Set Muscle

When I first started lifting, I thought a serious gym routine meant having a serious supplement stack. I was buying pre-workout, protein, BCAAs, creatine, and whatever else looked promising at the time. After getting more experience, I’ve realized that supplements are just the extra piece of the puzzle—not the foundation.
Now I’m much more selective about what actually earns a spot in my routine. Curious how everyone else’s stack has changed over the years. Did you cut out certain supplements after learning more about nutrition, or are there a few products you still swear by? What stayed in your stack, and what turned out to be a waste of money?

Creatine stayed.

I used to take way too many supplements, but now I mostly stick with creatine and protein powder. Everything else depends on whether I actually have a reason for taking it.

My stack got completely simplified over time. I started with pre-workout, BCAAs, mass gainers, protein, creatine, and a bunch of random stuff I saw online. Eventually I realized better training, enough calories, solid protein intake, and good sleep were doing way more for my progress than the giant supplement collection ever did.

Same here! My cabinet used to look like a supplement store.

Pre-workout is still my favorite.

I dropped BCAAs once I started consistently hitting my daily protein target. For me, they just weren’t worth spending extra money on when my overall diet was already covering that area.

Honestly, my biggest supplement change wasn’t adding something—it was removing stuff. I stopped chasing every new product promising better pumps, faster recovery, or more muscle and started focusing on the basics. Creatine, protein when needed, caffeine sometimes, and plenty of food have been more than enough for me.

That’s exactly where I’m at now—less hype, more consistency.

Protein powder became more convenient than exciting.