Evidence-Based Supplementation Strategies for Wrestlers: A Systematic Review

TL;DR

This review examines dietary supplements used by wrestlers to improve performance, body composition, and recovery.

Contribution

A systematic evaluation of supplement efficacy in wrestlers, focusing on body composition, performance, and recovery.

Findings

Supplements like creatine and HMB-FA improved recovery and exercise performance.

Sodium citrate and spirulina acted as buffering agents.

Thyme tea improved antioxidant capacity.

Abstract

Wrestling is a popular combat sport that requires muscular strength, power, agility, and endurance. Weight classes have motivated wrestlers to compete at a lower weight to optimise power-to-weight ratio and performance. To achieve these characteristics, athletes may use dietary supplements, however, their efficacy in wrestlers has not been systematically evaluated.

The purpose was to systematically review the literature to determine the efficacy of dietary supplements to improve body composition, physiological status, and performance in wrestlers.

A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, ProQuest Medline, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Scopus on the 21st of January 2024 and updated on the 6th of January 2025. Studies were included if the participants were healthy wrestlers ingesting any type of dietary supplement in comparison to a control. Data associated with intervention type and characteristics, target populations, outcomes, and analysis methods were extracted.

A total of 24 eligible original articles were included that assessed various supplementation strategies on body composition, exercise performance, and metabolic markers in wrestlers. Individual studies revealed significant effects of sodium citrate, creatine monohydrate, spirulina, green tea and oolong tea extracts, and branched-chain amino acids on body mass or composition. β-Hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (HMB-FA), creatine monohydrate, and iron supplementation improved recovery and may improve exercise performance. Beet-root juice supplementation enhanced muscular strength and balance. BCAA supplementation produced mixed results on muscle damage biomarkers and performance, while sodium citrate, creatine, and spirulina can act as buffering agents. Thyme tea appears to improve antioxidant capacity.

Overall, individual studies show some promise for several dietary supplements to alter body mass and body composition, improve exercise recovery and performance, delay fatigue, and modify serum biomarkers; nevertheless, effect sizes were often small, and results were often mixed.

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