Dr. Andy Galpin's Supplement Protocol: The Sports Performance Stack, Available at X-Optimum

Dr. Andy Galpin is a professor of kinesiology at California State University, Fullerton, and a performance scientist who has spent years translating muscle physiology into protocols for elite athletes. If you have heard him on Huberman Lab, Diary of a CEO, or his own Perform with Dr. Andy Galpin series, you already know the tone: dose by bodyweight, time inflammation instead of smothering it, and treat sleep as a training variable, not a luxury.

This article is an educational map of the Andy Galpin supplement stack he has discussed publicly (podcasts, Twitter/X, and interviews). X-Optimum has no affiliation with Dr. Galpin, Momentous, or Thorne. We are matching publicly named compounds to products that sit on the same biological pathways.

Galpin's core idea is simple. Training creates a signal. Recovery turns that signal into tissue. Supplements only earn a slot if they speed the phosphagen system, raise nitric oxide delivery, blunt excess inflammatory load after the adaptive window, or keep the HPA axis from cooking the next session.

1. Creatine Monohydrate: Recycle ATP, Then Recover Faster

Galpin has been blunt on creatine. People treat it as a hypertrophy powder. He treats it as a recovery molecule that also happens to grow muscle because you can train again sooner.

Creatine phosphate donates a phosphate to ADP so you can recycle ATP during short, high-output work. That is the phosphagen system. The same phosphate buffer shows up in the brain under sleep debt and cognitive load, which is why he has shared diagrams covering muscle, cognition, and metabolic health, not just "pumps."

He uses creatine monohydrate because it is the most studied form and the cheapest honest gram. The "5 grams a day" line is a starting point. On Huberman Lab and in follow-up clips he scales dose to size: closer to 3 g for a 125 lb athlete, 7-10 g for a 275-330 lb football player. Powder over capsules when you are taking that much.

Optimized Creatine Monohydrate ($21.99) is monohydrate, not a proprietary creatine blend. Use it as the phosphagen layer of a Galpin-style protocol. Pair it with Brain & Focus Formula ($17.99) if you want the cognitive ATP conversation in the same stack, or the Mental Power Bundle ($46.99) when you want creatine plus focus hardware in one cart.

He has mentioned Thorne creatine as a brand he has used. The molecule is creatine monohydrate either way.

2. Citrulline and Dietary Nitrates: Nitric Oxide for Work, Not for Instagram Veins

For endurance and work capacity, Galpin has publicly discussed two nitric-oxide routes.

L-citrulline (about 6-8 g, ~60 minutes pre-session) feeds the arginine–NOS pathway and raises plasma arginine more reliably than arginine itself, because citrulline skips first-pass arginase. More nitric oxide means smoother endothelial signaling, better blood flow, and less of the "engine is on, pipes are tight" feeling mid-set.

Beet extract / dietary nitrates (he has cited roughly 5-8 mmol of nitrates, ~90 minutes pre-exercise) use the nitrate–nitrite–NO pathway, which is partly independent of NOS. That is why beets still show up in endurance protocols even when someone already takes citrulline.

Optimized Nitric Oxide ($17.99) is the catalog match for the citrulline / eNOS / cGMP side of that conversation. Superfood Reds Formula ($19.99) is a food-matrix polyphenol and nitrate-adjacent reds blend, not a 5-8 mmol beet-extract dose. Use it as the dietary-nitrate direction, not as a lab-weighed beet shot.

If you train hard and also care about endothelial aging, the Men's Bundle ($43.99) is a convenient way to keep NO support next to a male multi. It is not Galpin's protocol. It is catalog overlap.

3. Curcumin Timing: Do Not Kill the Adaptive Signal

On Huberman Lab, Galpin was specific about curcumin. He likes it for muscle soreness because curcumin modulates inflammatory signaling. He also said timing matters. The first hours after training are when inflammation is part of the adaptation. He has recommended waiting at least a few hours post-session, then using something like 500 mg, three times a day, of a more bioavailable curcumin (he has pointed at Meriva / phosphatidylcholine forms).

X-Optimum does not sell a standalone curcumin SKU. We will not invent one. If curcumin is non-negotiable in your copy of his stack, buy a tested phytosome product elsewhere and keep the rest of the hardware here.

What we can support is the "do not smother recovery with random antioxidants at the wrong time" rule. Galpin's logic matches Asprey's public note that high-dose vitamin C right after a workout can blunt some training adaptations. Time the anti-inflammatory layer. Do not dump it on the session.

4. Omega-3s: Membrane Hardware, Honest Gap

Galpin has recommended 2-5 g per day of omega-3s for inflammation handling, muscle recovery, and the broader literature on mood and membranes. That is a real, public recommendation.

X-Optimum does not currently sell fish oil or krill oil. Treat EPA/DHA as an honest gap. Do not substitute collagen or reds powder and pretend it is the same lipid class.

5. Glutamine: Nitrogen for Satellite-Cell Proliferation

Galpin has described glutamine as useful in the proliferation phase of muscle repair: satellite cells need nitrogen to build nucleotide bases while they divide. He has cited high athletic doses (around 10 g morning and 10 g evening) and noted the downside is low because the body can route glutamine into several pathways.

We do not sell standalone L-glutamine. Collagen peptides are glycine-proline-hydroxyproline rich, not a 20 g glutamine protocol. Grass-Fed Bovine Collagen Peptides Powder (Chocolate) ($24.99) can sit in a connective-tissue slot. It is not Galpin's glutamine.

6. Ashwagandha and Rhodiola: Stress Modulation, Not Sedation Theater

Galpin has listed ashwagandha and rhodiola rosea as stress-modulation tools for athletes: HPA-axis load, sleep quality, and the ability to come back to the next session without a fried nervous system.

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is the better-studied of the two for serum cortisol and sleep continuity in stressed adults. Rhodiola is more of a fatigue-resistance adaptogen (salidroside / rosavin signaling) than a night-time sedative.

Optimized Ashwagandha ($14.99) is the straight ashwagandha match. Ashwagandha and Shilajit Adaptogen Complex ($17.99) adds fulvic-mineral shilajit if you want adaptogen plus mineral density. Optimized Ayurvedic Complex ($17.99) is a broader Ayurvedic blend for people who already run ashwagandha and want the botanical neighborhood, not a rhodiola isolate.

We do not sell standalone rhodiola. Do not force a mushroom complex into that hole.

7. Sleep Is a Training Variable

Galpin's public sleep work is less "take this gummy" and more "stop wrecking the recovery hardware." When he discusses sleep supplements, the evidence bar is high and melatonin is treated as a tool with a specific job, not a nightly default.

If your bottleneck is sleep onset or night-time arousal (the thing that ruins the next day's phosphocreatine session), the catalog tools are Optimized Sleep Formula ($17.99) and Better Sleep Strips ($17.99). The Optimized Sleep Bundle ($28.99) combines them. Use them as sleep-architecture support, not as a substitute for light, caffeine cutoff, and load management, which is where Galpin actually spends his airtime.

8. Caffeine: Dose to the Athlete, Then Protect the Afternoon

He treats caffeine as an ergogenic with individual dose, not a personality. Pair it with a clean delivery vehicle if coffee is already in the morning protocol. Vitality Mushroom Fusion Coffee ($24.99) or Hemp Protein Fusion Coffee ($23.99) can be that vehicle. They are not Galpin-branded coffee. They are functional coffee if you already drink caffeine before training.

Keep it earlier in the day. Galpin's sleep comments and any serious performance lab will agree on that.

9. Foundational Minerals and a Real Multi

Galpin's published stack conversations center on performance compounds. He still coaches in a world where magnesium, vitamin D, and basic micronutrient coverage decide whether the fancy stuff has a substrate.

Optimized Multivitamin ($17.99) or Optimum Male Multivitamin for Men ($17.99) / Optimum Woman Multivitamin ($17.99) cover the "do not be deficient while you chase 8 g of citrulline" layer. That is hygiene, not the headline of his protocol.

Cross-Reference: Galpin's Public Categories vs X-Optimum

Build Your Sports Performance Stack at X-Optimum

Galpin's public protocol is not a 40-pill biohacker cabinet. It is a short list of compounds with jobs: recycle ATP, open the pipes, let inflammation do its first job then calm it, keep the stress axis from eating recovery, and sleep like the next session depends on it.

Start with creatine. Add nitric oxide support if training volume or endurance is the limiter. Add ashwagandha if cortisol and sleep are the limiter. Buy curcumin, fish oil, glutamine, and rhodiola from tested brands if those slots matter to you. Do not pretend a greens powder is any of those.

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Disclaimer: X-Optimum Wellness has no affiliation with Dr. Andy Galpin, Perform, Huberman Lab, Momentous, or Thorne. This article references publicly available information from Dr. Galpin's interviews, podcasts, and social posts for educational purposes. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider before beginning any new supplement protocol.