What are the best cheap & effective supplements to build muscle that are backed by scientific research?
Last Updated: 25.06.2025 10:13
But if your goal is just to get in great shape and develop your athleticism, I 100% guarantee you that you don't need any fancy supplement at all, the basics paired with good nutrition, sleep, and hard work are the keys to achieving your goals.
Whey Protein (24g post workout)- A super delicious and practical way to ingest protein religiously post-workout. Nothing more.
The world of supplementation is WILD— full of overpriced products promising miracles, and the vast majority of them are all utterly underdosed, essentially money-grab scams.
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Multivitamins & Electrolytes: Think of multivitamins as your nutritional backup plan and electrolytes as your hydration guardians. While real food should always be your primary source of nutrients, the right multivitamin and electrolyte mix can support gaps in your diet, especially when pushing your body to its limits.
You'll also hold anywhere from 2-6lbs of extra intra-muscular fluid making you look bigger— NO, THIS ISN'T WATER RETENTION, IT ISN'T SUBCUTANEOUS, IT'S INTRAMUSCULAR— it's actual muscle, a similar kind of hypertrophy to when you introduce sarcoplasmic stimulus to the muscle.
For muscle growth and optimal function, focus on:
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There are other supplements I use and recommend like Alpha-GPC to enhance mental focus, Ashwagandha to curb stress and improve testosterone, Beta-Alanine for endurance and power output, and Taurine to prevent cramps during marathons and other crazy shit I do once in a while.
Vitamin C (65-90 mg): A potent antioxidant that supports tissue repair, recovery, and overall immune function.
It will clear up adenosine, the biomolecule that is responsible for sleep pressure allowing for "motivation" to workout early in the morning, and ramp up your mental focus so you can dish out some destruction in the weight room, it's also HIGHLY ERGOGENIC, improving performance output in every single muscular domain, endurance, strength, power— ALL OF IT— and even help you mobilize fat faster.
Fish Oil (1000mg-2000mg/day or higher if you have the digestive system for it)- Rich in Omega-3s, this is your key to improved muscle recovery and curbing systemic inflammation.
Before I tell you about the 5 BASIC SUPPLEMENTS I recommend to most people that I work with, let me tell you that good nutrition, good hydration, and high-quality SLEEP are 1000% better and more effective than any freaking supplement you might buy, so if you're doing a poor job at taking care of those, address them first.
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I need to stay within 1500mg, 'cause my digestion starts to GET NASTY when I ramp my fish oil intake too much, if you know what I mean.
Take it 30-60min prior to the workout, and make sure you ramp up your water intake by ~10-20% if you decide to use it, 'cause all the aforementioned benefits only work if you're not dehydrated caffeine is highly diuretic— also, whenever you use higher dosages, make sure you're going to execute A GNARLY workout, 'cause if you pop 400mgs and sit on your butt, it's not a great feeling at all.
That's it, all these recommendations are based on my personal supplementation— every single supplement and claim here is backed by peer-reviewed research you can easily find.
Here are the 5 supps from the cheapest to the pricier:
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Omega-3 fatty acids, specifically EPA and DHA, have been shown to stimulate muscle protein synthesis— MORE HYPERTROPHY, BABY!— and reduce muscle soreness post-workout. Plus, these essential fatty acids support heart health, brain function, and joint, ligaments, and tendon health and flexibility.
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Creatine also has cognitive benefits that can enhance your mental focus, mood, and overall cognitive ability— take the following with several grains of salt, but my wife struggled with depression for a long time, and she was having a hard time getting off of SSRIs until she introduced Creatine to her supplementation, now she SWEARS by it— once again, this is just our personal experience, and might just be placebo, but it's in accordance to some scientific papers on the matter.
Electrolytes:Sodium (1500-2300 mg for adults): Vital for fluid balance, cell and nerve function.Magnesium (300-400 mg): Helps maintain fluid balance, involved in muscle relaxation, energy production, and protein synthesis.Potassium (2,300-3,400 mg for adults): Important for heart health, muscle contractions, cell and nerve function.Chloride (1,800-2,300 mg for adults): Helps maintain fluid balance and is essential for digestion.
It's A POWERHOUSE for anyone looking to stay fit both mentally and physically. Aim for a supplement that provides a high concentration of both EPA and DHA for optimal benefits.
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That might not sound like a lot in a single workout, but throughout a whole year, that's BONKERS.
Opt for high-quality brands offering bioavailable forms of these nutrients, ‘cause for these ones in particular, if you go for the cheap brands you’ll end up just producing highly expensive pee.
The combination of mental focus and improved cellular activity leads to more intentional workouts, more volume, and more efficiency in the gym.
Caffeine pills (200mg-400mg pre-workout)— The thing that is doing 90% of the magic of 99% of the pre-workouts and fat-burners out there is just CAFFEINE, If you wanna take your efforts to the next level without breaking the bank, consider taking it 'cause it's DIRT CHEAP.
It has ABSOLUTELY ZERO side effects— unless you have a severely compromised kidney, it should be a no-brainer to supplement with this shit year around.
Zinc (8-11 mg): Vital for immune function, testosterone production, and cellular growth.
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B Vitamins:B6 (Pyridoxine, 1.3-1.7 mg): Important for protein metabolism and neurotransmitter synthesis.B12 (Cobalamin, 2.4 mcg): Vital for nerve function and the formation of red blood cells.
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Hydration is also key when supplementing with creatine, 'cause creatine uses water to access cells, hence, you also need to ramp up your hydration by 10-20% to see optimal effects from creatine supplementation.
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Vitamin D (1000 IU's): Essential for bone health and supports testosterone production, vital for muscle growth.
Creatine (5g a day)— Increases your anaerobic threshold just slightly, essentially giving you 1-2 extra reps each set, so let's say you work at eh 8-10 rep range that's 10-25% extra volume per set, so, FUCKING CRAZY EFFECTIVE.
Comment below, or answer this email if you have any questions about any supplement, I'll gladly help you design a good protocol or spot some snake oil shit.