The Best and Worst Stackable Supplements

Supplement stacking is an amazing way to amplify your strength, body composition and overall performance goals – but how do you know which ingredients you should be stacking with each other? In this guide, we are going to break down the best and worst supplements to stack together and why they’re perfect combinations.

Best Supplements to Stack Together

Stacking great supplements together is like adding a turbo into an already lightning quick V8 Ferrari – you know you’re in for a wild ride.

The only question is how do you control the car?

Is there a way you can ensure that the experience is safe?

At the end of the day, we must be certain that the supplements we are going to be stacking will aid in optimal performance without having any side effects that could put a damper on our health and lifestyle.

Here are some of the best ingredients to stack together:

Creatine and Alanine

Perhaps the king of kings when it comes to stacking two products together will come in the form of creatine and alanine.

While creatine will serve as an effective ingredient for strength and rapid recovery during sets and after workouts, alanine works to buffer lactic acid during a training session.

This means you can train harder – for longer without feeling the effects of fatigue.

At the end of your workout you will have completed more work in less time – all while still having optimal recovery after the workout. Pairing these two ingredients together is a recipe for success.

Glutamine and Carnitine

This is one you may not have heard of, but when it comes to cutting weight, losing fat and improving your endurance there are no two supplements that go better together than glutamine and carnitine.

Both are amino acids, but when taken together in high doses – they can have a huge effect on your workout. Glutamine will help to limit muscle wasting – which is perfect when you are in a caloric deficit. This means you can still train harder without having to worry about catabolic muscle tissue.

Carnitine, on the other hand, can be an effective supplement for boosting fat oxidation. In simple terms, fat oxidation is the amount of fat you can use as energy. Supplementing with carnitine will help you to better draw on these ingredients as sources of fuel – perfect for extended workouts and fat burning.

Caffeine, Whey Protein and Arginine

These three will help aid in the most optimal performance and recovery possible. Caffeine is a well-known stimulant that can help put a major booster in your metabolism, burning more calories and can even increase your athletic strength.

Arginine is an amino acid that has the unique benefit of vasodilating the veins – making it easier to push nutrients and oxygen through the bloodstream. When you combine this with caffeine you have a recipe for a very fast metabolism and a nuclear stimulation experience. Arginine is also a great amino acid for repair of muscle tissue and when combined with a protein (whey, pea, hemp, casein) – you have a surefire way to raise your strength levels and have a great recovery.

D-aspartic Acid and ZMA

These two provide one of the most comprehensive touches on pure testosterone amplification. In fact, many test boosters and male enhancement pills (the good ones) will contain a huge dosage of these two ingredients. Testogen is one of these good ones – check it out here.

These two supplements combine together to create both short-term strength increases (d-aspartic acid) and long-term changes in hormone balancing (ZMA complex). Those looking for a great way to boost testosterone for greater strength and performance should look to this combination.

TOP TIP: looking for a deeper state of strength and performance; add Creatine HCL into the mix for the best possible strength returns!

Supplements That You Shouldn’t Stack Together

Not all supplements will go well together, and you’d be surprised to know that some supplements can even cancel out the benefits of another.

Here are some of the supplements you really shouldn’t be stacking:

Caffeine and Creatine

Nope, this is not just a rumour. In fact, caffeine has a very strange contraindication where it can actually limit creatines ability to volumize the cell. This is a very fancy way of saying that since caffeine is a diuretic (makes you pee, dehydrates you) and creatine needs hydrogen to work – these two may not work best together.

Now, this does depend on supplement timing. If you are taking these 2-3 hours apart you should be fine, but some research has shown that when they are supplemented together they do not assist each other and create the combination you would hope for.

Whey Protein and ZMA Complex

Woah, Woah – at first glance you might think that there really isn’t anything bad about taking protein and ZMA, but let me explain.

Assuming you’re like most people and you purchased a whey protein (from milk) and mix it with milk you have a huge serving of calcium – somewhere in the range of 400-500mg. This calcium will actually block your intake of zinc – the primary reason to supplement a ZMA complex.

There is a way around this.

Your first option is to try a plant protein like hemp or pea protein, but you could also go for egg protein. In this way you calcium consumption will be low and should not affect the absorption of zinc.

Your second option is to supplement at least 3 hours apart. I’d say the first is probably the easiest but this is up to you!

The Mighty Supplement Stacks

One of the most unfortunate parts of stacking supplements is finding the right products for the right price and creating your own stack. Your first option is to go and find all of them online and use your best judgement on products, or, you could check out the supplement stacks at CrazyBulk.

NOTE: Most of the stacks are built as test boosters, so those looking for the powerful combination of d-aspartic acid and ZMA will be welcomed with open arms.

Enjoy the search and enjoy the gains.

Related: Turn your body into an anabolic machine with the power of nutrition!

Gabriello Ianniruberto

Gabriello is a writer and strength expert best known for his science-based and practical approach to Exercise Physiology, Nutrition and Strength. After serving in a directors position for The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology Gabriello moved towards writing to help more people understand the importance of living a healthy life. Gabriello’s writings have been published in several languages on some of the largest health and fitness websites helping people learn, grow and understand the complex components of optimizing human performance in a simplistic way.

Gabriello also takes on specialized, high-performance athletes who are in need of strength, mobility and conditioning programming to optimize their fitness through his Earned Fitness program.

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