Performance Enhancing Supplement

Supplements that improve performance are becoming more and more well-liked among athletes and fitness fans. These supplements are made to boost recuperation, maintain general health, and improve athletic performance. In this blog post, we’ll talk about five safe, efficient supplements that can help you perform better in your sport. As a disclaimer, understand it’s best practice to always ask your doctor about any supplements if you have any pre-existing conditions and that this review is for informational purposes.

Creatine Monohydrate

It’s one of the most researched supplements in history and our muscle cells contain creatine monohydrate, a naturally occurring substance. It contributes to the synthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the main source of energy for our muscles during vigorous exercise. Athletes can boost their muscular creatine stores by using creatine monohydrate supplements, which can enhance their strength, power, and endurance.

Creatine monohydrate supplementation has been shown in numerous trials to increase muscle strength and power in athletes, including sprinters, weightlifters, and football players. Creatine monohydrate has also been demonstrated to enhance endurance in sports like cycling and running. Current research over the past decade has looked even beyond the realm of improving physical performance and has looked into other physiological benefits from brain health and improving conditions associated with older age. Overall creatine monohydrate is a safe and effective substance for performance enhancing supplementation at even 5g of daily consumption.

Beta-Alanine

Carnosine, a substance that helps buffer acid in our muscles during exercising, is produced from the amino acid beta-alanine. Athletes can boost their performance during high-intensity exercise by taking beta-alanine supplements, which raise the amounts of carnosine in their muscles. An effective dose of beta-alanine supplementation prior to strength training or vigorous exercise is between 2-5 grams per day during an initial 2-4 week period.

As a performance enhancing supplement, beta-alanine supplements have been found to enhance performance in sports like sprinting, rowing, and cycling. Beta-alanine has also been demonstrated to increase muscle endurance during intense exercise. One of the more common side effects which differ from person to person based off dosages is a itchyness sensation, called paresthesia, that typically runs briefly after digestion, but is not harmful. With its wide availability as a supplement by itself or typically found in pre-workouts or energy drinks, beta-alanine is considered a safe performance enhancing supplementation.

Caffeine

One of the world’s most widely used drug and performance enhancing supplement, caffeine, is found in coffee, tea, and energy drinks. It functions as a stimulant by preventing the effects of adenosine, a substance that can make us feel drowsy and exhausted. Caffeine can improve alertness, focus, and energy levels by blocking adenosine, which can enhance our ability to exercise.

Numerous studies have demonstrated that adding caffeine to a diet can enhance athletic performance in sports like team sports, cycling, and running. Caffeine has also been demonstrated to enhance mental function and lessen weariness during exercise. It is considered to be safe and effective as a performance enhancing supplementation to take between 3-6 milligrams per kilogram of body weight (mg/kg). This would come out to approximetly 204-408mg of caffeine for somone who weighs 150 lbs (68 kg). 

Fish Oil

Omega-3 fatty acids, which are necessary lipids that our systems are unable to create on their own, are abundant in fish oil, a dietary supplement. Numerous health advantages of omega-3 fatty acids include lowering inflammation, enhancing heart health, and promoting brain function. Omega-3 fatty acids have also been shown to enhance athletic performance by lowering soreness and enhancing muscle repair.

Performance enhancing supplement, like fish oil, hold a lot of physiological benefits. According to studies, an athletes’ muscle recovery and pain can be improved by taking supplements of fish oil. Athletes’ lung health and endurance have also been proven to benefit from fish oil (18). Some debate might come up on recommended dosagages for fish oil supplementation, but it is considered between 1-3 grams of combined EPA and DHA per day.

Whey Protein

Whey protein is a source of protein that is derived from milk and acts as a performance enhancing supplements. It’s rich in essential amino acids (EAA), which provide the building blocks of muscle protein synthesis (MPS) – which can improve their muscle recovery and growth. These EAA’s are not produced by the body and we can only introduce them to our body by the food we ingest or supplements we take.

Whey protein supplementation has been shown in numerous trials to increase muscular strength and hypertrophy. In literature review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, researchers concluded that whey protein supplementation significantly increased muscle strength and growth when paired with resistance training. As a performance enhancing supplement, you can consume anywhere between 20-40 grams of whey protein post-exercise. It is important to note that you should consider whey protein as a sport enhancing supplementation as part of a balanced-nutritional approach where you also consume dietary protein.

Citrulline Mallate

A popular performance enhancement supplement used by athletes to enhance exercise performance and lessen fatigue is citrulline malate. It consists of the organic salt malate and the amino acid citrulline. Nitric oxide (produced by the body) is produced by citrulline and can enhance blood flow and oxygen delivery to the muscles during exercise. Malate can aid in lowering the buildup of lactic acid in the muscles, which can assist in preventing tiredness and enhancing endurance.

Citrulline malate supplementation has been proven to enhance exercise performance, particularly during high-intensity, brief-duration exercises like weightlifting and sprinting. Citrulline malate supplementation can enhance muscular endurance by lowering muscle fatigue and raising energy production, according to a meta-analysis of 12 studies. Another study discovered that using citrulline malate supplements can increase peak power output and lessen muscular pain. An effective dose of citrulline malate ranges from 6 to 8 grams per day – in a study involving resistance-trained men, a single dose of 8 grams of citrulline malate was found to improve upper and lower body power output during multiple sets of bench press and back squat exercises.

Final Thoughts

As far as performance enhancing supplement conversations go, this is a perfect place to stop and explore which areas you might need to improve with supplementation. Prior to starting any additional supplementation, I highly recommend looking over your entire nutrition, eating habits, and lifestyle habits. Previous blog entries discussed the effects of CBD supplementation and how your sleep can affect your recovery. The benefits behind some of the performance enhancing supplementation discussed can’t be overlooked along with the history of research to prove their individual effectiveness.