I recently covered my updated supplement regiment for 2017. While determining what I wanted to take, when, as well as how much it was going to cost me, I found myself creating an Excel spreadsheet. In this post, I would like to share my spreadsheet as well as my findings. Read on to learn more!
CrossFit + Supplements
Let me start with CrossFit and supplements. In general, CrossFit does not push supplements. Protein is common in the fitness world, and CrossFit is no exception, so I mean no supplements besides protein. With that said, there are some known players in the CrossFit protein market. One of the biggest is a company called SFH. SFH is known for its gluten-free, non-GMO, grass-fed protein. They offer two primary types: Pure and Recovery. Pure is basically “pure” protein, while Recovery is protein + supplements. I have been taking both for a long time, but one thing I was always curious about is how much more cost-effective it would be to mix the ingredients in Recovery myself.
Supplements: Cost and Quality
As I have discussed in the past, there are many supplements on the market, and they differ drastically in many dimensions, including cost and quality. It can be challenging to compare supplements across vendors. As a result, many people find a supplement + vendor combo and never (rarely?) look back. Over time, this means you are likely not getting the best deal.
Supplement Calculator
Given the pain points I discussed above, I decided to write a supplement calculator in Excel. The goal was to compare vendors, determine my cost of supplements per month, and understand the delta between pre-mixed supplements versus mixing myself. I have come up with a 1.0 version and something that I hope to enhance in the future. Today, it requires manual inputs and manual comparisons, but I would like it to automatically update and be able to pull in additional details in the future.
Before I share the calculator, I would like to share some of the initial findings:
- SFH Recovery is approximately 30% more expensive than mixing your own supplements
- SFH Recovery contains all the supplements I want, but some are significantly higher quantities than expected (e.g., CoQ10 — which is quite expensive)
- Buying in bulk usually saves you a ton of money (duh)
- If you just do whey protein and creatine, it is fairly cheap; carbs and casein add significant cost
And with that, here is the 1.0 version of the supplement calculator: supplement-calculator-v1.0. Let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment.
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