According to studies, this supplement can boost muscle strength and Omega-3 levels.

To understand how nutrition affects your athletic ability, you don't have to count your macros obsessively or train for an intense endurance activity. To be honest, eating too much pizza the night before your Friday morning pilates class or a couple cookies before an afternoon run is all it takes to grasp how certain meals (sugar and simple carbohydrates, in particular) can impair your energy levels and mental resilience when exercising.

While we usually think about the carbs and proteins we eat before, during, and after we exercise, our fat and even micronutrient intake can have a significant impact on our athletic performance. * Take, for example, a new study published in the Journal of Exercise and Nutrition, which found that omega-3 supplementation has a direct impact on collegiate athletes' muscle performance.

Supplementing with omega-3 fatty acids can help athletes perform better.

Baylor University student athletes were given either a high-potency fish oil supplement (i.e. 1.75 grams of EPA plus 1.1 grams of DHA) or a placebo for the eight-week research. At the start and end of the trial, all participants completed a three-day food log and questionnaire, and their omega-3 index, body composition, handgrip strength, and countermovement jump were all measured.

Although the two groups had identical improvements in body composition and power (measured by countermovement jumps), the athletes who took fish oil had a substantial 9 percent gain in handgrip strength, whereas the control group had no improvement in muscle strength.A 73 percent rise in overall omega-3 index (a measure of omega-3 status in the body), a 332 percent increase in EPA levels, and a 64 percent increase in DHA levels were seen in the omega-3 supplementation group, while athletes in the placebo group observed no change. These findings suggest that high-potency fish oil is an excellent way to improve not only muscular performance but also the body's total omega-3 condition.

Other surprise substances that can help with muscular health.

Protein powder and BCAAs aren't the only supplements that enhance muscle function and strength when it comes to supporting an active lifestyle. We've uncovered a few other supplements that can help you improve your muscle health in addition to high-quality fish oil.

Vitamin D is an important nutrient.

Vitamin D is important for maintaining muscle structure and function, as well as maintaining a healthy body composition and muscle mass throughout one's life. Given the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency in American adults (29 percent and 41 percent, respectively), consumers wishing to support their muscular health should add a high-potency vitamin D supplement (such as mbg's vitamin D3 potency+) to their daily supplement routine.

Collagen

While collagen isn't a complete protein (it lacks one of the nine essential amino acids), it does provide 20 different amino acids that can help you build muscle. Collagen also helps with muscle growth, repair, and strength (along with a slew of other workout-specific advantages), so you might want to add a high-quality collagen supplement (like mbg's beauty and gut collagen+) to your arsenal of muscle-building powdered supplements.

Multivitamin

Many vital minerals and vitamins are found in high-quality, comprehensive multivitamins, many of which aid in muscle development, function, and regeneration.

For example, most multivitamins contain vitamin D (which benefits muscle health in a variety of ways, as we've seen), as well as vitamin C, which is an enzyme cofactor for the formation of collagen and carnitine, both of which aid muscle repair. Magnesium and calcium are crucial minerals for muscular contraction, while potassium is necessary for muscle development and regulates electrolyte balance.

Taking a daily multivitamin that includes all of these elements (such as mbg's ultimate multivitamin+) can help to improve muscle (and overall!) health.

The end result.

If you want to support your muscles holistically, research shows that taking a high-quality fish oil supplement (like mbg's omega-3 potency+, which has 1.5 grams of EPA + DHA) can assist boost grip strength and promote optimal muscular function.

If fish oil isn't your thing (we're looking at you, vegetarians! ), take a look at our best omega-3 supplement recommendations to find one that suits your needs. To adopt a synergistic approach to promoting muscle health, try adding other muscle-supporting supplements to your daily routine, such as a high-quality multivitamin, vitamin D3, or collagen supplement.