Omega-3s probably aren’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think of improving strength adaptations, but a recent study by Heileson et al. (2023) found that fish oil supplementation significantly improved both absolute and relative upper-body (bench press) and relative lower-body (squat) strength compared to resistance training alone.
Study Overview
• Twenty-one recreationally trained men and women (aged 18-40) completed a 10-week resistance training program (three days per week).
• Participants received either 4.5 g of fish oil per day or a placebo.
• The fish oil group experienced significantly greater strength gains:
Bench press 1RM: +17.6% vs. +7.3% in placebo (p = .011).
Squat 1RM: +29.3% vs. +17.9% in placebo (p = .045).
Key Considerations
• The 4.5 g daily dose may be necessary to see these effects; lower doses might not yield similar results.
• Participants were recreationally trained with a body fat percentage of ≤26% (men) or ≤36% (women)—findings may not generalize to beginners.
• Strength improvements were assessed using the bench press and squat, so applicability to other exercises remains uncertain.
Study link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36822153/