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Performance Boosters
Performance Boosters
Performance boosters are supplements people take around a training session to support energy, output or hydration. This collection mixes pre-workouts, intra-workout amino drinks, creatine, beetroot and electrolyte powders. Popular choices include Xtend BCAAs, Primabolics Intrawar 3.0, Redcon1 Total War, Force Factor Total Beets and amino drinks from Rule 1 and Evogen.
Read the Performance Boosters buying guide
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Performance Boosters: buying guide
What the evidence supports
The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) ranks supplements by evidence. Its Group A performance supplements, with strong evidence in specific situations, are caffeine, beta-alanine, dietary nitrate (beetroot juice), sodium bicarbonate, creatine and glycerol. Electrolyte supplements and sports drinks sit in Group A as sports foods. BCAAs and leucine are in Group C, meaning no proven benefit for athletes, and the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements notes that arginine at 2 to 20 g a day has shown little to no effect on performance. When you compare products, look first for the ingredients with the strongest evidence, in a meaningful dose.
What's in this collection
- Pre-workouts: usually caffeine-based. See pre-workouts for the full range.
- Intra-workout aminos: BCAA and EAA drinks, often with electrolytes, sipped during training.
- Creatine: monohydrate powders for strength and power training.
- Nitrate: beetroot products. The AIS suggests 6 to 8 mmol of nitrate 2 to 3 hours before exercise.
How to compare on the shelf
- Caffeine per serve. The NIH notes that up to 400 mg a day is not usually linked with dangerous effects in healthy adults, while 500 mg or more may reduce performance and disrupt sleep. Count coffee and energy drinks too.
- Proprietary blends. If the label hides individual doses, you cannot tell whether the key ingredients are there in useful amounts.
- Testing. Athletes who are drug tested should choose batch-tested products (for example HASTA or Informed Sport certified) and check with their sport. The AIS notes batch testing lowers the risk but cannot guarantee a product is free of contamination.
Follow the label, try new products in training rather than on game day, and avoid stacking two stimulant products in the same session.
Popular picks at Supps247
- Xtend Original BCAA by Scivation: a 30-serve BCAA drink mix and the top seller in this collection.
- Intrawar 3.0 by Primabolics: an intra-workout drink.
- Redcon1 Total War Pre-Workout: a 30-serve stimulant pre-workout.
- Force Factor's Total Beets: a beetroot supplement for dietary nitrate.
- Day One Creatine Monohydrate: 100 serves of creatine, an AIS Group A supplement.
Related categories
Sources: AIS Supplement Framework; NIH ODS: Dietary Supplements for Exercise and Athletic Performance; AIS Fact Sheet: Dietary Nitrate.
Order online with Australia-wide delivery, free on orders of $100 or more, or visit a Supps247 store in Melbourne, regional Victoria or Brisbane to compare products in person before you buy. Members can use our price match guarantee on full-priced items.
Always read the label and follow the directions for use. If you have a medical condition, are pregnant or take regular medication, check with your doctor first.
Performance Boosters: questions and answers
Which performance supplements have the strongest evidence?
Do BCAAs improve workout performance?
How much caffeine is safe before a workout?
Are performance supplements safe for drug-tested athletes?
