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Best Greens Powder for Athletes

Best Greens Powders For Athletes

Most greens powders are typically marketed towards anyone and everyone, certain greens powders are specifically targeted towards athletes and will benefit an athlete’s life the most significantly.

As someone that used to be a triathlete, I know that I would have jumped at the chance to consume a greens powder that would not only provide me with essential nutrients and boost my immune system but increase my energy levels and boost my strength.

So, if you’re an athlete, don’t miss out on the opportunity of taking an effective greens powder every day – it’s only going to benefit you and improve your performance, so it’s a win-win!

Whether it’s greens for endurance athletes or greens for strength athletes, there’s a powder out there to benefit every type of athlete – so think about what kind of benefits you’re looking for, and hopefully, this article can help you to find the perfect greens powder for you.

I am going to take a look at the best 5 greens powders for athletes!

So, if you’re keen to learn about what athletes should be looking for in a greens powder or you’re ready to find out which greens powder will benefit your sports lifestyle the most, continue reading!

Exercising in the gym

Best 5 Greens Powders for Athletes

There is little doubt that AG1 by Athletic Greens is the leader for greens powders for athletes and less active consumers.

But is this the best choice when considering powdered greens? There are contenders that I believe could be more suitable for those active people who aren't competing and want to ensure they are getting the best nutrients in the OPTIMAL dosages.

1 SuperGreen Tonik – Best Dosing & Transparent Labeling

Supergreen tonik mixing in the kitchen

As SuperGreen Tonik is a brand centered around transparency, I would firstly like to let you know, this is my super greens brand!

SuperGreen Tonik is marketed as the ULTIMATE FUEL FOR BODY AND MIND because its nutrient-dense formula benefits everyone and anyone, not just athletes.

There are ingredients within the formula that provide the benefits that athletes are looking for.

As well as providing essential daily nutrients, SuperGreen Tonik provides an array of impressive ingredients for the consumer – increased energy levels, increase focus, reduced anxiety, better sleep, and boosted immune system.

So, although the formula isn’t necessarily targeted specifically towards athletes, athletes can benefit from consuming this formula. It contains all the vitamins/minerals needed and is one of the few brands that has dedicated nutrients for the body and MIND.

This formula focused on providing the most effective dosages – this means it's going to work better!

Being a fully transparent brand, SuperGreen Tonik has a fully disclosed ingredients label, meaning the consumer can see exactly how much of each ingredient they’re consuming, and all ingredients are sufficiently dosed, meaning the claimed benefits will actually occur.

Supergreen Tonik stands out from the super greens crowd because its focus is on less is more, with a formula focused on providing the most effective dosages. This means it's going to work better!

In addition, the formula tastes great and is available at an affordable cost.

Pros

  • Fully disclosed ingredients label
  • Sufficiently dosed ingredients
  • Tastes great
  • 365-day money-back guarantee

Cons

  • Not NSF Certified For Sport
  • Not the cheapest when buying just one tub

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I have also compared Athletic Greens vs Supergreen Tonik to see how my brand stacks up against this brand.

If you’re interested in seeing my fully comprehensive and unbiased review of Supergreen Tonik.

2 Athletic Greens (AG1) – NSF Certified For Sport

Athletic Greens (AG1) Pouch

Athletic Greens is an incredibly popular greens powder for athletes, hence the name!

In fact, although this formula is marketed towards everyone and anyone now, it was originally made to provide athletes with a dose of nutrients daily.

Athletic Greens claims that the formula will increase energy levels, protect cells from radical damage, boost the immune system, and support the digestive system. Of course, the formula is also supposed to provide the consumer with essential daily nutrients needed for the best possible state of health.

What makes Athletic Greens one of the most impressive green powders for athletes is that the formula is NSF Certified For Sport. This means that every batch of the formula is tested extensively to check that it’s free from banned substances.

Having an NSF Certified For Sport certification is so useful for athletes because they know straight away that they can consume this formula without having to worry about consuming any banned substances.

So, Athletic Greens does contain a wide range of potent ingredients and the formula as a whole is NSF Certified For Sport, which is a huge bonus. Having personally consumed the Athletic Greens formula, I also know it's a greens powder that tastes good, so that helps.

However, the formula is made up of proprietary blends, which in my eyes, is a huge letdown. If you do consume this formula, you just have to hope that the brand has enough experience in this field to add a sufficient amount of each ingredient.

Pros

  • NSF Certified For Sport
  • Formulated for athletic lifestyle
  • Tastes good!

Cons

  • The formula is made up of proprietary blends
  • More expensive than other formulas
If you’re interested, you can see my full review of Athletic Greens.

3 Strong Greens – Certified Drug Free by the BSCG

BPN Strong Greens tub

Strong Greens, by Bare Performance Nutrition (BPN), is certainly a greens powder marketed towards athletes. The entire BPN brand is focused on increasing exercise performance, improving physique, and increasing fitness levels.

The Strong Greens formula is labeled as a nutrient powerhouse formula because of the wide range of potent greens ingredients in the formula that provide essential nutrients and impressive health benefits.

BPN claims that the formula will increase energy levels, support the digestive system, boost the immune system, and help consumers to function at their peak performance level every day.

The Strong Greens formula is also Certified Drug Free by the Banned Substance Control Group for substances on the WADA prohibited list. So, although it’s not NSF Certified For Sport, the formula has still been intensely examined to ensure it doesn’t contain any banned substances – obviously, this is a huge bonus for athletes!

On the formula’s ingredients label, the amounts of most ingredients have been shown, but the super greens ingredients exist within a proprietary blend. Although this is a shame, it’s refreshing to see that at least some of the ingredients have their amounts disclosed.

The taste of the Strong Greens formula is pretty much the main reason there are negative reviews about the formula – it tastes like a lemon-flavored cough sweet! However, the taste can be disguised easily in smoothies, and the price is reasonable

Pros

  • All BPN products are formulated to aid athletes
  • Certified Drug Free by the BSCG
  • Some information about ingredient amounts

Cons

  • Super greens ingredients exist within a proprietary blend
  • Not great tasting!

I have also compared Athletic Greens vs Strong Greens to see which brand came out on top.

If you’re interested in seeing my full review of BPN Strong Greens.

4 Orgain Superfoods powder – Greens with Protein

Orgain Superfood tub

Orgain Superfoods powder is a popular powder that contains 50 organic superfood ingredients, as well as one billion probiotics. This formula is typically marketed towards a wide range of people, not just athletes.

However, Orgain does also produce superfood powders and greens powders with added protein (both vegan and not vegan). So, if you’re an athlete looking for a protein boost as well as all of the benefits from a superfood powder, looking at these products could be a good idea.

However, looking at this Superfood powder, the main benefits of it are that increases energy levels, boost the digestive system and the immune system, pushes toxins from the body, and protects cells from radical damage.

The formula also contains an organic sprouts blend, meaning the formula is rich in protein and will aid with building muscle.

Unfortunately, the Orgain formula is made up of proprietary blends, which means that the consumer has to trust that the brand has added a sufficient amount of each ingredient into the formula.

Nonetheless, the formula is fully organic, contains a wide range of superfood ingredients as well as probiotics, tastes good, and is available at a reasonably low cost.

Pros

  • Contains 50 superfood ingredients
  • Protein-rich and other protein product options

Cons

  • Proprietary blends make up the formula – not transparent
If you’re interested in seeing my full review of Orgain.

5 Opti Greens 50 – Worth Mentioning

Opti Greens 50 tub

Opti Greens, by the health and fitness brand 1st Phorm, is promoted by an array of impressive brand athletes, from hybrid athlete and coach Don Brown to certified personal trainer and influencer Jenna Fail.

So, if you’re looking for a greens powder for athletes, you will probably come across this formula!

Although the Opti Greens 50 formula does contain a wide of potent super greens ingredients and other ingredients that specifically benefit athletes, such as beet juice and rice bran, it’s not actually marketed towards athletes.

In fact, 1st Phorm sells the Opti Greens 50 formula as a greens formula packed with nutrients that will boost the immune system, push toxins from the body and support the digestive system, without mention of benefits for athletes.

Nonetheless, these are still impressive health benefits that are necessary for athletes if they are to be successful.

The Opti Greens 50 formula is reasonably priced, tastes good, and is produced by a popular and trusted brand. However, the problem is that the formula is made up of proprietary blends.

As mentioned above with Athletic Greens, proprietary blends make it impossible to know if the dosing is optimal for you the consumer.

Pros

  • Potent ingredients that benefit athletes
  • Contains probiotics and digestive enzymes
  • Endorsed by popular athletes

Cons

  • Made up of proprietary blends
  • Not NSF Certified For Sport

I even compared Athletic greens vs Opti Greens, and so if your unsure which one is best check this out too.

If you’re interested in seeing my fully comprehensive review of Opti Greens 50.

What Should Athletes Look For In A Greens Powder

If you're active you need to ensure you're getting great nutrients especially if you want to get the best out of your training.

Just like protein is essential for building muscle, greens and micronutrients are crucial for wellness, recovery, and performance.

Unless you're competing at a high level in professional sport you don't necessarily need to pick a greens powder with NSF Certification or Informed-Sport certified. These bodies essential that all the ingredients in the formula adhere to the guidelines for what can and can't be consumed during sporting competition.

So, if you're a competitive amateur or just want to ensure you're consuming the best nutrition then a greens powder without these certifications is fine (and in some cases can contain better dosing!).

Active woman drinking SuperGreen TONIK

NSF Certification For Sport

If you’re an athlete, you’ll know just how important it is for you to consume the right ingredients and avoid banned and controversial substances at all costs.

Luckily, you don’t have to search through long lists of ingredients on the lookout for banned ingredients. Instead, there’s a very simple way you can make sure you choose a formula without any ingredients that could compromise your integrity and career – by choosing an NSF Certified For Sport or Informed-Sport Certified greens powder.

If a product is NSF Certified For Sport, it means that it’s been certified by NSF International (the most respected certification organization in the world) to be free from banned substances, masking agents, and unsafe levels of contaminants.

The NSF Certified For Sport certification is also the only certification program that’s recognized by the US Anti-Doping Agency, as well as a wide range of national sports leagues.

So, if you want to be certain that you’re not consuming a formula with banned substances, which is particularly important if being an athlete is your career due to the fact you will have to be regularly drugs tested, you need to choose a product that’s NSF Certified For Sport.

NSF Certified for Sport Logo

Or, Informed-Sport Certification

Informed-Sport is also an organization that tests for WADA (World Anti Doping Agency) banned substances.

Although the Informed-Sport testing methods are slightly less comprehensive, the organization’s certification is still well respected.

If you’re less concerned about being drug tested but you still want the peace of mind that the substance you’re consuming has been tested for banned substances, you could look for an Informed-Sport certification.

Informed Sport Logo

Powerful Ingredients That Will Provide Specific Athletic Benefits

Although green powders typically contain similar super greens ingredients, there’s so much variation when it comes to other ingredients within formulas.

Obviously, if you’re an athlete and you’re using a greens powder as an everyday supplement, you’re going to want to choose one that contains ingredients that provide lots of health benefits for you.

Although super greens ingredients such as kale, spirulina, spinach, ashwagandha, and chlorella do increase energy levels, boost the immune system, and supply the body with antioxidants, there are other ingredients that you should look out for!

Specifically, you could try to find a greens powder with beet juice powder in it as this increases energy levels, sprouts because they increase protein intake, and flaxseed because it aids recovery.

Ideas for Mixing Powdered Greens

Added Protein

As mentioned above about sprouts being so useful because of the high protein content, protein is a really important part of your diet as an athlete.

Therefore, you may want to choose a greens powder with added protein, whether that be added whey protein, or whether the ingredients within the formula actually already provide a substantial amount of protein.

Due to the fact that most greens powders are vegetarian or vegan, you will notice that if there is an added ingredient specifically to provide protein, it will probably be pea protein.

Pea protein is actually a great source of protein, whether you’re vegan or a meat-eater. It contains all 9 essential amino acids, is a rich source of iron, aids with building muscle, keeps you feeling full, and benefits heart health.

PRO TIP: If your favorite greens powder doesn't include protein then you can always look to mix your greens with one.

If you're keen to choose a greens powder that contains protein, take a look at these brands:

Sufficiently Dosed Ingredients

Last, but definitely not least, you need to choose a greens powder with a sufficient amount of each ingredient, and avoid proprietary blends!

If you want the ingredients within a greens powder to actually benefit you, you need to make sure you’re consuming a sufficient amount of each ingredient.

To make sure you are, you obviously need to be able to see the information about the amount of each ingredient. Therefore, you need to choose a formula with a fully disclosed ingredients label and try to avoid proprietary blends where possible.

Now, It’s Up To You!

Now that you know what you should be looking for in a greens powder for athletes, and you know some of the best greens powders for athletes, it’s up to you which one you go out and purchase!

If you need any more help deciding on a specific formula, you might find it useful to check out my fully comprehensive reviews on the best greens supplements.

Adam Author

About the LifeHacker Guy

Hi, I'm Adam the founder of the LifeHacker Guy.

I have a First Class Honours degree in Sports Science from Brighton University, specialising in exercise physiology and nutrition. In my youth I was a competitive Triathlete and long-distance runner placing top 10 in most triathlon races I completed.

Since suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, I moved into web development, after a couple of years I then moved onto developing a number of online businesses. I've recently taken a sabbatical and I'm now looking to make big changes in my life, hopefully this may resonate with you - join me in my journey!

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