Supplements: do you need them?

Yes.

Is it that simple? No.

So many companies, so much choice, and even more false claims designed to empty your pockets for little in return.

This has led to confusion and ultimately distrust around the supplement industry, and the effectiveness or even necessity of the products they sell. Notwithstanding this, the first answer still holds true. Supplements are an important piece of your armoury when it comes to living out a healthy and physically active future. The difficult bit comes in selecting which ones are worth the investment.

This blog is designed to help you with that.

At Cobalt we choose to stock Awesome Supplements. We choose them because we feel they match our approach to fitness. No over-the-top claims, no fuss, and always evolving. They keep it simple with research-backed products sold in dosages that have been proven to work.

There are others out there, but few as confusion-free as Awesome. Keep reading to find out more about each of the products we stock and what might work for you.

What should you be taking?

Health is always the first place to start, and every member should be taking the first two supplements on the list.

Defence covers the basic nutrient requirements that enable our cells to function optimally, supporting bone, muscle and immune system health. It is something we recommend every Cobalt member takes all year round for improved health, even more so through the winter months to help support mood and stave off illness.

Omega 3 is one of the most researched and science-backed products on the market. Very few people consume enough of it in their diet to see the health benefits. When taken in adequate amounts it will improve mood and support heart and brain health, while helping your joints stay healthy.

Modern life, nutrition habits and stress levels mean very few people get enough of the basics we need. For that reason Defence (multivitamin) and Omega (fish oil) should be on everyone’s list. They are a low-cost and effective way to ensure we provide ourselves with the nutrients we need to help the body function optimally. The links will take you to more detail about each supplement and its benefits.

Any questions, or to order, message Ben.

Protein

Protein is one nutrient most people don’t eat enough of. It’s essential in maintaining muscle mass and recovering from exercise, and it becomes more important as we age. Regular gym goers need a minimum of 1.5g per kg of bodyweight (a 70kg person should be eating 105g). This is not always easy to get from food alone.

Protein supplements are a simple, cost-effective way to help you reach your protein requirements, and can be added to a variety of foods from porridge to pancakes, smoothies to hot chocolate. So if you are not achieving, or are struggling to achieve, your basic protein goals, it might be worth adding a scoop or two of Awesome protein.

Creatine

If protein is the most under-eaten nutrient, creatine is the most under-used, and one of the most research-backed. Creatine helps your muscles produce force, so when we have enough of it in our system it means better strength, better training and speedier recovery. That should be enough to make it a regular supplement for any Cobalt member. And there is more coming.

There is growing evidence linking creatine to better-preserved muscle and strength in later life, with promising research being done on bone and brain health. This is proving to be particularly powerful during and beyond the menopause. In short: if it is affordable, nearly everyone training here would benefit from taking it.

Joint pain and stiffness?

If a particular joint, or more than one, gives you grief, this is worth considering. Awesome Joints is a high-strength curcumin and boswellia formula with vitamin C. Curcumin and boswellia are genuine anti-inflammatory agents that work along two different pathways to help reduce pain, while vitamin C helps support the health of the structures that make up your joints: cartilage, tendons and ligaments.

This is a slow-working supplement that compounds over time, with joint pain slowly getting easier the longer you use the product. Most people only notice the progress once they stop taking it and the joint pain returns.

Collagen

Collagen is the protein that builds the connective tissue in your body: your tendons, ligaments, cartilage and skin. Supplementing consistently can help support the resilience of those tissues, especially around training.

While past evidence is strongest around its impact on skin health, the evidence is growing for joint health and connective tissue support. As we age and connective tissue deteriorates, collagen could be a powerful tool in maintaining its elasticity.

Awesome Night: sleep

Sleep is a product of habit. Getting the basics right is your number one priority, but life invariably gets in the way. If you are someone who struggles with regular patterns of sleep, wakes up groggy or just suffers with poor-quality sleep, this is your secret weapon.

It will help you shift down through the gears before going to bed and help you sleep better and deeper. It can be used intermittently when you know you need a good night, but it is best used regularly to help you get more consistent, quality sleep. On the occasions when your sleep is interrupted, you will still wake up more refreshed.

Go deeper: Awesome on the science of actually sleeping better.

Hydration: Awesome Hydrate

The simplest one on the list. When you sweat you lose water and salts, and plain water does not always replace them well. Awesome Hydrate is an electrolyte blend that helps you rehydrate properly and maintain performance in the gym throughout the session. Just as usefully, it makes water taste good enough that you drink more of it.

It matters most in summer, when we sweat more during sessions. In winter, plain water is fine for most people, but adding Hydrate will likely increase how much you drink, which is never a bad thing. (Basically a cheap alternative to drinks like Lucozade Sport.)

Want to dig into the evidence yourself?

We would rather you checked us than took our word for it. If you want to go deeper on any supplement on this page, the best independent resource we know of is Examine.com.

Examine is an unbiased encyclopaedia of nutrition and supplement research, and the largest database of its kind. It takes no money from supplement or food companies, runs no ads, accepts no sponsorship or donations, and sells nothing but its own research summaries. It simply reads the full body of evidence, cites both sides, and tells you what the research actually shows, including the many cases where the honest answer is “it’s mixed” or “we don’t know yet.”

Look up any of the supplements above (creatine, omega-3, vitamin D, collagen, probiotics and the rest) and you will find a fully referenced summary of what the science says and how strong that evidence is. It is the same approach we try to take here, done in far more depth than a single blog ever could.

Summary

Take Defence and Omega, always and consistently. Use protein to make up for any shortfall in your dietary requirements. For all the rest, take a view based on your budget and weigh up the costs and benefits of each. If you would like to use more, speak to your coach about which ones they would recommend, and try them for a few months to see if they work for you.

NB. If you are pregnant, on medication, or managing a health condition, check with your GP first, because general advice is not personal advice.