Supplements guide

BEST SUPPLEMENTS FOR BEGINNERS

6 min read · Updated June 2026 · Beginner friendly

Forget the wall of tubs. As a beginner you need three supplements at most, and you can use them properly with the basics below. Here is the honest starter kit, how to actually take each one, and the mistake nearly every beginner makes.

By Ben @ MOMENTVM

Updated June 2026 · How we test & rank

In this guide

The beginner starter kit Creatine: how to take it Protein: how to use it Fish oil: the sensible third The mistake every beginner makes The bottom line

The beginner starter kit

You do not need a stack. Three supplements cover everything a beginner could reasonably want, and even the third is optional.

1. Creatine

The one everyone should take. Improves strength, power, and muscle, cheap, and backed by more research than anything else.

2. Protein powder

Convenient protein for hitting your daily target when food alone is a hassle.

3. Fish oil (optional)

Great for bones, brain, and general health. Easy and cheap to pick up if your diet is light on oily fish.

That is the whole list. No fat burners, no BCAAs, no testosterone boosters. Just the few things that actually do something.

Creatine: how to take it

Keep this simple. Do not bother with a loading phase. You will see protocols telling you to take 20g a day for a week to load up, but you do not need to. Just take 5g a day, every day, and you will be fully loaded in no time. It is less faff and it works just as well.

Take it whenever suits you, timing barely matters with creatine, and stick with it consistently. Buy plain creatine monohydrate and skip the fancy flavoured or premium versions, they are not worth the markup.

Learn more: See the full creatine ingredient guide for the science, or find the cheapest creatine in Australia.

Protein: how to use it

Protein powder is not magic, it is just a fast, convenient way to top up your daily protein. Use it to fill gaps, not as your main source. A shake is brilliant when you have skipped a meal, when you are rushing out the door, or when you just cannot face cooking another bit of chicken.

Whole food protein should still be your base. Treat the powder as the easy top-up that gets you over the line on busy days. Grab a small bag first to find a flavour you actually enjoy before committing to a big tub.

Fish oil: the sensible third

If you want one more, make it fish oil. It is great for your bones, your brain, and your general health, and unless you are eating oily fish a few times a week, you are probably not getting enough omega-3 from food. It is cheap, easy to pick up anywhere, and a genuinely worthwhile health supplement rather than a performance gimmick.

Learn more: See the omega-3 ingredient guide for what to look for on the label.

The mistake every beginner makes

Here is the big one: thinking supplements are magic. They are not. The word supplement means exactly what it says, they supplement something you are not getting enough of in your diet. They are not a shortcut and they will not do the work for you.

Take protein powder as the clearest example. A single scoop gives you around 25g of protein. To get that same 25g from whole food, you would need to eat roughly four large eggs, or about 100g of chicken breast. The powder is not doing anything special, it is just a quick, convenient version of food you could have eaten anyway. Once that clicks, you stop expecting tubs to transform you and you start using them for what they are: handy tools to fill gaps in an already solid diet.

The bottom line

Creatine at 5g a day, no loading. Protein to fill gaps, not replace meals. Fish oil if you want a health boost. That is the entire beginner kit. Remember supplements only supplement a good diet, they never replace one. Get the food right, add these few, and ignore the rest of the shelf.