Ranked by evidence

Best supplements for building muscle and strength

Very few supplements meaningfully change muscle and strength, and the ones that do tend to be old and cheap. Everything below is ranked by how strong the evidence is for this goal, not by how popular the product is. Items that only work in a particular situation or population are labelled that way.

Picks are ranked by the strength of published evidence for this goal in otherwise healthy adults. A persistent symptom needs a clinician's evaluation, and no supplement on this list replaces treatment.

Evidence last reviewed: October 2026

Top picks

Option	Evidence	Best for	The honest note
Creatine (monohydrate)	Strong evidence	strength, power and lean mass	The most studied supplement there is: monohydrate raises strength and power and adds lean mass when you are actually resistance training.	View
Whey Protein	Strong evidence	hitting your daily protein target	Fast-absorbing milk protein with strong evidence for muscle gain. It works by filling the gap between what you eat and the protein you need.	View

Solid options

Option	Evidence	Best for	The honest note
Casein Protein	Strong evidence	protein before bed	Slow milk protein, as good as any other when it raises total intake. A 30 g dose before sleep raises overnight muscle protein synthesis.	View
Soy Protein	Strong evidence	plant-based lifters	In head-to-head training trials soy matched whey for strength and lean mass, and it does not lower testosterone in men.	View
Caffeine	Strong evidence	getting more out of a hard session	Strong evidence for improved physical performance, strength and focus. It makes training better rather than building muscle on its own.	View
Beta-Alanine	Moderate evidence	high-rep sets and training volume	Raises muscle carnosine to buffer acid during hard work. Helps efforts lasting 1 to 4 minutes and increases the training volume you can handle.	View
L-Citrulline	Moderate evidence	extra reps and less soreness	The nitric oxide precursor that actually survives digestion. Meta-analyses show a small increase in resistance-training reps and less soreness.	View

Situational

Option	Evidence	Best for	The honest note
EAA (Essential Amino Acids)	Moderate evidence	older adults or low appetite	All nine essential amino acids do drive muscle protein synthesis, with moderate evidence in older adults. For most people whole protein is cheaper.	View
Sodium Bicarbonate	Strong evidence	efforts lasting 1-10 minutes	Buffers blood acidosis with strong evidence in efforts of 1-10 minutes and moderate evidence for muscular endurance in lifting. GI upset limits it.	View
Vitamin D3	Strong evidence	correcting a deficiency	Only relevant if you are deficient, which is common. Correcting it has strong evidence for bone health and matters for normal muscle function.	View

Training for this goal

Supplements only help on top of the right training. The evidence-graded base program for this goal:

How to build muscle: what the evidence says

Free base program: 4-day upper/lower split

Weekly volume: 10–20 hard sets per muscle per week (start near 10)
Frequency: Each muscle 2× per week
Reps: 6–10 on compound lifts, 10–20 (up to 30) on isolation work
Effort: 1–3 reps in reserve; failure only on the last set of isolation or machine exercises

See the full program →

How to get stronger: what the evidence says

Free base program: 3-day full-body strength

Frequency: 3 full-body sessions per week, each main lift 2–3× per week
Main lifts: 3–5 sets of 3–6 reps at about 80–90% of 1RM, 1–3 reps in reserve
Assistance: 2–3 sets of 6–12 reps for rows, pulldowns, lunges, core
Rest: 3–5 min on main lifts, 1–2 min on assistance

See the full program →

Popular for this goal — but the evidence says skip

BCAA (Branched-Chain Amino Acids) Limited evidence
Leucine, isoleucine and valine alone cannot build muscle because the other six essential amino acids are missing; limited evidence if you already eat enough protein.
HMB (β-Hydroxy-β-Methylbutyrate) Limited evidence
Independent meta-analyses in trained young adults failed to reproduce the early large gains; the defensible use is preserving muscle in older adults or during disuse.
L-Glutamine Limited evidence
One of the most oversold supplements in the gym: in healthy people it does not build muscle or improve performance.
Turkesterone Limited evidence
No published randomised controlled trial in humans for muscle or strength, and independent testing keeps finding label and content problems.
Testosterone Booster Formulas Limited evidence
Most ingredients have no human evidence for raising testosterone, and some products have been found spiked with unlisted steroids.
Creatine HCl Limited evidence
Dissolves better than monohydrate, but with no demonstrated advantage in muscle creatine loading, strength or dosing, and it costs more.

Our verdict

Creatine monohydrate plus enough total protein, with whey as the easiest way to get there, does most of the work. Everything else is a small addition on top of a training programme that is already good.