Last week someone at the gym told me that his wife regularly made smoothies with added protein and asked if I recommended protein or any other specific nutrients for supplementation.
I said that eating mostly whole, minimally processed foods is the best foundational nutrition strategy—but supplementation is often helpful for the sake of convenience. If he was regularly not getting enough protein, supplementing with it would be a perfectly reasonable option.
Then I mentioned one of the other two nutrients that I most often recommend for supplementation: omega-3 fatty acids. (Creatine, which I wrote about here, is the other—and both have been part of my daily routine for more than 25 years.)
Of course, the same “whole food vs. supplementing for convenience” idea applies here too. More on that in a minute.
But regardless of how you consume them, omega-3s provide a variety of health benefits—including one that was recently studied in relation to strength training.
Can omega-3s influence training results?
Omega-3s—especially the types called EPA and DHA—are best known for supporting heart and eye health, brain function, and inflammation regulation. But some recent research was also conducted to determine how they might affect the body’s adaptation to strength training.
In an eight-week study done in 2025, participants who were already regular lifters were divided into two groups. Both groups completed a structured and supervised, three session per week lifting program. One group also consumed just over 3 grams per day of omega-3s (roughly 1,600 mg EPA and 1,200 mg DHA), while the other group did only the training.
At the end of the study, the omega-3 group improved across a wide range of markers:
- LDL cholesterol (the “bad” type) decreased
- HDL cholesterol (the “good” type) increased
- Triglycerides decreased
- Inflammatory markers (e.g. c-reactive protein, interleukin-6) dropped substantially
- Antioxidant markers improved
- Several brain-related markers (e.g. dopamine, serotonin) improved
Strength and power/speed measures also improved, including:
- Bench press and squat 1-rep max (1RM)
- Grip strength
- Vertical (countermovement) jump height
- 10-meter sprint time
- Agility (measured by the Illinois agility test)
Meanwhile, the training-only group showed little change on those same measures—which is interesting when observed from two different perspectives.
First, eight weeks of strength training should produce some meaningful progress, even in previously trained individuals. Results do usually take longer to appear when you’re already somewhat advanced. Still, minimal progress is unexpected when reasonable nutrition practices are in place (see below).
Second, considering that numerous nutrition-related factors were tightly controlled during the study—including caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine use, overall diet, sleep, and fluid intake—the omega-3s appeared to play a meaningful role in the improvements.
What this means (and what it doesn’t)
Results like these don’t mean that omega-3s are magic. It’s unlikely that either strength or health markers would meaningfully improve absent of:
- Foundational nutrition practices
- A regular sleep schedule
- Resistance and cardiovascular exercise
But the results do suggest that omega-3s help the body respond more effectively to the training and nutrition practices that you’re already doing.
In other words, omega-3s don’t replace good training or nutrition—they support them.
Increasing omega-3 intake: food first, supplements as needed
Fatty, cold-water fish are the most reliable food sources of EPA and DHA. Examples—with quantities that provide roughly similar amounts to those used in the study—include:
- Salmon (6 oz)
- Sardines (7.5 oz)
- Herring (5 oz)
- Mackerel (9 oz)
Other sources include:
- Grass-fed beef
- Eggs (usually of the free-range sort)
- Omega-3 fortified dairy
- Some algae
Quantities of EPA and DHA in these sources are much lower than in fish, but even small amounts contribute to your daily total.
Of course, fish oil supplements can also be used for both daily consistency and convenience. Just make sure to read the label for the quantity of EPA and DHA, as not all of the total fat on the nutrition label will come from those fatty acids. (Look for a large ratio of EPA plus DHA to total fat.)
Putting it into practice
This week, consider taking a small step toward increasing your omega-3 intake by adding one of the foods above to a couple meals.
Then over the following weeks, note how you recover from and progress with any training that you’re doing.
And remember: as with most nutrition strategies, consistency matters more than perfection.