People ask me what supplements they should take. Here are a few quick tips on what to take and what not to take. Before that I got a couple tips for you before you think about buying a supplement.
1) Get your diet right first, whether you are trying to gain, lose, or maintain, you need to get your diet right before you even think about supplements.
2) Get most of your protein and nutrients from your food. Even a multivitamin can be considered a supplement because it is supposed to "supplement" your normal food intake to get all the nutrients you need.
What MAY be GOOD to take
1) Whey protein is the number 1 supplement that I recommend for anyone who is trying got add some lean mass, but can't get enough protein in their normal diet. Most people do not actually need to take this because they don't work out frequently enough or hard enough, but for those who are working hard and can't get enough protein, then this is a good supplement. Look for products that have a very short ingredient list so that you aren't losing money paying for fillers.
2) Creatine is the number 2 supplement that I recommend ONLY for serious lifters and athletes looking to get stronger and more explosive while adding significant lean mass (muscle).
3) Multivitamin is my number 3 suggestion. Many people do not get enough fruits and vegetables in their diet. Taking this helps to make sure you are getting all the micronutrients you need.
4) Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) are my number 4. I definitely only recommend this to a handful of people. BCAAs help with recovery so that you can get over the soreness and get back to training. The only people who really need this a lot are competitive athletes who work out and exercise as their job and body builders. Otherwise the people who benefit from these are people who are doing high intensity heavy lifting and max effort work.
What is probably NOT worth taking
1) Mass gainers. They are really expensive and they go really fast. I would rather buy a cheaper whey protein and invest in a blender to add some other ingredients to increase the calories for shakes. Then increase your overall food intake as well to get lots of extra calories. Investing in a mass gainer supplement
2) Everything else on the shelf in the supplement store. It's just not worth the money and you don't have the time to educate yourself on how to balance all the supplements you can buy.
What you should DEFINITELY NOT take
1) Steroids. These are never worth it. There are too many side effects and too many risks for your future and for the purity of the injections. There is no short cut to hard work.