The Supplements I Actually Think Are Worth Your Money — And the Ones I Think Are a Waste

If you’ve spent any time on chatting with me about fitness, training with me or even done a free personal training session, you know I believe in what actually works — no shortcuts, no hype, no expensive fitness trends.

That applies to training and supplements.

So here’s my honest take on what’s worth buying, what’s not, and why.

🏆 Supplements I Recommend (Because They Actually Do Something)

Creatine — The OG Performance Booster

This one is the most legit strength and performance supplement out there. Creatine doesn’t promise miracles — it delivers extra strength and power, and it’s backed by tons of research.

✔️ Helps you push more weight

✔️ Supports lean mass gains

✔️ Safe for long-term use

📚 Science says: International Society of Sports Nutrition says creatine monohydrate is one of the most effective ergogenic aids available.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5469049/

This isn’t a gimmick. It literally helps your muscles produce energy faster during high-intensity training.

Protein Powder — Because Hitting Protein Targets Matters

Plain and simple: your body needs protein to build muscle and recover. Whole food first — always — but when you can’t eat another plate of chicken, a scoop of protein gets you there.

✔️ Makes getting enough protein easy

✔️ Helps with recovery and muscle growth

Study says: Whey protein alongside resistance training improves muscle mass and strength. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9963065/

Think of this as convenience food that actually helps your goals. But remember, a supplement is just that, supplemental. If you already hit your protein goals, you do not need a protein powder on top.

Multivitamins — Insurance on Your Nutrition

You SHOULD be eating veggies, fruits, and whole foods. But life happens — travel, busy days, late nights, whatever.

A simple multivitamin keeps micronutrient gaps from becoming problems.

📚 Research shows multivitamins help improve micronutrient levels when diet isn’t perfect.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3309636/

No, it won’t get you jacked on its own — but it does help cover your bases.

Caffeine — The Most Underrated Pre-Workout

You don’t need a fancy pre-workout drink. Coffee works just fine. I would recommend starting with coffee before you dive into any pre-workout drinks. Try a half dose of pre workout first, then gradually up the dose. Also another very cheap alternative is caffeine pills, each pill is usually 200mg (about 2 cups of coffee) and easily broken in half. 100 pills usually runs under 20 bucks.

✔️ Increases focus

✔️ Reduces perceived effort

✔️ Can help lift harder or run faster

📚 The science shows caffeine consistently boosts performance.https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-021-00446-4

Use it smart — too much caffeine can have negative effects, especially close to bed time.

🚫 Supplements I Think Are Mostly a Waste of Money

These are popular, but from what the research shows, they just don’t do much for most people — especially if your diet and training are already solid.

Greens Powders

Look, I’m all about vegetables. But greens powder isn’t a replacement for real food, and most research doesn’t prove big benefits beyond basic diet.

Real spinach beats green powder any day.

Eggs > capsules. Steak > powder.

(There’s currently limited strong evidence showing greens powders improve long-term health or performance compared to just eating vegetables.) Plus, a multivitamin already covers most of what greens do at a cheaper cost (and frankly, I find all greens powders nasty tasting. Just give me a vegetable.)

“Testosterone Boosters”

This is one of the silliest ones out there.

Many of these rely on herbs (like tribulus) that don’t actually raise testosterone significantly in healthy adults.

📚 Study on Tribulus:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17530942/

Nothing major happened to testosterone levels. So you’re mostly paying for marketing here.

Hit sleep, strength training, food quality, and calorie balance first — that’s where your hormones actually change.

Glutamine

Your body already makes glutamine. You eat protein, it's already in your protein powder. While we're at it, I'd even lump BCAA's in this catagory as well. Adding more doesn’t meaningfully improve performance or muscle growth.

📚 Study on glutamine and muscle outcomes:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11897844/

Not worth the bottle or the cash.

Fat Burners

This category is basically stimulant blends. Most of the effect you might get is from caffeine — which you can get much cheaper and cleaner.

Most fat burners are overpriced thermogenic junk with weak evidence.

Fat loss comes from diet and energy balance, not pills.

🧠 My Bottom Line

I believe in doing the fundamentals really, really well — the same way I train people at Flex Ed Personal Training: simple, proven methods that work over time.

That applies to supplements too.

Here’s what I’d spend money on:

✅ Creatine

✅ Protein Powder

✅ A Multivitamin

✅ Caffeine (pre-workout)

And here’s what I’d skip:

❌ Greens powders

❌ Testosterone boosters

❌ Glutamine

❌ Fat burners

Train smart. Eat well. Keep it consistent.

If you want help with real results — not trends — you know where to find me. Book a free personal training session with me in Collingwood to get started