Strength Training
What protein and creatine can add to strength training, how studies measure progress, and where food and product safety fit.
Do you need supplements to get stronger?
Strengthening activities include weights, resistance bands, and body-weight exercises. The NHS recommends working all major muscle groups on at least two days a week for adults aged 19 to 64. A gym or a supplement is not required to begin. 1
What counts as a gain?
Training studies measure different outcomes: the heaviest load lifted once, force produced without joint movement, and changes in fat-free mass. These are related but distinct measures. A change in body composition does not, by itself, tell you how much more weight someone can lift. 2 3
Nutrients with the strongest ratings
Sorted by the largest rated effect. Bars show effect size, the letter is the evidence grade.
All 19 ratingsEvery nutrient rated for strength training, with search
What does extra protein add?
A meta-analysis of 22 trials involving 680 participants studied protein supplementation during more than six weeks of resistance training. Compared with placebo, the additional average gain in one-repetition leg-press strength was 13.5 kg, with a 95% confidence interval of 6.4 to 20.7 kg. This is a pooled result for that exercise, not a prediction for every lift or person. 2
Can creatine help beyond training alone?
In a small trial, 28 adults over 65 trained three times weekly for 14 weeks and received 5 g/day creatine monohydrate or placebo. Both groups improved. Creatine added benefits in some measures of force produced without movement and in fat-free mass; it did not demonstrate a universal improvement across all strength tests. 3
How much protein is relevant?
DGE recommends 1.2–2.0 g/kg body weight daily for athletes training more than five hours weekly, adjusted to training demands. This refers to total protein, not an amount of powder. Simply adding protein without changing training is not enough for targeted muscle growth. 5
What about BCAAs and HMB?
NIH ODS finds inconsistent evidence that branched-chain amino acids add muscle-building effects beyond sufficient high-quality protein. HMB, a breakdown product of the amino acid leucine, has been studied in varied participants and training settings, making individual benefits hard to predict. 4
BCAAsWhat should a product decision include?
Creatine commonly causes weight gain from water retention; monohydrate is the best-studied form. More expensive forms have not shown clear superiority. DGE also warns that combining sports supplements can increase overdose and contamination risks, including substances relevant to doping rules. 4 6
Scope of this review
Peptide products, hormone-related ingredients, and other directory entries are not evaluated here.
Questions people ask
Can I meet protein needs with food?
DGE places a varied, appropriate diet first and reserves supplements for specific needs assessed individually. 6
Does the leg-press result predict my bench press?
No. The reported pooled strength outcome was the one-repetition leg press. 2
Is creatine only relevant to young athletes?
The cited trial studied adults over 65, although its small sample limits precision. 3
Does the DGE sports range apply to every gym visit?
The cited range concerns athletes training more than five hours a week and is adjusted to workload and goals. 5
When should starting exercise involve a clinician?
The NHS advises discussing exercise first if you have been inactive for some time or have medical conditions or concerns. 1
Sources
- Protein supplementation augments the adaptive response of skeletal muscle to resistance-type exercise training: a meta-analysis American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2012 · Study record