If you're trying to maximize your physical performance odds are you may be taking some sort of supplement to help you with your overall health or to maximize output in the gym or physical activity. Just to be clear, certified workout supplements are not steroids. Steroids, in a broad sense, enhance the flow of testosterone to the body by unnatural means, which can have drastic effects on your health. The main workout supplements used today include (but are not limited to) creatine, BCAAs (branch-chain amino acids), various pre-workouts with a mixture of beta-alanine, caffeine (often found in pre-workouts), whey protein, and Omega 3/fish oil. Here we're mainly going to talk about pre-workout, BCAAs, and Creatine.

Just so we're clear, workout supplements will not make you gain muscle. Just because you take them does not automatically mean you will gain more mass, but they will help with a regular workout schedule and consistent, healthy diet. Also, you really don't have to take all of them to see effects. Whatever supplement you choose to take to benefit yourself is entirely your choice.

Although, some won't benefit you entirely. The branch-chain amino acids (BCAA) are leucine, isoleucine, and valine. They're amino acids, so they're important in the makeup of proteins and for protein synthesis, which is an important cycle or body goes through when we eat protein to help us build muscle, but they're really not that important. Out of the 20 amino acids that your body can absorb, the three present in BCAAs supplements isn't too important in that sense unless you want to cover all of your bases.

Pre-workouts are good in moderation. Many pre-workouts contain beta-alanine, which is an amino acid that aids in the decrease in muscle fatigue. The key is moderation of such a substance as pre-workouts can contain a lot of caffeine and when taken in high doses or over a long time it can have numerous side effects such as nausea, vomiting, tingling, etc.

From my own experience, and what most people will probably say, creatine is great for building muscle. Creatine is an organic compound normally found in red meats and poultry, but the majority of us don't want to eat 10 pounds of steak every day so we opt for creatine powder or pill form. Creatine helps water retention in the muscle, as it draws water to your muscles, which can be a good thing since your muscles need water in order to function. Water plays a huge role in recovery, digestion, and repairing muscles as for protein synthesis to happen your muscles need to be well hydrated.