The short answer: none.

The long answer? Read on!

Supplements come in all shapes and sizes - from powders, through pills to gummies - and everyone seems to be taking them nowadays. In the sea of misinformation called fitness, it’s difficult to know what’s BS (e.g. detox teas - you have organs in your body built to do that) and what’s actually useful (e.g. protein powder). It doesn’t help that even the good stuff isn’t universally applicable to everyone - you have to consider your unique needs, goals and lifestyle to make the right call. So where the heck do you start from? StrongHer is here to help you figure it out - we’ll look at the main supplements - protein powder, creatine, greens, vitamins. Let’s go!

Check your nutrition

Go back to the very beginning of this blog post. Yep, we said you don’t need to take any supplements. Ideally, your nutrition should provide you with all the macro and micro nutrients you need to thrive and achieve your goals. However, we all have busy lives, or very ambitious fitness goals - or both! And that’s where we know supplements can help - the convenience of drinking a protein shake (compared to cooking a balanced breakfast) is unmatched. However, it’s important to note that supplements are exactly that - they should supplement your nutrition, they shouldn’t replace it!

Based on your goals, your first step is to find out where your nutrition is not quite hitting the mark. Trying to build muscle, tone up, lose weight? Then you need to make sure that you are eating enough protein to help those goals. It’s pretty unlikely you’ll be getting enough protein in,  so protein powder could really help here. Not eating enough veggies? Greens could help supplement (not replace though, remember!)! Training for a race or comp? Then creatine is your bestie.

Protein powder

A very well researched supplement that’s self-explanatory - it’s just protein in a powder form. The most popular one is whey (basically extracted from milk), but there’s also vegan alternatives (soy, pea). Ideal for hitting that protein goal, and extremely versatile - can be added to shakes, yogurt, oats, even pancakes and cakes! As always, remember this is just a supplement - in an ideal world, most  protein intake should come from your meals and whole foods, but we know that’s not always possible! 

Member perk - discount available when you pick up your bag of protein from FreeSoul in studio.

Creatine

One of the best researched supplements out there (we love that!). Creatine is naturally found in your body, and it’s basically a chemical compound that comes from three amino acids (protein building blocks). It helps to produce more ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) - which is another chemical that provides energy for muscle contractions. It is safe to use, and has minimal side effects (such as bloating for some people). People take it to improve athletic performance and promote muscle growth. There’s arguments for and against implementing it straight into your diet as soon as you start lifting weights. We would err on the side of caution - getting to grips with your workouts and eating adequate amounts of protein is the best place to start. But if you’ve been training for a while, it could give you the push you need - but not taking it is NOT going to be a dealbreaker.

(Super)greens

Social media’s latest fave is supergreens. You’ve probably seen them in an influencer get-ready-with-me routine - the green, lowkey sickening-looking juice they have in the morning. Supergreens are just vegetables, grass and algae in powder form, sometimes with added vitamins, probiotics, and digestive enzymes. They are nutrient-rich and taste much better than they look! As with every other supplement - supergreens cannot replace veggies. Give them a go if you’re curious, see if your gut agrees with them, but they are absolutely not a must. Nothing can replace a good salad! We love Freesoul’s Mango Greens - add them to a protein shake - delish!

Vitamins & minerals

I know we’ve said it a million times by now - but for real, if your nutrition is very well balanced, you should be all covered on this front. It’s important to note that the majority of the vitamins we need come from veggies and fruit, and we also need the right amount of healthy fats present in our diet for out bodies to be able to absorb them. So co-founder Sam’s advice here is to eat as much cruciferous veg (these are your  cauliflower, cabbage, kale, bok choy, broccoli,etc) as possible, and only after adding the vitamin supplement if needed. She recommends taking magnesium - as it helps with sleep, and vit D - especially if you live in the UK or another sun-deprived country!
Finally, if you menstruate, checking your iron levels might be a good idea. Our iron levels can be lower when we menstruate, and most of us certainly don’t consume enough iron! Check out our blog post to find out why iron is so important for us!

Next steps

So what do you need to do after reading this blog? Well, you don’t HAVE to do anything! But we’d recommend adding things in slowly to your diet and routine - please don’t run to buy everything we’ve recommended straight away! Be realistic about what looks good for you to start introducing into your diet. We’d recommend looking at your protein intake and increasing that to start with. And if you’re wondering how much protein is enough - read our protein guide here!