Clinical trials have typically used a loading dose of 20 grams daily for five days, followed by a maintenance dose of 2 to 5 grams daily. Made in the kidneys and liver, creatine is mainly found in the skeletal muscles. Creatine is currently the most popular supplement for exercise performance. Even so, athletes may experience a minor gain in muscle mass within 12 weeks, while those who haven't trained before may see results in as little as three weeks. Some experts recommend daily doses of 1.5 to 3 grams and adequate weight training. As such, one of the best pre-workout supplements can be an excellent addition to your regimen if increased strength is your main goal. Tag along with Nick English as he breaks down our top picks for the best muscle-building supplements on the market in 2025. The key is in determining which are right for your goals, and which products best support the strength training regimen you’ll need for muscle growth. However, the number of supplements designed to help you earn that jacked physique goes well beyond the best protein powders. While collagen may not be a muscle growth magic bullet for everyone, and certainly won't replace protein powder or creatine, the findings suggest potential benefits when coupled with strength training. By consuming protein powder within a short window after exercise, individuals can optimize their body's recovery process, leading to faster muscle growth and improved performance. In this article, we'll discuss the must-have supplements for building muscle, including protein powder, creatine, beta-alanine, and more. Straight from registered dietitian Brian St. Pierre, here's the scoop on the best muscle growth supplements that actually work. Collagen, being the most abundant protein in the body and rich in amino acids like L-arginine and glycine, plays a crucial role in skin health and protection against sports injuries. Research supports that HMB as a supplement can dial down the muscle damage post-workout and speed up your recovery game, It's made from leucine, an amino acid that's involved in making protein and building skeletal muscle. Rather than contribute to actual muscle growth (like creatine and protein), beta-alanine can help decrease and delay the onset of muscular fatigue. Aside from protein powder, creatine is the sole supplement proven to significantly contribute to fitness improvement. The expected (and desired) side effect of creatine is water retention. If you have preexisting kidney conditions, you want to consult your doctor first, but creatine will not cause them. At this point, decades of research, hundreds of studies, and numerous real-world observations back the safety of creatine use. Doing so is just as effective in the long run; it’ll just take a few weeks until you start to notice the effects. As palate-pleasing as this powder is, though, we do recommend paying close attention to your mixing procedure. After comparing this product to others, we gave the value a 5 out of 5 rating, given it’s approachable price point. You could also, of course, opt for a pre-workout, as the majority of formulations include beta-alanine. Testosterone can potentially boost skeletal musculature, which may help you on your journey to gain mass. When you stop taking creatine, your creatine levels will gradually drop over the next few weeks. Creatine can also increase the amount of phosphocreatine in your brain, which may help with your memory. ATP is a source of energy that your cells use when you exercise. Phosphocreatine then helps create adenosine triphosphate (ATP). If you have bipolar disorder, creatine may also increase your risk of mania. There are a plethora of supplements on the market that can help target muscle growth. So if it turns out you are deficient, then supplementing with a testosterone support or anything that contains these key micronutrients is enough to move this all the way up to B-tier on our list of the best muscle mass building supplement. Now we all know that one of the most powerful "supplements" for muscle growth is steroids, which work in part by increasing your testosterone levels. So if mass gainer is losing points and dropping rank on our list of best muscle mass building supplement for cost, I want to test a supplement that only costs me $25 from a local drug store. Now, depending on how often you're taking mass gainer, your total cost to gain just 1lb of lean mass could be anywhere from $50 to over $300 (solid but mid-pack on our list of the best muscle mass building supplement). If that number’s below 0.55, then adding just 1-2 scoops of protein a day — especially if each scoop has around 30 grams like ours — could help you gain up to an extra 1-2 lbs of lean mass over the next three months. Some sports supplements, including DHEA, can influence hormone levels. These banned supplements include over-the-counter products like blackbush acacia (Acacia rigidula), bitter orange (Citrus aurantium), germanium extract (methylhexanamine), and DHEA. Some dietary supplements are banned by organizations like the International Olympic Committee (IOC), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Older adults often need more protein than younger individuals to see similar benefits. At the end, I’ll be testing our number one supplement on my friend Dennis, and trust me when I say you're not gonna believe how his body responds to the top muscle mass building supplement. To find out which supplement delivers the most gains, without ANY negative side effects — in other words, the best muscle mass building supplement. I asked a Doctor of Sports Nutrition to rank the top 8 supplements for building muscle (the best muscle mass building supplement, from worst to best). Other supplements, like amino acids, have more minute ways of benefiting muscle growth.