The short map: what actually works

The full list of supplements with solid evidence fits in one table. Which they are, what each is for, what dose, and what it costs per month.

There are thousands of products for sale. The ones that pass the filter of "measured, repeated effect, in humans who train, at a dose you can actually buy" number five or six. This chapter is the list; the following ones are the detail on each.

The classification teams use

The Australian Institute of Sport maintains the reference framework: it sorts the entire catalogue into four groups by what the evidence supports, not by what the packaging promises. It is the quickest way to read any new product.

The list, with doses and purpose

By goal: what to pick first

The complete list is nobody’s list. These are the combinations that make sense for what you are actually doing, in order of priority.

Hypertrophy and strength

Creatine → protein if you fall short → caffeine on hard sessions

Nothing else has a measured effect for this goal. Detail in creatine and protein types.

Distance running (10 km to marathon)

Carbohydrate during the run → caffeine → nitrate → creatine

In-session nutrition contributes more than everything else combined (supplements for running).

Fast running (800 m to 5 km)

Caffeine → beta-alanine → bicarbonate → creatine

This is where buffers belong: the effort sits in the window where they work.

Fat loss

Protein → caffeine → nothing else

No fat burner works (what does not work). The deficit comes from food.

Health and over 50

Vitamin D if deficient → creatine → protein → omega-3

Here creatine changes role: mass, strength and function, not performance.

What is missing from the list, and will be sold to you

The absences are as informative as the entries. None of these has enough evidence for the use it is put to, and all of them are among the best sellers.

• BCAAs: without enough protein they are not sufficient, and with enough protein they are redundant.
• Glutamine: useful doses only in clinical settings, not in the gym.
• Fat burners and thermogenics: the real effect is the caffeine inside them.
• Testosterone "boosters": composition and claims unsupported in the literature.
• Multivitamins in people with no deficiency: no improvement in performance or body composition.
• High-dose antioxidants: may interfere with training adaptations.

Each of these gets its paragraph with a source in what does not work, which is the chapter in this guide that saves the most money.