First off, by no means are supplements absolutely necessary. You can achieve amazing results without them - and many people do.

That said, I find some supplements to help improve results, which we'll get into below.

One quick note before we go further... When it comes to supplements, I look for a couple things:

Are the ingredients in a given supplement shown through scientific studies to actually produce a result (meaning, is it more than just anecdotal evidence they really work)?
Do the doses in the the supplements match (or exceed) what was proven through those studies to work?
The reason these points are so important to take into consideration is simply so that you're spending money on supplements that actually matter and CAN help improve your results.

For some of the categories below, I recommend supplements from other companies I trust... But it's not always easy to find top-quality supplements that have the right ingredients and dosages - without a bunch of fillers and garbage to pad out their labels for marketing purposes.

This was the catalyst behind starting Kinobody Nutrition - an expanding line of supplements that, quite simply, I created for myself.

See, I wanted the best quality products possible, with the right ingredients, in the right doses, and without added junk fillers.

I wanted the essential few ingredients that are synergistic and proven to get results time after time - like the rest of Kinobody.
And apparently, it just took doing it myself to get them created. Below I'll share some of them with you, along with the other supplements I take and have found to work.

Let's dive in...

Pre-Workout

In general, I’m not a huge fan of pre workouts. Most of time, they're loaded with too much caffeine, stimulants, and artificial ingredients. As well, they are under-dosed in the ingredients that really help with training and recovery, but you wouldn't know that because the amount of caffeine and stimulants make you feel otherwise.


This is precisely why I designed my own natural pre-workout called Kino Octane - and it works amazing.

It has 150mg of natural caffeine (the same amount as a cup of coffee or a Cafe Americano).

As well, it has 6,000mg of L-Citrulline. This ingredient increases blood flow, reduces fatigue and speeds up muscular recovery. It also increases your ability to handle training volume. If you’re taking amino acids as well (more on those below), it improves the effect of branched chain amino acids. Furthermore, citrulline seems to boost growth hormone output while exercising.

Kino Octane also contains L-theanine, which provides mood-boosting effects and works synergistically with caffeine, as well as ginseng to naturally boost energy and blood flow.

Yes, every ingredient is in the clinically effective dose, and there's no artificial flavoring, sweeteners, fillers, or extra ingredients added for the sake of padding out the nutrition label.

Best of all, Octane is essentially zero calories - meaning, you can take it during your fast for improved energy, focus, and mood.

Full disclosure - myself and everyone at the office take at least one scoop every morning right after our morning coffee (sometimes in place of coffee altogether) since it has more caffeine than coffee and the B vitamins help sustain the focus and energy all morning long.

You can learn more about Kino Octane here. The testimonials we have received from this supplement are nothing short of amazing, and we've recently added 3 more flavors.

Branched Chain Amino Acids

Another supplement I find useful are branched chain amino acids. I typically take 10g of BCAA’s per day for fasted training. I’ll usually take them about 5-20 minutes before lifting.

I find that by taking BCAA’s my training is more effective. I get less fatigue at the end of the workout and never get hungry. Pre-workout BCAA’s also seems to help improve your metabolism and even increase protein synthesis and prevent protein breakdown.

The advantage of using BCAA’s is that you are getting three amino acids that are directly involved in triggering protein synthesis, which is the most bang for your calorie buck. If you wanted to get the same amount of BCAA’s from whey protein, you’d have to have 4x as much, since whey protein is typically 25% BCAAs.

Note - I’ve been experimenting with taking 10g’s of BCAA’s per day, even when i’m not lifting. I find that this helps with muscle retention on a cut. As well, it blunts my hunger near the end of my fast. While technically 10g of bcaa’s will break your fast, it’s only about 65 calories, so your body essentially is still primed to burn fat. You’re still in a semi-fasted state as 65 calories isn’t significant enough to tip you into a full fed state.


Because of the success I've personally experienced with BCAAs, I've started working on developing a high-quality amino product of our own here at Kinobody.

(The reason being, I want a great tasting and high quality product that is free of artificial flavors and sweetness.)

Kinobody Aminos (cleverly named) is in development now, but if you'd like to join the Wait List to know when it's available, click here.

All that said, my BCAA recommendations for the most part are optional. Test it, try it and see what works best for you.

Sleep & Recovery Supplement

Now to experience the best results on the program, it’s important to get solid sleep. If you are having issues sleeping, you’ll get more cravings and have a harder time sticking to the diet. Furthermore, your training performance won’t be quite as optimal.


My team and I designed a natural sleep supplement for this reason, called Kino Sleep. It has an adaptogenic herb called ashwagandha that helps naturally lower stress and cortisol, improves sleep quality, and also has physical performance benefits.

Kino Sleep has 2,000mg of glycine, which is an important amino acid for inducing sleep and relaxation. Sleep also contains Magnesium and Lemon Balm extract. The supplement works and is very effective and can be taken daily. It’s not addictive at all. We left out melatonin as melatonin can have negative effects. Since melatonin is a hormone it will naturally disrupt your natural melatonin levels.

You can learn more and pick up some Kino Sleep here.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is a very helpful supplement, yet the majority of people are deficient in it. The benefits of supplementing with vitamin D include: enhanced cognition, improvements in immune health and even improved well being.

Supplementation can also reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and multiple sclerosis. Furthermore, if you are deficient in Vitamin D, it can help boost testosterone.

My favorite way to supplement with Vitamin D is to through Vitamin D gummies on amazon; I use the brand Jamieson. I usually take 2,000-4,000 IU’s per day.

You can also take a liquid form of Vitamin D. Truth Nutra has a great option here.

Creatine

If you have never utilized creatine, I don’t recommend using it while cutting. It’s best to capitalize on the muscle building effects of creatine when you’re bulking.

That said, if you’re currently taking creatine, it’s advisable to keep taking creatine to maintain muscle and strength to the highest degree. I take 5g of creatine daily mixed in my kino octane or BCAA’s.

Some research shows taking creatine with caffeine/coffee can reduce its effects, but real world practical experience seems to debunk this.

Good ol' creatine monohydrate seems to be the most effective. We included 5 grams of creatine monohydrate (the clinically effective dosage) in our upcoming Kino Gains product, which is designed to help build muscle faster.

If that's in line with your goals, then join the Wait List for it here - but again, creatine is not recommended on a cut, so if your goal is just shredding, this isn't necessary.