Best Supplements for Athletes

I have been training and competing in sports since I was a kid. When I was 18, I started competing in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (which is a lot like wrestling/Judo). I love the sport and have competed ever since I started; however, I am also very career driven, so striking a balance isn’t always easy. I’ve had to rely on supplements to help me along the way.

4 best supplements for athletes with a day job

The key for me has always been discipline. Whether I was getting ready for a jiu Jitsu tournament or a triathlon, I was very regimented with my schedule so that I could balance training with work.

This meant optimizing every second of training, recovery, and work so that I could be at my best (both in the boardroom and on the field/track/course/mats).

Below are 5 scientifically proven supplements that helped me along the way

The 4 supplements for athletes with a day job.

vitamin d athletes day job

Vitamin D:

The first one isn’t very sexy I know. However, it is one of the most tested and proven ones out there. If you’re always hustling in training and at work, you’re probably not out gobbling up those sun rays as much as you should be.

Vitamin D is actually a horomone that your body makes that greatly affects athletic performance

It’s also possible that you’re genetically inclined to be more Vitamin D deficient. Vitamin D is not a pre-workout supplement. It doesn’t kick in right away. It’s a supplement that will keep you from having major performance downturns in the long term; due to D deficiency.

I know you might shrug this one off, but it’s cheap and all athletes with a day job should take it.

 lactobacillus Rhamnosus probiotic-supplement

Lactobacillus rhamnosus (probiotic)

I heard about this particular strain of probiotic by accident on an episode of RadioLab. The show was talking about a popular study in which they gave this particular strand of probiotic to mice. Long story short, they proved that the mice that took this probiotic were more than twice as resilient than mice that didn’t take it (basically would swim twice as long).

L. rhamnosus GG  is the world’s most studied probiotic with over 800 scientific studies touting it’s benefits in human use; however, few supplements contain a significant amount of the strain.

After taking L. rhamnosus for a few days, I noticed that my digestion improved significantly and that I seemed to handle stress better (subjective data). However, when your racing from work to gym all the time, we could all use some more resilience and that is what this probiotic provide in mice.

Additionally, probiotics are great for you. Why not take one that could help you balance work and training a little better?

tyrosine stress

L-Tyrosine

I’ll admit I actually take Alpha Brain a lot now. I really like it as a nootropic and have found it to be personally beneficial to me; however, most designer nootropics burn me out over time. I find myself becoming irritable at the end of the day.

LTyrosine is an amino acid that is used to produce noradrenaline and dopamine

The lone exception is L-Tyrosine. It helps out your thyroid and promotes wakefulness (basically non-stimulant focus and energy).

L-Tyrosine is very safe and has been around forever. I take 500 mg a day and find that it helps a lot with motivation. I sincerely notice when I don’t take it because I find that in the afternoons (after training) I start to lose focus and motivation for work (NOT GOOD).

Luckily, it’s super cheap and available everywhere.

chromium supplements

Chromium

This is another one with a lot of science behind it. I started experimenting with it because my dad is type 2 diabetic and I read some research that showed that it could help diabetic patients a lot with insulin sensitivity.

Chromium is a mineral our bodies use in small amounts for normal body functions, such as digesting food

Since I am genetically tied to my father and seem to not handle sugar or carbs very well myself, I decided to give it a try. I found that the Chromium made low carb diet days much easier for me. I felt that my energy sustained longer; especially after meals.

There are suggestions that it could aide weight loss; and I could make the case that it has helped me in this department as well.

All the supplement caveats

As always, this is just my option and advice. Always consult a physician if you want to start any kind of new protocol. However, these are supplements backed by current research that I have had good subjective experiences with.

Have you tried any of these?

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