What the reviews found
Supplements for Exercise Performance
14 where systematic reviews concluded a benefit, 2 with mixed findings, 4 where they concluded no effect. Every line quotes the review and links it, so you can read the sentence yourself.
Reviews found a benefit
Systematic reviews concluded these improve an outcome tied to exercise performance, and none concluded no effect.
- Top-scored productNutricost Caffeine Capsules7 reviews cited92Benefitaerobic endurance performance
“Both low and moderate caffeine doses significantly reduced time-trial completion time relative to placebo.” PMID 42356375 · 2 reviews
Benefitswimming performance“Acute caffeine ingestion confers a moderate ergogenic benefit for swimming performance (SMD = 0.57, 1.7% improvement)” PMID 42323844
Benefitcycling performance in females“The pooled analysis revealed a small and significant ergogenic effect of caffeine supplementation on cycling performance for females (standardized mean difference = 0.21; 95% confidence interval [0.11, 0.29]), with high certainty of evidence.” PMID 42208612
1 more review finding points the same way — see Caffeine.
- Beetroot4 reviews citedBenefitphysical performance(as beetroot)
“beetroot supplementation demonstrates strong potential as a natural ergogenic aid for enhancing physical performance” PMID 41470898 · 2 reviews
Benefitaerobic endurance(as beetroot)“supplementation with beetroot juice can improve cardiorespiratory endurance in athletes by increasing efficiency, which improves performance at various distances, increases time to exhaustion at submaximal intensities” PMID 28067808 · 2 reviews
- Top-scored productNootropics Depot Taurine Capsules4 reviews cited93Benefitexercise capacity
“Supplementation also improved blood pressure and exercise capacity, though no significant effects on neurocognition were observed.” PMID 41803812
Benefitendurance performance“Menthol (SMD = -1.83, 95% CI [-3.15, -0.51]; P-score = 71.04%) and taurine (SMD = 0.91, 95% CI [0.08, 1.73]; P-score = 12.75%) demonstrated significant positive effects on endurance.” PMID 40647246 · 2 reviews
- Benefitaerobic endurance / exercise performance
“Oral ashwagandha may improve selected exercise-performance outcomes, particularly aerobic endurance, but benefits are not uniform across contexts.” PMID 42356302
Benefitvo2max“Results showed a significant enhancement in VO2max in healthy adults and athletes (p = 0.04).” PMID 32316411
- Top-scored productDouble Wood HMB Supplement3 reviews cited77Benefitendurance performance(as β-Hydroxy β-Methylbutyrate)
“HMB (3 g·d -1 ) ingestion during 2-12 weeks significantly improves endurance performance and V̇O 2 max .” PMID 38090973
- Top-scored productThorne Rhodiola2 reviews cited92Benefitexercise performance
“Acute supplementation with RR has a positive effect on endurance performance and rating of perceived exertion (RPE).” PMID 37495266 · 2 reviews
- 2 reviews citedBenefitendurance exercise performance
“Tart cherry concentrate has a significant benefit for endurance exercise performance.” PMID 31986108
- Catechins1 review citedBenefitphysical performance
“physical performance significantly improved in two studies.” PMID 37764681
- Benefitendurance exercise performance
“significantly improved in TTE (SMD = 1.06, 95% CI: 0.16-1.96)” PMID 42075102
- Top-scored productThorne Creatine1 review cited98Benefitanaerobic/high-intensity exercise performance
“Evidence indicates Cr supplementation alone yields the most consistent improvements in high-intensity and anaerobic performance by enhancing phosphocreatine recovery and neuromuscular output.” PMID 42384726
- Kaempferia parviflora1 review citedBenefitathletic performance
“a range of dietary supplements, including caffeine, creatine, creatine + sodium bicarbonate, magnesium creatine chelate, carbohydrate + electrolyte, carbohydrate + protein, arginine, beta-alanine, bovine colostrum, Kaempferia parviflora, melatonin, and sodium pyruvate, can improve athletic performance in soccer players” PMID 39972597
- Top-scored productPure Encapsulations L-Lysine1 review cited94Benefitexercise performance
“in older women, bicarbonate supplementation and beta-hydroxyethyl butyrate (HMB), lysine, and arginine supplementation have shown positive effects on exercise performance.” PMID 32698345
- Benefitphysical performance(as Lepidium meyenii)
“The phytochemical compounds of LmW, mainly macamides, increase physical performance, showing a greater effect at higher doses (dose-response effect).” PMID 39796542
- Benefitaerobic exercise performance
“Algae-derived supplements-particularly Spirulina and Chlorella-may modestly enhance aerobic exercise performance and attenuate exercise-induced muscle damage under certain conditions.” PMID 42075102
Mixed: a benefit on one measure, no effect on another
- Benefithigh-intensity exercise performance
“the combination of creatine and β-alanine supplementation enhanced high-intensity exercise performance, particularly anaerobic power and repeated-bout performance, compared to creatine or β-alanine alone.” PMID 40647180 · 3 reviews
No effectaerobic endurance capacity“no significant improvements in aerobic endurance capacity (VO2max, lactate threshold, or time to exhaustion) were observed from creatine and β-alanine supplementation co-ingestion.” PMID 40647180
Benefitswimming performance“Sodium bicarbonate and β-alanine may enhance performance in distances with higher glycolytic demands, while caffeine is effective at dosages of 3-6 mg/kg administered 60 min before exercise.” PMID 40205676
1 more review finding — see Beta-Alanine.
- Top-scored productPure Encapsulations L-Arginine3 reviews cited88Benefitcardiovascular function and vo2 max
“l-arginine supplements may improve cardiovascular function, ventilation, the serum level of lactate, and maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 Max) of football players.” PMID 39915258
Benefitswimming performance“Arg emerged as the most efficacious modality for reducing 100 m time.” PMID 39796467
No effectendurance exercise performance“Foods rich in polyphenols and nitrate provide trivial benefits for endurance exercise performance, although these effects may be food dependent.” PMID 34965876
Reviews found no effect
Reviews studied these for an outcome tied to exercise performance and concluded they made no difference.
- No effectexercise performance (vo2max, time-trial, power output)
“Astaxanthin did not significantly improve VO2max, time-trial performance, or maximal workload/power output.” PMID 42197030
- Bilberry1 review citedNo effectexercise performance(as Vaccinium myrtillus)
“no significant differences in the exercise performance were found and only one study reported benefits for markers of recovery” PMID 38165220
- No effectexercise performance
“no significant differences in the exercise performance were found” PMID 38165220
- Watermelon2 reviews citedNo effectendurance performance
“The current evidence suggests no significant benefit of citrulline supplementation for endurance performance.” PMID 37155582
Not enough to say
Reviews of Beta-Hydroxybutyrate, Boron, Chromium, L-Citrulline, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Manganese, Succinic Acid could not conclude either way on exercise performance.
How this page is built
Each finding is the conclusion a set of systematic reviews reached on one outcome — whether an ingredient helped, made no difference, or could not be judged — with a sentence quoted from one review, checked to appear in its PubMed abstract. It records the direction, not the size, of an effect. Reviews run in populations such as people with cancer, pregnancy, surgery or children are left out, because applying them to a general reader would mislead. Evidence last refreshed September 2026. Abstracts courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (PubMed).
Other goals
Educational only. A review finding a benefit on average does not mean a supplement will help you, or that it is safe alongside your medication. If you are treated for exercise performance, talk to your clinician before adding anything.