Supplementing for Peak Performance

Supplements and fitness have always gone hand in hand and for good reason - they give us the ability to gain a little extra edge. However, there are a few things to consider in order to make this effective and not a waste of your money. 

First, consider the goal. Make sure that the product you are taking is in fact geared for the outcome you want. Second, quality. You have heard me say this over and over, but if you take a crap product not only will it not work, it could be bad for you and actually counterproductive. If you are going to supplement spend the money on a product with organic ingredients from whole foods that have no synthetic vitamins, no artificial sweeteners, artificial colors, fillers etc.

All that said, these are the products you should consider:

1. Grass Fed Whey with BCAA’s and Multi Collagen peptides with MSM Glucosamine Chondroitin to aid in workout recovery, prevent muscle wasting, improve bone density, and to keep my joints and connective tissue healthy. That said, if you are wondering about the benefits of these supplements in particular beyond fitness you can check out my other previous blogs on the subject here: 

https://www.jillianmichaels.com/blog/food-and-nutrition/benefits-collagen
https://www.jillianmichaels.com/blog/food-and-nutrition/life-changing-benefits-protein-powder

2. A pre workout product...which back in the day was really considered a “fat burner”. The point is to help you work out more intensely so you burn more calories during and after the workout. It’s obviously a bit more complicated, but that is the extreme cliffs notes explanation. For that I take an organic beet root product in conjunction with clean caffeine to increase my energy, power and endurance. 

For beetroot powders and caffeine ingestion as a performance aid, the ideal time is 90 to 45 minutes before training in order for the nitrates from beets and caffeine to be absorbed into the bloodstream thereby boosting athletic performance. Although some extreme athletes believe in drinking beet juice throughout the day all days of the week to shift their bloods nitrate levels optimally, I find this to be too extreme and am perfectly happy with my caffeine beet blend pre workout.

For the beetroot powder I personally use Ora Renewable energy. It’s organic, which most aren’t. And it has matcha and green coffee bean to give you the added caffeine I spoke about, as well as coconut water for electrolytes making this product optimal for both performance and hydration in one.

3. Speaking of… hydration powders are good to help endurance athletes with staying “hydrated”. The key with this is finding something high in electrolytes and low in sugar and chemicals. Personally I don’t do endurance sports where I sweat tons, but the athletes I’ve trained have and I always gave them an electrolyte supplement for this.

If it’s just hydration you are looking for I always give the athletes I work with Electro Mix, but if you don’t mind the calories it’s well known that coconut water is an excellent source of electrolytes for optimal hydration and recovery from long endurance based workouts. Electro Mix has no added sugar, fake sweeteners or chemicals. It’s simply electrolytes.

4. High performance mushroom blend should also be considered. I take this with my greens in the earlier part of the day, but if you have a separate mushroom powder that is standalone and not mixed in with your greens try putting it into your morning coffee or blending with your protein powder. There really is no wrong time to take either of these. I just find it easiest in the am with my coffee. From an athletic perspective, mushroom blends boost oxygen delivery and ATP synthesis. Plus, they are adaptogens which help balance your hormone levels as well as support the bodies recovery from both emotional and psychological stress.

Alaya Naturals Green Superblend has adaptogenic high performance mushroom blend combined in the product so I don’t have to take mushrooms separately. It has all the antioxidant superfoods from ashwagandha, spirulina, chlorella etc. in one product. And of course it’s all organic.

5. Krill Oil / essential fatty acids known as omega-3s, which can help promote a healthy response to inflammation.

Research has indicated that omega 3 fatty acids can generally help support healthy joints and muscles and contribute to muscle comfort and recovery after workouts. Omega-3s also has many other significant health benefits from heart health and cognitive function to healthy aging by supporting smooth, healthy skin and healthy joints.