Few individuals meet the criteria for having the brains AND the brawn. But Layne Norton is certainly one of those people.
Norton has gained a lot of popularity over the years due to his impressive background (and success) in a variety of areas, especially bodybuilding, nutrition, powerlifting, academic research, and supplementation.
To fuel his brain and body, Norton places a high priority on eating right, working out often, practicing stress management and other lifestyle habits, and taking a selection of highly researched supplements.
In this article, we’ll go over exactly what supplements Layne Norton uses to help optimize his mental and physical performance and to improve overall health.
About Layne Norton
Layne Norton, PhD is one of the most well-known figures in the nutrition and fitness space, with nearly one million followers on Instagram and over 350 thousand YouTube subscribers. He earned his BS in Biochemistry and PhD in Nutritional Sciences, and has authored/co-authored numerous scientific publications.
Over the years, he’s used his nutritional knowledge and expertise to help thousands of individuals. In fact he is the owner of Biolayne and Carbon Diet Coach, which are both centered around optimized diet and nutrition coaching.
Beyond this, Norton is also a very prominent and successful weightlifter and bodybuilder. In fact, Norton has won seven bodybuilding titles and six powerlifting titles, so he sure knows his way around the iron to say the least.
Lastly, Norton is also the owner of Outwork Nutrition, which is a vitamin and supplement company he developed in part to provide the best research-backed supplements, many of which he has used over the years.
Layne Norton’s Supplement Summary
With his deep knowledge and experience in nutrition and supplementation, Layne Norton certainly has dabbled around with supplements over the years to find what works best for him.
Norton focuses entirely on supplements that have sound research and have been proven over and over again to be effective.
In fact, he’s even grouped the supplements he takes into tiers, based on the degree of evidence they have.
Below is his exact supplement regimen, grouped by his tier ranking system:
Tier 1
- Whey Protein: Post-workout and/or throughout the day
- Creatine Monohydrate: 5g daily
- Caffeine: Typically 300 to 600mg before workouts
Tier 2
- Rhodiola: Before workouts
- Citrulline Malate: Before workouts
- Beta-Alanine: Before workouts
Tier 3
- Tart Cherry Extract: Post-workout
- Ashwagandha: Post-workout/daily
Others (Unclear if still taking)
- Fish Oil
- Lipoic Acid
- Glucosamine & Chondroitin
Layne Norton’s Supplements
One important point to consider is Norton’s realistic approach to supplementation. Specifically, he has said before that,
“When it comes to the actual truly legal supplements, even the most effective ones, you’re looking at relatively small benefits. But again, that doesn’t mean that you can’t or shouldn’t use them or that doesn’t make sense. It just means that if you’re somebody who’s taking piles of supplements but you don’t even understand how to train hard, you aren’t even consistent with your training and you don’t really pay attention to your nutrition, I mean you’re basically stepping over dollars to pick up pennies essentially”
Certainly sound advice for anyone out there!
Now, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of Norton’s supplement regimen.
Whey Protein
The first supplement in Norton’s “Tier 1” category is whey protein. He takes this for several reasons, all of which he noted on the Art of Manliness podcast, episode #878.
In this segment, Norton said he loves whey protein because “it’s very bioavailable…it has a great amino acid profile, very high in branched-chain amino acids, very high in leucine…”. And beyond this he also likes whey protein simply because it tastes pretty good even in undenatured state, and it’s “very, very inexpensive”.
Norton uses whey protein to reach his overall protein intake (which is around 2 to 2.5g/kg of lean body mass), and also to help him recover from his intense weight-training sessions.
Creatine Monohydrate
Another staple for Norton is creatine, specifically creatine monohydrate. This is a staple for so many other lifters and bodybuilders too, such as Simeon Panda.
It wasn’t entirely definitive what dosage Norton uses but he’s stated multiple times on various platforms that around 5g per day is a great dose for saturating the muscles.
From this YouTube clip, we heard Norton say that “ there is no supplement that has been tested more with better results for increasing lean body mass, for increasing strength.”
Norton has also talked about how creatine may have potential cognitive and brain health benefits.
Ultimately, he’s a big fan of using creatine monohydrate to support optimal strength and workout performance.
He’s also aware that there are other forms, but sticks to creatine monohydrate because it’s the most well-researched and proven to be most effective. In fact, he says that “if you’re using any other form of creatine, I think you’re wasting your money”.
Caffeine
The third supplement that earned Norton’s “Tier 1” status is good ol’ caffeine. In the Art of Manliness podcast, episode #878, Norton said he takes anywhere from 300 to 600mg before a workout, which he knows is a very high dose.
He’ll go on the lower end of this if it’s an upper-body workout and he’ll shoot towards the higher end if it’s a lower-body or otherwise very demanding session.
In that episode, Norton said “caffeine has been shown to block the adenosine receptor, which can improve wakefulness and alertness. It’s also been shown to decrease fatigue and even some studies showing it modestly increases maximal strength”.
So, essentially, Norton takes caffeine to boost his performance and energy levels.
Rhodiola Rosea
Another supplement Layne Norton takes regularly is rhodiola, which is one of his products in “Tier 2”. He mainly uses this as a pre-workout, although the exact dosage isn’t clear.
Norton is aware of rhodiola’s adaptogenic effects and uses it to enhance mental and physical resilience.
Also, on the Huberman Lab Podcast, episode #97, Norton explains, “My anecdotal experience is when I combine that [rhodiola] with caffeine, it tends to smooth out the effects of caffeine. And it can reduce the negative effects of caffeine withdrawal.”
So, not only does he use it for a boost in performance, it helps balance out the possible side effects of high caffeine intake.
Citrulline Malate
In his pre-workout, Norton will also use citrulline malate. On the Huberman Lab podcast episode just mentioned above, Norton said that citrulline “can reduce fatigue and increase time to fatigue…may have some small recovery benefits as well”.
So, he particularly uses it to complete more reps and boost overall workout endurance.
Beta-Alanine
Beta-alanine is one compound that Norton says can definitely be helpful for certain populations, but not everyone.
Specifically, he says it’s beneficial for him due to the high-intensity nature of his workouts, in which sets can last quite a long time.
In an interview with Matt Weik, Norton also noted that beta-alanine “has effects similar to creatine in terms of strength & also seems to work synergistically with creatine”.
Tart Cherry Extract
For recovery, Norton is a fan of tart cherry extract, and believes the research on it is very promising so far. In this YouTube clip, he says, “if you’re worried about recovery…tart cherry extract can reduce delayed-onset muscle soreness…in resistance-trained individuals”.
We also know of many athletes that take tart cherry for these reasons too, such as basketball superstar Steph Curry.
Ashwagandha
Another herbal extract Norton is a fan of is ashwagandha. He classifies this in tier three (along with tart cherry) because, while the research is very good so far, he said there needs to be more of it overall.
But Norton takes ashwagandha to support workout recovery and manage stress levels. Many other individuals, including Peter Attia, use it in their supplement regimen to help with stress and sleep.
Others: Glucosamine & Chondroitin, Fish Oil, Lipoic Acid
In the interview with Matt Weik mentioned earlier, Norton also talked about how he used glucosamine and chondroitin, fish oil, lipoic acid, and a couple others.
However, this interview was from a while ago, and given that he talked about these as much compared to some of the other ones, it’s unclear if he still takes them.
Nonetheless, they definitely still could be a part of his regimen. At the time, Norton said that he used glucosamine and chondroitin for his joints, fish oil “for the blood lipid benefits and its effect on fat metabolism”, and lipoic acid “as an antioxidant for post-workout glucose disposal”.
Conclusion: Layne Norton Supplements
Overall, Layne Norton sticks to a simple regimen using only the most well-researched supplements. He focuses mainly on products that enhance workout performance and cognitive function, which makes sense given the life he lives as a research scientist and powerlifter.
As we mentioned, he’ll be the first to say that no supplement is essential, but he knows they certainly have their place when all other aspects are in order. And ultimately, his regimen appears to work very well and gives him that extra edge he needs to lift just a bit heavier, recover a little quicker, and be that much more mentally sharp.
