How-to Guide

Ergogenic Aids

INTRO

Ergogenic aid:: a supplement that enhances physical performance while training or competing.

These products may improve athletic performance in a couple of different ways. They have often been studied in the context of immediate performance enhancement, and many use them for that purpose. Furthermore, chronic use of certain ergogenic aids may influence long-term adaptations to endurance training, meaning the accumulated changes that result from exercise sessions.

Sounds great, right? But bear in mind that different ergogenic aids work in different ways. And it’s important to note that the effects are not always beneficial. In fact, some substances that are purported to function as ergogenic aids may lessen the training stimulus, so you get less benefit for the effort you’re putting out. What you consume, and when you choose to take it, matters. This guide reviews some of the most well-researched supplements purported to enhance performance and includes information on dosing and other important factors.

PRINCIPLES

Adaptive changes from exercise, such as gains in strength and endurance, arise as follows:

Dietary intake of certain substances can, in theory, affect training adaptations by altering any of these points in the stimulusto-adaptation process.

For instance, they may make harder exercise feel easier thereby enabling an athlete to train longer or harder. As a result, the athlete can increase the exercise stimulus more easily than without the supplement. In fact, the primary mechanism through which many ergogenics work their magic is by allowing greater training intensity or duration.

Another way some ergogenic aids work is by altering cellular responses to exercise-induced stress. These changes in cell signaling could either increase or inhibit endurance training adaptations.

BUFFERING AGENTS

Buffering agents work by delaying the onset of fatigue as you exercise. When you work out intensely, acidosis occurs. Acidosis is increased acidity, also described as a decreased pH level, and is the result of hydrogen (H+) ions increasing in the muscle and blood. When faster energy production is required for higher-intensity exercise, this increased level of H+ ions causes fatigue in several ways:

• Acidosis reduces the rate of energy production via glycolysis (a fast-energy production pathway).

• Acidosis interferes directly with muscular contraction (i.e., peripheral fatigue).

• Acidosis in the blood is signaled to the brain. In turn, the brain reduces the strength of nerve signals for muscle contraction (i.e., central fatigue).

All of these fatiguing forces limit exercise performance.

Skeletal muscle has inherent mechanisms for delaying acidosis. When you perform regular exercise, your ability to buffer acidosis improves and you can work out harder before you fatigue.

It may be possible to further counter muscle acidosis through supplementation with buffering agents, such as beta-alanine and bicarbonate.

Beta-Alanine

What is it?

Beta-alanine is a non-essential amino acid that is naturally synthesized by the liver. It does not directly act as a buffer but rather is a precursor to the synthesis of carnosine, which is an important buffer of acidosis in skeletal muscle.

Who benefits?

Persons who do high-intensity exercise, whether highly trained or not, benefit from beta-alanine supplementation. Trained athletes do not seem to benefit from beta-alanine if training is not intense enough or long enough to cause intramuscular acidosis.

Dosing

• Total Target Dose: 3.2 to 6.4 g / day.
• Split dosing: One 1600-mg controlled release tablet, 2-4 times a day.
• Controlled-release tablets reduce the incidence of paresthesia - a tingling sensation on the skin that may occur with rapid release forms of beta-alanine.
• Duration: It takes four to six weeks of supplementation at the above-described dose for beta-alanine to start to result in increased carnosine concentrations in skeletal muscle, at which point it can start to work its magic.

What is LactiGo?

LactiGo is a newer product that delivers carnosine across one’s skin when applied topically (i.e., transdermal - trans = across; dermal = skin). This product provides a much faster approach to increasing muscle carnosine levels than beta-alanine. LactiGo is applied 30-60 minutes prior to exercise. One can apply it just to the body parts being utilized in the workout - think, shoulder day at the gym - or it can be applied to the whole body from the neck down. Please follow the dosing instructions that come with the product.

Athletes also take LactiGo in the following ways:

• Regular morning application to the whole body: This style of application is used for athletes who are working out hard daily or close to daily.
• After a workout session: The purpose of applying LactiGo after exercise is to help recovery from exercise occur more quickly.
• During long exercise bouts: In very long exercise bouts (think triathlons, ultra-endurance races), some athletes will reapply several times within the race aiming to keep their carnosine levels high.

Bicarbonate

What is it?

Sodium bicarbonate, also known as baking soda, is a base. Bicarbonate ions are present in the body as a natural pH buffer. Concentrations of bicarbonate in the blood can be increased by taking sodium bicarbonate orally. It can counter fatigue by directly neutralizing muscle acidosis.

Who benefits?

Because it is a pH buffer bicarbonate works best for high-intensity exercises.

Dosing

The range of doses of bicarbonate that have been studied is 0.2 to 0.4 g per kg body mass. This is usually enough to raise blood bicarbonate concentrations by 5–6 mmol/L.

• Total Target Dose: 0.2 to 0.4 g per kg of body mass
• Example Person: 200 lbs or 91 kg person.
• Dose Range: 18 to 36 grams (yes, big dose)
• Taken Prior to Exercise: 90-30 minutes prior to exercise
• Split dosing for better absorption and less GI distress:
• Take 20% starting at 90 minutes out from exercise
• Take 20% starting at 75 minutes out from exercise
• Take 20% starting at 75 minutes out from exercise
• Take 20% starting at 45 minutes out from exercise
• Take 20% starting at 30 minutes out from exercise

Beta-Alanine + Sodium Bicarbonate

Beta-alanine or LactiGo works in the intracellular compartment, while sodium bicarbonate is an extracellular pH buffer. They appear to be equally effective as ergogenic aids. Combined supplementation with both has been shown to provide further benefit in HIIT-style training.

NITRATE

What is it?

Nitrate (NO₃-) is a compound that is found abundantly in many vegetables, like arugula and beetroot. Dietary nitrate is converted to nitrite by bacteria on the tongue. Nitrite is then absorbed into the bloodstream and is converted to nitric oxide; a gas that promotes blood flow and improves mitochondrial energy production.

Increased blood flow to working muscles can help boost stamina, power, and recovery and reduce exercise fatigue, all of which help augment adaptations to exercise training in one form or another.

Who benefits?

The ergogenic effects of NO3- are most clearly seen in untrained or recreationally active people doing open-ended, long-duration exercises. Effects of dietary nitrate on performance appear to be reduced in individuals with high cardiorespiratory fitness, perhaps because highly-trained athletes tend to already have higher plasma nitrate concentrations.

Nitrate supplementation seems to enhance blood flow to muscles that are highly active and dense with type-II fibers. This means that athletes performing activities that rely more on the upper body, like rowing or kayaking, are more likely to benefit from taking nitrates because the upper body contains proportionally more type-II muscle fibers

Dosing

• Target dose: Most studies showing benefits on endurance performance use 6-8 mmol (~400-500 mgs) NO3-. Elite athletes may require a higher dose of 8-12 mmol (~400-800 mgs) for it to be effective. Benefits plateau beyond this point, so there is no reason to exceed a dose of 12 mmol.
• Timing: Generally taken as a single dose 2-3 hours prior to exercise, or with a loading period of 5-8 days.
• Source: Getting nitrate from concentrated beetroot juice seems to be more effective than using nitrate salts. Or you can get it from food. For a breakdown of dietary sources of nitrate, see the table below, reproduced from the findings of this paper.

Do Antioxidants Serve as Ergogenic Aids? Not So Fast.

Free radicals are unstable, reactive molecules generated during aerobic metabolism, and they are produced abundantly during exercise. In fact, intense aerobic activity can cause whole-body oxygen consumption to increase up to 20-fold above the resting state. When too many of these molecules are formed, this results in oxidative stress, which can lead to damage to lipids, proteins, and DNA. These elevated levels of free radicals may also affect exercise performance, by decreasing muscle contractile force and inducing fatigue.

So, it makes sense that taking antioxidants would help fight this process by mopping up those free radicals, right? Well... it’s not quite that simple. We now know that free radicals generated during exercise act as signaling molecules. You actually need free radicals as a trigger for boosting the production of proteins involved in the skeletal muscle adaptation to exercise.

In other words, antioxidants are kind of a double-edged sword. They may help with recovery and exercise performance in the short term, but they also might impair favorable training adaptations by removing a necessary stressor.

Let’s quickly review what the research says on various forms of antioxidants, and whether they are truly ergogenic. As you’ll see, the science in this category is, at best, unsettled.

Vitamins C and E

Human studies have not shown a consistent beneficial impact on exercise performance, or on markers of muscle adaptations, from consuming supplemental C and E.

This includes daily doses ranging from 500 to 1000 mg for vitamin C and 400 to 900 IU for vitamin E and encompasses athletes at any level ranging from sedentary to highly trained.

In fact, supplementation with these vitamins has been shown in some studies to inhibit cellular adaptations to training. Based on the available evidence, these supplements probably should not be taken for the purpose of maximizing exercise performance or gains

Polyphenols

Polyphenols are secondary antioxidants found in edible plants. However, they don’t work quite the same way as the primary antioxidants described above and thus might be expected to affect performance and training adaptations differently. Primary antioxidants quench free radicals directly whereas secondary antioxidants stimulate the body to make more endogenous antioxidants.

Rather than directly neutralize free radicals, like vitamins C and E, polyphenols stimulate stress-related cell signaling pathways, enhancing the ability of cells to respond to oxidative stress. From all angles researched, this appears to be the better strategy for health and possibly for athletic performance, too.

It is thought that polyphenols affect chronic adaptations to endurance training by stimulating the SIRT1–AMPK–PGC1α pathway in skeletal muscle, resulting in the production of more energy-producing mitochondria (i.e., mitochondrial biogenesis).

However, we lack studies using supervised endurance training programs to test this hypothesis rigorously. In the meantime, eating polyphenol-rich fruits and vegetables still appears to be a smart move for overall well-being.

• Resveratrol: a specific type of polyphenol, famously found in grapes and red wine. There is little evidence to suggest that resveratrol supplementation has ergogenic effects. Interestingly, the response to resveratrol appears to be influenced by training status - supplementation has been shown to have no impact on active/trained individuals doing HIIT, but blunted the benefits gained from HIIT by sedentary subjects. Consequently, there isn’t currently much reason to take it for endurance training benefits.
• Green Tea Extract: a concentrated polyphenol mixture derived from dried green tea leaves. Beyond its capacity as an antioxidant, it may boost fatty acid mobilization and oxidation. Increased fat oxidation wouldn’t be useful for more intense endeavors that rely upon carbohydrate oxidation, but it could be helpful for lower-intensity activities, like hiking. However, no human studies to date have shown aerobic performance benefits from green tea extract. It’s not likely to be harmful at typical doses (around 500-600 mg) but it doesn’t appear to be ergogenic for most performance tasks.

CAFFEINE

What is it?

Caffeine is a well-known and much-beloved stimulant, found in coffee, green tea, and other beverages.

It works as an adenosine receptor antagonist. This means that it blocks the effect of adenosine, a signaling molecule that inhibits the release of excitatory neurotransmitters in the brain. This is why consuming caffeine helps keep you alert and awake, and it makes sense that it might also enhance performance.

Who benefits?

Caffeine primarily works by decreasing perceived exertion, thus enabling athletes to accumulate greater training stress. It has been shown to improve performance in a variety of different endurance events, ranging from half marathon to HIIT.

When taken in moderate doses (3-6 mg per kg), 2-3% improvements are seen in a time-trial performance lasting anywhere from 5 minutes to 2.5 hours. So most athletes are likely to benefit.

Caffeine may also improve mitochondrial respiration, and therefore enhance endurance training adaptations.

Dosing

Total Target Dose: Studies testing the ergogenic effects of caffeine typically use around 3-6 mg per kg of body weight.

• Example: For someone who weighs 70 kgs or ~154 lbs, this would translate to around 210-420 mg of caffeine.
• Sensitivity: Within this range, benefits for exercise performance are similar. If you are more sensitive to caffeine, you can go with a lower dose, 3 mg per kg, and expect to achieve similar effects.

Timing

Optimal timing for caffeine intake for its ergogenic benefits has not been established. Most studies testing ergogenic benefits have administered caffeine about 60 minutes prior to activity, with a range of around 30-150 minutes before an exercise bout. We would recommend experimenting within this range to determine your own response to caffeine.

Adapted from Wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine

Referenced 2020.05.02

Caffeine anhydrous, like you would find in supplements, has not been shown to be more effective compared to a similar amount of caffeine found in drinks. It’s perfectly fine to rely on coffee or tea if you prefer it.

Safety

Too much caffeine can result in insomnia, anxiety, gastrointestinal distress, and palpitations (as you probably already know!). But within recommended doses, it is generally well tolerated and unlikely to result in significant adverse effects.

Caffeine is a diuretic, and this effect is more pronounced for people who don’t habitually consume it. When using it as an ergogenic, make sure to drink a little more water if you’re not used to it.

CREATINE

What is it and how does it work?

Creatine is a substance found naturally in skeletal muscle cells, which helps muscles generate energy during intense physical exercise.

When you supplement creatine, you increase stores of phosphocreatine in muscles, which in turn helps the body generate more ATP, specifically for very short, high-intensity bouts of activity. Think of the 100 meter dash or weight lifting with weight you can do no more than 5 reps or so; these types of exercises get their energy almost exclusively from the phosphocreatine system.

Who Benefits?

Creatine is most likely to enhance high-intensity performance, especially with repeated bouts, like in HIIT, or bouts lasting 30 seconds or less.

Ergogenic benefits of creatine supplementation identified in the research include:

• Increased single and repetitive sprint performance
• Increased work performed during sets of maximal effort muscle contractions
• Increased muscle mass and strength adaptations during training
• Enhanced post-exercise recovery
• Prevention of muscle cramping
• Prevention of dehydration, as well as enhanced tolerance to exercise in the heat

Side Effects

Creatine supplementation does often increase total body water, leading to 1–2 kg of weight gain after loading protocols. However, the water weight that is gained occurs mostly in muscle and the performance improvements may outweigh the added body mass, even in sports where carrying less weight is an advantage.

Performance Benefit

There is significant individual variability in performance benefits from creatine supplementation (high and low responders). This phenomenon is not fully understood, though it may be due to alterations in creatine uptake and use, or differences in baseline muscle creatine content. For example, vegetarians commonly have relatively low creatine levels due to their diet, and consequently may observe greater benefits from creatine supplementation.

Dosing

A loading protocol is not strictly necessary - but it does speed up the process of achieving peak creatine levels.

• Loading Protocol: 5 g four times per day for 5–7 days is common.
• Maintenance Dose: 3–5 g/day to maintain elevated creatine levels.

RELATED RESOURCES

Product List

Here are some products that we have found useful.

Bicarbonate

• Ph Adjust - pH Adjust Alkalinizing Formula
• Potassium Bicarbonate Capsules - Earthborn Elements on Amazon
• Potassium Bicarbonate Powder - Earthborn Elements on Amazon
• Baking Soda Capsules - Earthborn Elements on Amazon
• Sodium Bicarbonate & Potassium Bicarbonate Capsules - Pure Organic Ingredients

Beta Alanine / Carnosine

• LactiGo - Topically applied product to increase intermuscular stores of carnosine
• Beta Alanine powder - Nutricost on Amazon

Nitrates

• Beet Root pills - NusaPure on Amazon
• Beet Root Power - Peak Performance on Amazon
• Organic Beet Juice - Beat It on Amazon

Caffeine

• Caffeine Pills - Nutricost Caffeine Pills, 200mg Per Serving
• Caffeine + L-Theanine - SmarterVitamines - 200mg Caffeine Pills with 100mg L-Theanine

Creatine Monohydrate

• Powder - OWN PWR on Amazon
• Capsules - Optimum Nutrition

Podcasts

• Ergogenic Aids to Enhance Sports Performance. Podcast with Jeff Rothschild
• Can Beetroot Juice Keep Your Brain Youthful? Podcast with Jonathan Burdette
• Are Antioxidant Supplements Unhealthy? Podcast with Michael Ristow

Blogs

• The Benefits of Creatine Supplementation
• Creatine and Sleep: Does Creatine Make You Sleep Less?
• Dietary Nitrate and Health: Effects on Blood Pressure and the Brain
• Dietary Nitrate and Exercise Performance: Benefits of Beetroot

Notes

• Jeffrey A. Rothschild and David J. Bishop. Effects of Dietary Supplements on Adaptations to Endurance Training. Sports Medicine https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-019-01185-8
• This document contains an affiliate link for the product LactiGo.