Hopefully, working out and staying healthy is something you’re doing now that lasts you a lifetime. With that said, you have to start somewhere.
I remember when I first began working out. It took a many months and making a lot of mistakes before I really started seeing results.
I don’t want you to go through that. Since you’re here, let me help you start seeing results from your workouts faster.
With that in mind, here’s more information about the best workout supplements for beginners.
1. Pre-Workout Training Supplements
When you’re first starting to lift weights, it’s easy to feel motivated. However, this motivation might not always last. Sure, going to the gym the first few times is great. But, what happens when life and a lack of motivation start getting in the way?
Pre-workouts help give you more energy while also improving your workout results. These are some of the best training supplements for beginners out there. Pre-workouts usually provide you with a noticeable increase in motivation and performance during a workout.
When you have a little extra drive, it’s going to be easier to achieve your muscle building goals. Since a pre-workout is a dietary supplement, now’s a good time to remind you that I’m not a medical professional. I can say I don’t recommend anyone under 18 use pre-workout supplements.
If you’re an adult, consult with a medical professional before using any workout supplements for beginners. This is the same thing you’ll find on any pre-workout label, especially those that contain a lot of caffeine.
Are pre-workout supplements essential for beginners? No, but they can help you get better results from your workouts. If you’re looking for pre-workouts without stimulating ingredients (like caffeine), read my list of the five best caffeine-free pre-workouts here.
Recommended Pre-Workouts for Beginners
Eventually, your beginning training will evolve into a more intense workout. If you’re looking for something to boost your athletic performance or results in the gym, check out these pre-workouts.
Pre JYM
If you’re going to spend your money on a quality pre-workout, you might be looking for Pre JYM. This supplement is the result of lots of studies, which means it contains 13 scientifically backed ingredients.
With 300 milligrams of caffeine per serving, you can rest assured that Pre JYM will give you plenty of energy to power through your next training session.
Plus, ingredients like Huperzine A and alpha-GPC drive you during your most intense workouts and decrease fatigue.
Cellucor C4 Original
Another common goal that many people have when they’re starting to work out is to lose weight. Fortunately, losing weight by exercising (in my opinion) is much easier than trying to shed pounds by only following a healthy diet.
If you need a little extra help in the fat burning department, check out Cellucor C4. This product should get your energy levels raised and you ready to hit the gym in about 20-30 minutes.
Cellucor C4 contains vitamin C, B6, and B12. These make up a group of certain vitamins that might help support a healthy immune system.
You might even find that the Mucuna pruriens in Cellucor C4 help boost your testosterone levels a bit.
2. Protein Powder
Source: Eat This
Understandably, if you’re looking for workout supplements for beginners, one of your goals is likely to gain muscle. Fortunately, consuming protein can help you achieve this goal. However, most people find it hard to get enough protein to meet their daily requirements.
You’ll often hear opinions vary about how much protein to consume in a day. Some people say to go for one gram of protein per pound of body weight. This means that, if you weigh 130 pounds, you would want to consume 130 grams of protein.
Personally, I think that this type of protein intake is going a little overboard. So does the American College of Sports Medicine. In a recent study, the ACSM noted that 0.5-0.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight is ideal.
By using the ACSM’s standards, someone who weighs 130 pounds would only need to consume about 65-104 grams of protein per day.
Protein powder is one of the best workout supplements for beginners for several reasons. One reason why protein is one of the most essential supplements for beginners is because everyone needs protein.
Unfortunately, not consuming enough protein is one of the main reasons why beginners have a tough time gaining muscle. Start drinking protein powder and watch how fast you’re able to start getting bigger.
The Best Protein Workout Supplements for Beginners
Because there are so many protein supplements out there, I wanted to give you a mini-break down of a few protein supplement brands I really like. I include them here because they produce excellent products at affordable prices. Here are three excellent protein powders for beginner bodybuilders to check out.
Gold Standard 100% Whey Protein
While it is a little pricier than the other selections, Optimum Nutrition Whey Protein is nutritionally solid and is available in a wide range of flavors.
I’m not joking, there are like 20 plus flavors of this product and most are delicious. Except the strawberry flavor, stay away.
Each serving of this workout supplement for beginners provides you with 24 grams of high-quality whey protein. This helps prevent muscle breakdown. Your muscle cells also get 5.5 grams of amino acids per serving, which is great for muscle protein synthesis.
This protein tastes great and is super filling, which is great if you’re drinking this stuff on an empty stomach!
MyProtein Impact Whey Protein
If you’re on a tight budget, I definitely recommend checking out MyProtein. I’ve personally been using this website for quite sometime. The shipping is fast and they also have a ton of flavors.
Whether you prefer whey protein, casein protein, or something different, you’ll find your supplement of choice from MyProtein. If I had to recommend a good protein for beginner muscle growth, I’d go with the Impact Whey Protein.
MyProtein’s Impact Whey Protein is a top-seller, has great reviews, and it’s something I personally keep in my home. The protein content in Impact Whey Protein is 21 grams per serving.
This protein helps you preserve muscle tissue while keeping you feel, which can aid in overall fat loss.
3. Fish Oil
While it might sound a little strange, fish oil is one of the best workout supplements for beginners. When you start working out for the first time, you’re going to experience lots of muscle soreness.
Being sore is an unfortunate but also unavoidable part of beginning to work out. Don’t worry, this feeling typically starts going away in time.
If you want to make this type of soreness go away faster than ever, you’re going to need fish oil. I recommend taking fish oil supplements in capsule form, you don’t want to actually taste this stuff. The only slight drawback that I’ve ran into regarding fish oil are the burps.
For some weird reason, fish oil is great to prevent muscle soreness after working out, but fish oils do cause some funky-smelling burps. Fortunately, it’s an inexpensive supplement that you can find just about anywhere.
Plus, some studies show that fish oils might help your body fight against heart disease.
Top-Rated Fish Oil Supplements
If there was ever an unsung hero among workout supplements for beginners, it could very well be fish oil. Fish oil is one of those supplements that helps with post-workout recovery.
If you want to the anti-inflammatory effect of fish oils, check out the products below.
Nature Made Burp-Less Fish Oil
Hey. Weird question.
Remember how I mentioned that fish oils can cause you to experience some nasty burps? Well, there’s good news!
Nature Made recently made and is marketing one of their new fish oil supplements as being “burp-less.” This product is meant to be a little easier on the human body (and your breath) than other fish oils.
Muscletech Platinum Omega Fish Oil
When it comes to a fish oil product, you don’t necessarily have to get a top-of-the-line supplement. But, if you want that, I’d recommend a fish oil that’s meant for people who exercise and lift weights.
Muscletech Platinum Omega Fish Oil contains 1,000 milligrams of fish oils per serving, more than enough to help you reach your fitness goals and speed up the recovery process for your muscles.
4. Creatine
If you want to gain lots of muscle, you’ve learned how important it is to consume protein from both foods and protein powders. However, if you want to gain muscle even faster, it’s a great idea to include creatine into your supplement plan.
Much like protein, creatine is another ingredient you can find in certain foods (namely seafood and red meats).
Unfortunately, most of us don’t have the time or budget to cook up plates of steak and seafood to eat for every meal. To solve this problem, you can instead start using a creatine supplement. Creatine is one of the best workout supplements for beginners because it’s effective and inexpensive.
Over time, creatine will help you pack on more muscle from the workouts you’re doing right now. Creatine primarily helps boost your strength. In turn, these strength boosts lead to you lifting more weight which leads to having larger muscles.
Read here to find out if you should be using creatine at night, especially before bedtime.
Creatine Workout Supplements for Beginners
For new muscle growth, you can take a creatine supplement. But which one should you take? With that in mind, check out these creatine products for fast muscle recovery.
Optimum Nutrition Micronized Creatine Capsules
One of the best training supplements for muscle gain is Optimum Nutrition’s Micronized Creatine Capsules. This product works well at helping you build muscle while working to increase protein synthesis.
The capsules are easy to take. Plus, they include 2.5 grams of creatine per serving.
Nutricost Creatine Monohydrate Powder
Another one of the best workout supplements for beginners is Nutricost’s Creatine Monohydrate powder. While creatine isn’t an essential vitamin, this product can help take your muscle gains to the next level.
Each serving of this supplement contains five grams of high-quality creatine monohydrate.
5. Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs)
When you’re working out, it’s important for your muscles to receive the fuel they need. Picture your body as a car. To keep going strong, your vehicle needs high-quality fuel.
Fortunately, branched chain amino acids are the fuel that your body needs. These three amino acids are leucine, valine, and isoleucine. Don’t worry – you don’t need to consume all the amino acids out there. That would be crazy!
By purchasing a BCAA supplement, you have a way to preserve your muscles glycogen stores. Doing this helps to ensure that you’re never feeling sluggish and tired while you’re lifting weights.
Amino Acid Supplements I Recommend
When it comes to the top-rated workout supplements for beginners, amino acids can be vital. If you want to speed up how fast you increase muscle mass, try the workout supplements below.
EVLUTION Nutrition BCAA Energy Amino Acids
If you’re like me, you could almost always finding yourself needed increased energy. Especially during the mornings, yuck! With that in mind, a supplement that supplies energy and three essential amino acids is BCAA Energy from EVLUTION Nutrition.
By including this product with your other training supplements, you’ll have something that prevents muscle breakdown. Paired with a somewhat balanced diet, amino acid supplements can help ensure you start seeing incredible results from your workouts.
BSN Amino X
Another product I recommend is BSN Amino X. This amino acid supplement contains 10 grams of amino acids per serving. Plus, it’s from BSN, one of the most trusted supplement companies out there.
It’s also available in nine flavors, some of which I’ve tried and can safely say are delicious. I personally like the blue raspberry and grape flavors the most.
I hope that you enjoyed this helpful list of the best workout supplements for beginners. I was once new to working out. At times, it can seem difficult. But, I promise you, if you stick with your current training program, you will start seeing major results. Soon, you’ll reach a time where you can’t wait until your next workout session.