Learn · Nutrition

Which Supplements Are Worth It?

The supplement aisle is loud, expensive, and mostly optional. Here's an honest overview: food and training do the heavy lifting, and only a short list of supplements has real support behind it. No hype, no invented studies — just what's worth your money and what isn't.

For most lifters, supplements are a small convenience layer, not a requirement. The supplement industry oversells — you build strength and muscle with training, enough protein, and enough sleep, using whole food alone. The short list with real support is narrow: creatine (strength and training performance), protein powder (a convenient food source of protein, not magic), and caffeine or a pre-workout (a short-term boost in focus and output). Everything else is mostly optional or unproven for the average, healthy lifter. Where the evidence is weak or mixed, the honest answer is to say so and save your money.

Do supplements actually matter?

Not nearly as much as the marketing implies. The word "supplement" is the whole point — these are meant to supplement a solid diet and training plan, not replace them. If your training is inconsistent, your sleep is short, and your overall nutrition for lifting is a mess, no powder or capsule will fix that. Sort out the basics first and you'll get the vast majority of the results available to you. The uncomfortable truth for the industry is that most supplements are unnecessary for the average, healthy lifter — a handful have solid evidence, and the rest range from "mildly useful in specific cases" to "unproven." Spending most of your effort and money on food and training, and treating supplements as a minor add-on, is the honest, cost-effective approach.

The short list with real support

Three supplements stand out because the evidence behind them is consistent, not because they're miracles. Creatine is one of the most studied supplements there is and is widely regarded as effective for strength and training performance in healthy adults — it's cheap and simple. Read the full creatine guide for how it works. Protein powder isn't magic at all; it's just a convenient, concentrated food source of protein that helps you hit your daily protein target when whole food is inconvenient — more in the protein powder guide. And caffeine, the main active ingredient in most pre-workouts, is a stimulant that can boost focus and output in the short term — a plain coffee does most of the job, as the pre-workout guide explains.

What each supplement actually does

An honest rundown. "Evidence" here means how consistent the support is for a healthy lifter — not a promise of results, and not a health claim.

SupplementWhat it doesEvidence
CreatineSupports strength and training performance; cheap and simpleSolid — one of the most studied
Protein powderConvenient food source of protein to help hit your daily targetSolid as food — not magic
Caffeine / pre-workoutShort-term boost in focus and output before a sessionSolid for caffeine; blends are extra
Beta-alanineMay help in high-rep sets; causes harmless tinglingMixed / modest
CitrullineCommon pre-workout "pump" ingredientWeak / mixed for most lifters
MultivitaminNutritional insurance if your diet has gapsSituational, not performance
Most fat burners / test boostersMarketed for fat loss or hormonesUnproven for most lifters

How to decide if a supplement is worth it

A simple, honest filter beats chasing every new product. The loop:

  1. Fix the basics first. Training, sleep and overall diet come before anything you can buy. No supplement makes up for missing those.
  2. Check the evidence, not the label. Only a handful — creatine, protein powder, caffeine — have solid support. If the claims outrun the evidence, treat the product as optional.
  3. Add one at a time. Change a single variable and give it enough time so you can actually judge whether it helped, instead of stacking five things at once.
  4. Keep it a small add-on. Supplements are a top-up to a solid diet, not the foundation. Spend most of your effort and money on food and training.

And if you have a health condition, are pregnant, or take medication, talk to a doctor before starting any supplement — that's not boilerplate, it's the responsible order of operations.

What most people get wrong

Where LiftHero fits (and where it doesn't)

Let's be clear about what LiftHero is: a strength-training tracker. It logs your sets, reps, weight and RPE, charts your progress over time, and detects personal records — so the training side, which is where most of your results come from, is measured and honest. What it is not is a nutrition app: LiftHero does not track food, supplements or macros. That's by design — plenty of tools handle food logging, and supplements are a minor add-on anyway. Use LiftHero to make sure the heavy lifting (literally) is progressing, keep your protein and overall diet solid with whole food, and add a simple supplement or two — like creatine — only if you choose to.

LiftHero progress chart tracking weight lifted over time
LiftHero tracks your training — sets, reps, weight and PRs — not food, supplements or macros.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need supplements to build muscle?

No. You can build muscle with training, enough protein and enough sleep, using whole food alone. Supplements are a small convenience layer on top of that, never a requirement. The supplement industry oversells this — food and training do almost all of the work, and most products add little for the average lifter.

Which supplements actually have solid evidence?

A short list: creatine for strength and training performance, protein powder as a convenient way to hit your protein target, and caffeine for a short-term boost in focus and output. These have the most consistent support. Beyond them, most supplements are optional or unproven for the average, healthy lifter.

Is creatine safe and worth taking?

Creatine is one of the most studied supplements and is widely regarded as effective for strength and training performance in healthy adults. It is cheap and simple. If you have a health condition or take medication, check with a doctor first. See our full creatine guide for how it works and how to use it.

Is protein powder better than real food?

No. Protein powder is just a convenient, concentrated food source of protein, not a magic muscle builder. You can hit your protein target with whole foods alone. It is useful when whole food is inconvenient or you struggle to reach your target, but it does not beat food that provides the same protein.

Are pre-workouts and fat burners worth it?

Most pre-workouts are mainly caffeine plus extras, and caffeine is the main proven lever — a plain coffee does much of the same job. So-called fat burners are largely unproven for most people and are no substitute for diet and training. Where evidence is weak or mixed, it is honest to say so rather than promise results.

Does LiftHero track supplements or macros?

No. LiftHero is a strength-training tracker. It logs your sets, reps, weight and RPE and charts your training progress. It does not track food, supplements or macros. Use it to measure the training side; use whole food and, if you choose, a simple supplement or two on top.

Track the part that actually moves the needle

Supplements are a small add-on. Your training is the main event — log sets, reps, weight, RPE and PRs, free on iOS.

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This guide is general education, not medical advice. Talk to a doctor before starting any supplement, especially with a health condition, if pregnant, or on medication.

By Meitar Lazimi, founder of LiftHero · Last updated July 9, 2026.