pain, which can aid recovery. It also promotes good cardiovascular health and helps boost metabolism for increased energy and easier weight management.
Pros
- Wide range of supplements to support joint health
- GMO-free and organic ingredients
- Third-party tested and verified
- Affordable prices
- Subscribe and save
- 1-year money-back guarantee
Cons
- Not all ingredients are organic
- No supplements specifically for muscle growth and strength
What we love about these athlete supplements
In Organixx’s impressive product line you’ll find supplements to:
- Aid digestion
- Support your immune system
- Help relieve stress and anxiety
- Make up for any nutritional deficiencies
- Ease pain and inflammation following exercise
Like the other supplement brands on our list, Organixx has high standards about what goes into their products. All products are free from GMO ingredients and third-party tested to ensure they are also free from heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides. You can read the third-party testing results for each supplement and see for yourself that they’re clean.
You can be sure that you’re getting the best out of Organixx’s supplements as their fermentation processes and formulations ensure that the active ingredients are highly bioavailable.
How We Chose Our Top 5 Best Supplements for Athletes
Test Results
Any sports supplement brand promising to boost your athletic performance should ensure that they are safe for use, consisting of certified active ingredients that are continually third-party tested for purity.
Additionally, supplements should be completely free of banned substances, essential for professional athletes.
We checked each brand could prove the contents of their supplements in the entire product range matched up with the claims on the bottle, as certified by an independent lab.
Effectiveness
We ensured that the brands we chose used active ingredients in their formulations that have been linked to improved mental and physical performance in the literature. For example, branched-chain amino acids supplements are associated with muscle growth, improving endurance, and enhanced muscle recovery.
It’s not enough that supplements contain these ingredients. They also need to be in the bioavailable form to be absorbed quickly and efficiently.
Therefore, supplements with a high bioavailability were favored as they reduce the chances of the nutrients being destroyed before they reach the bloodstream. The formulation of a supplement can improve its bioavailability, as can the delivery method. For example, capsules are often more effective than tablets.
Reputation and Customer Reviews
It’s important that the supplement brands we chose had a good standing within the athletic community. While we noted testimonials on the brand’s websites, we also combed through independent and verified reviews online. This was to make sure customers were happy with the supplements, and that side effects were minimal and temporary.
Ingredients
Many athletes take sports supplements daily, so they mustn’t contain any nasty toxins or chemicals in the formulations. The brands on our list favor all-natural ingredients that are organic and therefore are entirely safe to consume and stack together.
Additionally, we looked for brands that took an eco-friendly and sustainable approach to sourcing ingredients and giving back to the environment as opposed to solely taking from it.
FAQs About Supplements for Athletes
What are the best vitamins for athletes?
Several vitamins and other ingredients can help boost performance, support healthy muscle growth, or aid recovery. Take a look at some of the best in the table below.
Do elite athletes take supplements?
While elite athletes can perform well and build muscle without supplements. However, as athletes push their bodies to the limits, supplements may help provide a boost to energy levels, muscle power, aerobic capacity, and recovery.
Data suggests that elite athletes use dietary supplements more than their non-elite counterparts. This could be because for an individual to perform at their best. They require a certain amount of calories, fluids, carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins, and minerals—supplements help them maintain these nutritional needs.
However, it’s important to remember that no supplements are a substitute for a solid dietary foundation.
How do I choose the right supplements for me?
The use of supplements (fitness, weight loss supplements, or others) remains controversial, and when it comes to what you’re putting into your body, it’s always worth erring on the dies of caution.
Before starting any new supplements, speak to your healthcare provider or sports dietician about their suitability for you and ask the following questions:
- Do the claims made by the supplement make sense?
- Is there scientific evidence available for the ingredients?
- Is the supplement safe, legal, and free of banned substances?
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