Build Muscle, Burn Fat & Enhance Performance With the Year’s Best Supplements for Men
The AskMen editorial team thoroughly researches & reviews the best gear, services and staples for life. AskMen may get paid if you click a link in this article and buy a product or service.
Our annual AskMen Fitness Awards are back for 2026, and we’ve spent months testing and comparing the best home gym equipment, fitness tech, supplements and gear to separate the best from the rest and declare our winners.
In our most competitive categories, more than a dozen products vied for the top spot, while our panel of judges, encompassing current and former college athletes, weekend warriors and personal trainers, worked overtime to generate feedback and vote on winners.
Before we get to business, we’d like to thank not only our hard-working judges for their efforts but also all of the brand reps who battled bad weather, delays and postal worker strikes to ensure our judges got their hands-on testing experience.
Finally, here are our favorite products of 2026 in the category of Best Supplements:
Best Supplements
Best Protein Powder
Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey
To go off of customer reviews or reputation, you really would think Optimum Nutrition’s classic whey is the “gold standard.” Famous both for its delicious taste and easy blending in milk or water, this powder uses nothing but extremely clean ingredients, including a blend of whey protein isolate, concentrate and hydrolyzed whey that even those with sensitive stomachs can generally handle with ease. Best of all, though: each 31-gram serving packs in 24 grams of protein with just 120 calories and 3 grams of carbs, making it an extremely flexible protein option, whether you’re bulking or cutting.
Best Casein Protein Powder
MyProtein Slow-Release Casein
If you really want to get clever, you’ll make your late-night protein shake consist mainly of casein protein, feeding your body a steady supply of protein throughout the night. MyProteni’s Slow-Release Casein, available in either Vanilla or Chocolate Smooth flavors, delivers 23 grams of protein per serving, with a complete amino acid profile. It’s also fantastic to bake with, for those of you who prefer to eat your protein.
Best Plant-Based Protein Powder
Huel Black Edition
Made from vegan ingredients like peas, flaxseed, coconut and brown rice, and delivering over 27 vitamins and minerals per serving, not to mention 40 grams of protein, Huel is that rare protein powder that can double as a healthy meal replacement. It’s available in six delicious flavors, from Cookies and Cream to Strawberry Shortcake, all of which are 100% vegan and free of any artificial sweeteners, GMOs and gluten. And because of the heavy dose of flax and brown rice, it also serves up between 9 and 11 grams of fiber per serving, which not only helps with digestion but also promotes satiety.
Best Clear Protein
Believe Protein Refresher
Clear proteins are nothing short of miraculous, ditching the taste and consistency of old-school whey protein for something closer to a delicious juice, but it was Believe’s Protein Refresher that really showed us the possibilities of the category. Whether you opt for the Pineapple Punch or Strawberry Lemonade variant, you’ll never believe this delicious, refreshing cocktail is also delivering 20 grams of protein with each thirst-quenching scoop. Pro tip from our judges: drink it with ice for an even more satisfying sipping experience.
Best Protein Soda
Bucked Up Lightly Carbonated Protein Soda
One day in the not-too-distant future, sodas will no longer be stigmatized as sugary, cavity-causing indulgences, and Bucked Up will be responsible. Their Lightly Carbonated Protein Soda might be a mouthful to pronounce but trust us when we say it goes down easy. Each 16-ounce can delivers 25 grams of protein in just 100 calories, which, as those amateur chemists among you have already figured out, means that this drink is basically pure protein. It has no right to taste as good as it does, either, because we would drink these like water.
Best Protein Shake
Vital Proteins Collagen & Protein Shake
Frothy, thick and flavored like a chocolate milkshake, these readymade protein drinks from Vital Proteins not only pack a whopping 30 grams of protein into every serving but also manage to include 10 grams of high-quality collagen peptides, helping to promote healthy skin, nail and hair growth while simultaneously alleviating joint pain.
Best Plant-Based Protein Shake
Koia Plant Based Protein Shake
For all you vegans equally interested in readymade shakes, Koia’s Plant Based Protein Shake offers a fantastic dairy-, gluten- and GMO-free alternative to whey-based drinks. Every serving not only packs 20 grams of plant protein and 6 grams of prebiotic fiber, but also a bevy of vitamins and minerals, including iodine, magnesium and zinc, making this a much more nutritious alternative to the typical protein shake.
Best Mass Gainer
NAKED MASS
If your mantra for 2026 is “go big or go home” and your perma-bulk is about to begin, opt for NAKED MASS, an all-natural weight gainer that will put size on even the most skinny, twig-shaped of men. Each serving boasts a whopping 1,360 calories, including 251 grams of carbs, 50 grams of protein and 11.6 grams of BCAAs. Not only does NAKED exclude gluten, soy and GMOs from their ingredient list, but they also go the extra mile by sourcing their whey exclusively from free roaming, grass-fed cows.
Best Creatine Supplement
Optimum Nutrition Micronized Creatine
As far as we’re concerned, creatine is a super supplement, something that absolutely everyone should take, not just people concerned about building size and strength. In fact, all of the latest research around creatine touts its cognitive benefits more than its benefits for athletic performance. But you do need a high-quality, unadulterated powder, which is why we love Optimum Nutrition’s Micronized Creatine. It’s unflavored and easy to mix, so you can put in your protein shake, morning smoothie or electrolyte drink, with each scoop delivering five grams of high-quality micronized creatine for maximum absorbency.
Best Pre-Workout
Cellucor C4 Sport
Cellucor is almost synonymous with the pre-workout, as their best-selling C4 lineup has been running the game for more than a decade at this point, but it was their C4 Sport variant that most impressed our judges this year. Available in three delicious flavors (Watermelon, Fruit Punch and Blue Raspberry), C4 Sport includes 135mg of caffeine in each serving, as well as magnesium, sodium, potassium and creatine, all of which will help you push your body to new limits in your training.
Best Stim-Free Pre-Workout
Transparent Labs Stim-Free Pre-Workout
As much as we love to advocate the “wake up and grind” lifestyle, the reality is that some people are only able to train after work, when their focus and energy levels are both at a low point. If that’s you, and you don’t want to risk losing out on sleep with a caffeinated pre-workout, check out this Stim-Free Pre-Workout from Transparent Labs. True to their policy, it contains all the key ingredients on the label, including 8 grams of citrulline malate, four grams of beta alanine, and 2.5 grams of betaine anhydrous, all of which improve blood flow and muscle contractions without throwing off your circadian rhythm for hours after.
Best Intra-Workout
Tailwind Nutrition High Carb Fuel
If your training sessions last over an hour, and definitely if they last over two hours, your body will require an intra-workout fuel of some kind to keep performance high. We recommend Tailwind Nutrition’s High Carb Fuel for exactly those mid-workout moments when energy and motivation starts to dip but there’s still work to be done. Each serving contains 360 fast-digesting calories, as well as key electrolytes to fuel performance like sodium, potassium and calcium. And because these come in single-serving packs, you can take them wherever your workouts take you, whether that’s the track or a hiking trail.
$25.50 at TailwindNutrition.com
Best Post-Workout
Transparent Labs Post
When it comes to fitness nutrition, what you fuel your body with after a workout is every bit as important as what you consume prior to training. Dial in your post-workout nutrition with Post from Transparent Labs, a recovery-promoting supplement with 5 grams of creatine and 5 grams of glutamine in every serving, helping to speed up glycogen replenishment, restoring energy to tired muscles, repairing damaged tissue and alleviating muscle soreness. It even includes gut-healing ingredients like L-Glutamine and Astragin, aiding in nutrient absorption and promoting whole-body wellness.
Best Electrolyte Mix
Thread Performance Daily Hydration
With over 1,500mg of total electrolytes, including a super-dose of potassium to improve absorption, Thread’s Daily Hydration electrolyte mix combines the necessary minerals you need to replenish your body after exercise without artificial sweeteners or sugars. Simple, clean and delicious, and available in four distinct flavors (Blue Rush, Electric Lemon Lime, Watermelon Wave and Peach Mango Punch) delivered monthly, right to your door, Daily Hydration should be a staple in every athlete’s supplement stack.
$29.95 at ThreadPerformance.com
Best Greens Supplement
Huel Daily Greens
While we’re definitely proponents of the “eat your vegetables” approach to eating, it’s also true that absolutely no one, however careful, is covering all of their nutritional bases, which is why consuming a regular greens supplement makes so much sense. Huel’s Daily Greens includes 91 vitamins and minerals, all sourced from whole-food ingredients, balanced in such a way as to maximally promote brain function and immune system support, as well as to give your hair, skin and nails the basic ingredients they need to grow and heal as they should. And unlike a lot of greens supplements, Huel also offers flavor variety: choose from either Lemon & Ginger, Peach Passionfruit, Watermelon or their Original flavors.
Best Collagen Supplement
Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides
The word is finally out about collagen. From celebrities defying aging to fitness influencers touting its ability to promote bone density and reduce joint pain, everyone is hopping on the collagen train, but let us be the first to warn you that quality and purity matter. Vital Proteins sources all of its collagen from grass-fed, pasture-raised cattle, delivering 20 grams of high-quality collagen in every serving, without artificial sweeteners, gluten or dairy. And because it’s unflavored and mixes easily, you can take it in a smoothie, protein shake, oatmeal bowl or even your morning coffee. It’s also available in single-serving sticks, for those of you who prefer to take your collagen with your post-gym shake.
Best BCAA
BSN Amino X
Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, which makes a complete BCAA supplement an excellent addition to any supplement stack, particularly for those operating on a limited calorie budget. BSN’s Amino X offers 10 grams of micronized amino acids (in the desired 2:1:1 ratio of leucine, isoleucine and valine, naturally) in every serving, unadulterated by sugar or caffeine, in any of four flavor varieties: Blue Raz, Fruit Punch, Grape and Watermelon, all of which mix well in water or sports drinks.
Best Recovery Supplement
Tailwind Nutrition Recovery Mix
Combining hydrating electrolytes, 20 grams of muscle-repairing protein and 34 grams of fast-digesting carbs in a single serving, Tailwind Nutrition’s delicious Recovery Mix (available in Strawberry, Chocolate, Vanilla and Salted Caramel flavors) is the perfect recovery option to take you “from wrecked to ready” after a particularly grueling workout. The consistency is similar to that of a milkshake, smooth and delicious, while the single-serving packs make on-the-go consumption effortless.
$55.99 at TailwindNutrition.com
Best Protein Bar
GHOST Protein Bars
It was only a matter of time before the protein chefs over at GHOST tried their hand at creating a bar, and we’re happy to report the result is both delicious and satisfying. Each individual serving actually contains two bars, with the kind of crunchy texture you’re used to in your favorite chocolate bars, but these pack 20 grams of protein with just two grams of sugar. Pro tip, for those dieters operating on poverty macros: split the bar up into two separate snacks to help you combat your sweet cravings whenever they appear.
Best Vegan Protein Bar
No Cow Vegan Protein Bars
As the vegan lifestyle continues to grow in popularity, the number of healthy food options catering to vegans has skyrocketed, which has resulted in some genuinely creative and delicious protein-rich snacks. The Now Cow Vegan Protein Bars blew our judges away with their fantastic macros (20 grams of protein and a whopping 14 grams of fiber for just 200 calories) and eight delicious flavor options.
Best Energy Gel
GU Energy Sports Nutrition Gel
If you’re an endurance athlete or your sport is pushing you to the absolute limits of your physical capacity, it helps to have a quick-digesting gel to give yourself a calorie boost when you need it most. The Sports Nutrition Gel from GU Energy combines both 100 calories of rapidly-absorbed carbohydrates with a cocktail of electrolytes and BCAAs. And with more than 16 flavor varieties, some including and some excluding caffeine, it’s really easy to find your go-to mid-race energy boost.
Best Energy Drink
RYSE Fuel Energy Drink
There’s no shortage of fantastic energy drink options out there, but for our money, you can’t do any better than the Fuel Energy Drink from RYSE, especially if you opt for the variety pack that includes their Sunny D and Kool-Aid inspired flavors. Each can contains just 5 calories while delivering a whopping 200mg of natural caffeine, as well as 500mg of taurine and 200mg of choline for added focus, but all the beneficial ingredients in the world won’t matter if you don’t enjoy the taste, and on this subject in particular our judges were unanimous: these bad boys are delicious.
Best Multivitamin
Garden of Life Organics Multi Berry
Almost no one manages to reach their daily nutritional requirements these days, but athletes and fitness fanatics in particular should reach for a daily multivitamin, because the strain of training puts an even greater nutrient demand on your body. Our judges fell in love with Garden of Life’s Organics Multi Berry, not only for the huge list of included vitamins and minerals, or the 9 organic, whole fruits in every bottle, but the delicious chewable format that made daily consumption a joy.
Best Low-Calorie Condiment
G Hughes Sugar-Free Asian Sauces
If you’re on the health-and-fitness bandwagon, you know that finding new and creative ways to make bland foods like chicken, rice and broccoli taste delicious is a huge part of the battle. The entire G Hughes line of sugar-free sauces deserves your attention, adding flavor and variety to your daily meals without loading them up with calories.
Best Focus Supplement
For Wellness Focus Gummies
Continuing the gummy trend, For Wellness impressed our judges with their Focus Gummies, delicious, tangerine-flavored chewables loaded with ingredients like Vitamin A, Lutein and Cordyceps Militaris, clinically proven to support vision, block blue light, and enhance cognitive function. Unsurprisingly, they’re particularly popular with professional golfers, whose on-course decision making under pressure can make or break their round.
Best Sleep Supplement
THORNE Melaton-5
New research into the science of recovery constantly reaffirms what we all know intuitively: sleep is important — for hormone production, muscle tissue repair, cognitive function, athletic performance. If you’re struggling to get adequate rest, it’s time to reach for the big guns, and THORNE’s Melaton-5 packs a potent, sleep-inducing punch. Each capsule delivers 5mg of fast-acting melatonin, helping you not only fall asleep but re-establish a healthy circadian rhythm, setting you up for future nighttime rest.
Best Gut Health Supplement
Alkamind Gut Punch
Apart from being both embarrassing and incredibly uncomfortable, digestive issues are also a serious health liability, limiting your body’s ability to extract vital nutrients from the food you eat. If gut inflammation is a problem, Alkamind’s Gut Punch is the solution, combining dairy-free colostrum with collagen peptides specially formulated to heal and seal your stomach lining, kill off harmful pathogens and restore your gut health.
Best Hydration Supplement
Optimum Nutrition Pro Quench
Combining collagen peptides with electrolytes, this powdery mix from Optimum Nutrition more than fulfills the promise of its name, quenching your thirst when you’re at your most dehydrated. There’s even 10 grams of clear protein isolate in each serving, making Pro Quench a comprehensive solution to thirst that also promotes recovery from strength-based training exercises. And because taste is every bit as important, let’s reassure you: both the Strawberry Splash and Tropical Orange flavors are delicious.
Best Supplement for Hair
Nutrafol
While there are two FDA-approved drugs to treat male pattern baldness, there is also a raft of scientific evidence linking certain vitamins and minerals to healthier hair. Whether you’re balding, thinning or just chasing more luscious locks, you owe it to yourself to give Nutrafol a try. Their 21-ingredient hair complex throws the kitchen sink at hair health, from selenium and zinc to biotin and black pepper, resulting in thicker, denser and healthier follicles.
Best Supplement for Skin
TRU NIAGEN
A new coenzyme, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, better known by the acronym NAD+, has caught fire in health communities when its gradual decline in the human cell was positively linked to signs of aging. Now, everyone from athletes chasing better performance to celebrities trying to stay young are supplementing with NAD+. TRU NIAGEN has been clinically proven to boost NAD+ levels over 50% above baseline in just two weeks of daily usage, which for our judges resulted in noticeably more supple facial skin, as well as deeper sleep and improved energy levels.
Best Immune Boosting Supplement
Airborne Immune Support
You can’t train if you’re feeling sick, and dodging illness during flu season can feel like playing Minesweeper. Thankfully, you can give your immune system a boost with Airborne, a vitamin-and-mineral complex containing everything you need to support your immune system: vitamins C, D, and E plus zinc. Best of all, the delivery vehicle for all this immune-boosting goodness is an elderberry-flavored chewable gummy.
Best Probiotic Supplement
Garden of Life Dr. Formulated Once Daily Probiotics
As we come to learn more and more about the importance of gut health and its incredible connection to brain function, not to mention the vital role it plays in extracting nutrients from the food we eat, probiotics look less like a curiosity for the few and more like a necessity for the many. Garden of Life’s Dr. Formulated Once Daily Probiotics offer 15 live probiotic strains in every capsule, improving digestive function, reducing bloating and gas, and promoting better colon health. And a word to those of you on high-protein diets: you’re definitely going to want to add this to your supplement stack, not only for your gut’s sake, but for the well-being of anyone sharing a confined space with you.
Best Omega-3 Supplement
Alkamind Acid-Kicking Omega-3
There are so many benefits to omega-3s that it would almost be faster to tell you what they don’t do for you, but the quality of your omega-3 supplement matters a lot. Lots of inferior options offer omega-3s sourced from rancid fish, or in insufficient quantities to make a difference, or, most sneaky of all, in an inferior EPA:DHA ratio. Alkamind’s Acid-Kicking Omega-3 sources only deep-water, cold-water ocean and wild-caught fish before their fish oil undergoes a triple-purification process to ensure that what you’re consuming is free of mercury, cadmium, lead and 400+ other potential fish contaminants. The end product is a potent, pure and optimally balanced omega-3 supplement that will fight inflammation, improve cardiovascular and cognitive function, and even slow down the signs of aging.
