In the world of sports, the smallest advantage can make an enormous difference in the outcome of the „battle". A substance that improves an athlete's strength, speed, or endurance is called an ergogenic aid. "Ergogenic" means the potential to increase work output. These supplements make you faster, better, leaner and stronger.
The most effective ergogenic aids are both dangerous and illegal: stimulants, anabolic steroids, and human growth hormone, but numerous natural, safe and effective options are marketed as alternatives.
These natural performance enhancers are a whole wide category of products! By these mechanism, we can create the following category of performance enhancer supplements:
- Energy Boosters
- Anti-acidic formulas
- Anticatabolic supplements
- Regeneration enhancers
Energy enhancers
When you have ample energy, it is easier to feel happy, positive and excited about things. However, low energy makes performing everyday tasks extremely difficult. Energy enhancers are products intended to give a boost in the gym or anywhere else you may find yourself needing one. They stimulate and enhance your body and mind during everyday activities, when you need that little 'pick-me-up'.
They also increase energy levels, improve sense of well being, and intensify mental alertness, wakefulness and focus. This combination results in enhanced performance in school, work, workouts, etc.
The central ingredient in most energy enhancers is caffeine, the same stimulant found in coffee or tea, often in the form of guarana, kola nut or year mate. In addition these products usually contain creatine, l-carnitine, taurine, ginseng, green-tea extract and other herbs.
These products:
- boost energy level,
- speed up your metabolism and burn body fat faster,
- support alertness and brain function,
- suppress appetite to manage caloric intake.
Anti-acidic supplements
When we exercise, especially when it's high intensity exercise, our bodies accumulate a large amount of hydrogen ions, causing our muscles' pH to drop (become more acidic).
As our muscles pH quickly drops, their ability to contract forcibly and maintain a high level of performance throughout your workout session. Not being able to perform and maintain forceful muscular contractions and push your body to the limit during your workout session, seriously hampers your ability to maximally overload your muscles and force new muscle gains.
Anti-acidic supplements help stabilize muscular pH and help maintain a high level of performance. These supplements usually contains carnosine and beta-alanine.
Carnosine is a naturally occurring di-peptide that is found in both type 1 and type 2 muscle fibers, but is in significantly higher concentrations in type 2 fibers. Type 2 muscle fibers are primarily used in high intensity strength workouts and are most responsive to muscular growth. There are a handful of ways carnosine is thought to impact performance but its most studied function, and the focus of this article, is its role as an intracellular buffer. Carnosine helps stabilize muscular pH by soaking up hydrogen ions (H+) that are released at an accelerated rate during exercise.
Beta-alanine's performance benefits are not direct but realized through its ability to boost the synthesis of carnosine. When you ingest carnosine intact, most of it is broken down in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract into its constituent amino acids, beta-alanine and histidine. Histidine is already present in high concentrations in muscle, while beta-alanine is only present only in small amounts. You are better off, from both efficiency and a financial standpoint, taking beta-alanine directly.
Anticatabolic supplements
Net protein balance is equal to muscle protein synthesis minus muscle protein breakdown, eliciting increases in lean muscle mass can be achieved not only by increasing protein synthesis but also by decreasing protein breakdown. A number of supplements are marketed for that endeavor.
Regeneration enhancers
Although muscle stimulation occurs in the gym lifting weights, muscle growth occurs afterward during rest. Without adequate regeneration, muscles do not have an opportunity to recover and build. About eight hours of sleep a night and a specialized diet is desirable for the bodybuilder to be refreshed. In addition, a number of supplements are marketed for promoting the regeneration process.
These supplements are especially important for athletes and bodybuilders who endure a high level of stress with their focused workouts.
Recovery supplements can enhance the metabolism and most importantly, trigger healthy cellular repair after a workout.
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Performance enhancers
