Performance-boosting nutrition -
Some stand out from the rest. Dozens or even hundreds of controlled trials support these supplements and verify their performance-enhancing effects. Effects that you notice, not just measure in a laboratory mouse. Most of you probably know the benefits of creatine for improving performance by now.
Creatine is a dietary supplement that makes you stronger, faster, and more explosive, and that has rock-solid scientific evidence backing it. You can read much more about creatine, what it is, and how to use it in our comprehensive guide, Creatine: Effects, Benefits, and Safety. You can skip this loading phase if you want and go directly to the next step.
The result is the same. If you already carry a lot of muscle, you might get an even better effect with 10 grams per day. You can keep using creatine continuously if you want, although one old study suggests a diminished effect after some weeks.
According to a few studies, the best time to accomplish that is to take creatine after working out. Like creatine, there are few doubts that you perform better with a bit of caffeine in your system.
Or perhaps quite a lot of caffeine. Some research shows that you build up one thing when you regularly use caffeine: tolerance to the substance. That means that you might not the effects you want from caffeine if you use it before every workout. To ensure you get the maximum benefit from your caffeine, consider saving it for training sessions where you feel sluggish and need a boost.
Taking 3—6 milligrams of caffeine per kilogram of body weight an hour before lifting, running, or whatever your exercise of choice is, lets you perform better and longer before fatiguing.
Pure caffeine in pill form, energy drinks, caffeinated chewing gum, or good old coffee — they all work. The problem with getting your caffeine from regular coffee is that you have to drink several cups to get enough for the performance-enhancing effect.
Feel free to peruse our thorough article about everything coffee and caffeine if you want more in-depth info! Beta-alanine is popular both as a stand-alone supplement and as part of so-called pre-workout products or PWOs. Plenty of scientific research support beta-alanine as a performance-boosting supplement.
You can read more and find out everything you need to know about beta-alanine in our dedicated article. Even though it is an amino acid, beta-alanine does not build muscle by itself.
Instead, beta-alanine increases the levels of carnosine in your muscles. High carnosine levels delay muscular fatigue and allow you to perform better. Beta-alanine works the same way as creatine in that regard.
There is no real physiological reason for having beta-alanine in a PWO besides the fact that it also makes your skin tingle. Some people feel extra motivated to train once that effect kicks in.
The results of beta-alanine come from building up high levels of carnosine in your muscles, thereby allowing you to perform a little better. Beta-alanine improves performance in exercise tasks lasting four minutes or less.
An effective dose is 3. However, if you want to perform a little better than usual, they might be worth exploring. Something you really need, both for your health and perform well, and indeed to live, are micronutrients.
But, perhaps surprisingly, a few can even impede your training progress if you take them in large amounts.
However, you might not perform as well as you should if you get too little of them, which is why all athletes benefit from keeping track of their micronutrient needs and intake. Of course, all vitamins and minerals are essential, but the following stand out: they play crucial roles in the ability of your muscles to handle high-intensity work and peak performance.
When it comes to the ability of your muscles to perform physical work, however, the last percentage is the important one. Every time your muscles contract, calcium is pumped into your muscle fibers. When you relax your muscles again, calcium is pumped out of the fibers. High-intensity exercise partially depletes the calcium in your body.
However, it does mean that you should make sure you get enough calcium daily. Instead, what you should do is eat and drink enough calcium-rich foods to cover your needs. The recommended daily intake of calcium is 1, milligrams in the US. Not only do they not improve your performance, but large amounts of calcium, especially with high doses of vitamin D, can lead to too much calcium in your blood, so-called hypercalcemia.
The acute effects of hypercalcemia include constipation, feeling excessively tired, and muscular weakness. Over time, you could develop kidney stones and other kidney problems. In men, large amounts of calcium are also associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer.
Leafy greens give you a lot of calcium, but they also contain oxalates which prevent you from absorbing the calcium properly. Avoid over-dosing, though, for the reasons mentioned above.
Low levels of vitamin D could lead to reduced exercise capacity and sub-optimal training results. Our primary sources of vitamin D are the sun and fatty fish.
Most other foods are poor sources of vitamin D, and if you live in the northern hemisphere, getting enough sun can be a challenge. That means that vitamin D is one of the few vitamins where supplementation is prudent for most, perhaps especially if you exercise regularly and want peak performance.
A daily dose of IU corresponding to micrograms makes sure you get enough both for health and performance, without any documented side effects. Want to learn more about vitamin D? We have an article on the topic , just for you.
You use iron to produce blood and to deliver oxygen to your muscles. Fertile women are at an increased risk of unsatisfactory iron status than men. Female athletes are at an even greater risk. Poor iron status is associated with lower exercise performance.
Try to do so through your regular diet by adjusting it if necessary. Getting too much iron from supplements is not a good thing and brings adverse effects of its own. The best sources of iron are offals, like liver and blood-based foods. Meat and eggs also provide plenty of iron.
The type of iron you utilize most efficiently is heme iron. You can only get heme iron from animal-based foods. If you only eat plant-based foods, your get so-called non-heme iron from nuts, legumes, and whole grains.
The problem is that the uptake for non-heme iron is not very good compared to heme iron. You can improve your uptake of non-heme iron by eating iron-rich foods with vitamin C-rich fruits and vegetables.
However, other substances, like tannins in coffee and tea, and calcium in dairy products, inhibit the uptake of iron even further. So try to avoid those, at least in the same meal as your iron-rich food sources.
Fertile women need 18 milligrams of iron per day, an amount that can increase up to 27 milligrams per day during pregnancy. Too much of a good thing is too much. Both these vitamins are essential antioxidants you need to get from your diet. They protect your cells from damage, including damage from the stress of your training sessions.
On the contrary, doing so could diminish the positive effects and adaptations of endurance training and strength training.
That only happens if you supplement vitamin C and E, not if you get them from regular foods. How much is enough?
That amount is enough for everyone and has no adverse side effects. There is no evidence that supplementing with vitamin E is beneficial for athletes. On the contrary, doing so might be counterproductive. Which ones are worth your money, and which are questionable or useless?
Andreas Abelsson. Do you love strength training? Awesome, so do we! Get on the list, and we'll send you emails to help make your training better and more fun. Workout Log Articles Exercises Squat Squat Programs Squat Strength Standards Squat Depth Smith Machine vs.
Free Barbell? For people exercising for more than 4 hours, up to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour is recommended. Carbohydrate foods and fluids should be consumed after exercise, particularly in the first one to 2 hours after exercise.
While consuming sufficient total carbohydrate post-exercise is important, the type of carbohydrate source might also be important, particularly if a second training session or event will occur less than 8 hours later. In these situations, athletes should choose carbohydrate sources with a high GI for example white bread, white rice, white potatoes in the first half hour or so after exercise.
This should be continued until the normal meal pattern resumes. Since most athletes develop a fluid deficit during exercise, replenishment of fluids post-exercise is also a very important consideration for optimal recovery.
It is recommended that athletes consume 1. Protein is an important part of a training diet and plays a key role in post-exercise recovery and repair. Protein needs are generally met and often exceeded by most athletes who consume sufficient energy in their diet.
The amount of protein recommended for sporting people is only slightly higher than that recommended for the general public. For athletes interested in increasing lean mass or muscle protein synthesis, consumption of a high-quality protein source such as whey protein or milk containing around 20 to 25 g protein in close proximity to exercise for example, within the period immediately to 2 hours after exercise may be beneficial.
As a general approach to achieving optimal protein intakes, it is suggested to space out protein intake fairly evenly over the course of a day, for instance around 25 to 30 g protein every 3 to 5 hours, including as part of regular meals.
There is currently a lack of evidence to show that protein supplements directly improve athletic performance. Therefore, for most athletes, additional protein supplements are unlikely to improve sport performance. A well-planned diet will meet your vitamin and mineral needs.
Supplements will only be of any benefit if your diet is inadequate or you have a diagnosed deficiency, such as an iron or calcium deficiency.
There is no evidence that extra doses of vitamins improve sporting performance. Nutritional supplements can be found in pill, tablet, capsule, powder or liquid form, and cover a broad range of products including:. Before using supplements, you should consider what else you can do to improve your sporting performance — diet, training and lifestyle changes are all more proven and cost effective ways to improve your performance.
Relatively few supplements that claim performance benefits are supported by sound scientific evidence. Use of vitamin and mineral supplements is also potentially dangerous. Supplements should not be taken without the advice of a qualified health professional.
The ethical use of sports supplements is a personal choice by athletes, and it remains controversial. If taking supplements, you are also at risk of committing an anti-doping rule violation no matter what level of sport you play. Dehydration can impair athletic performance and, in extreme cases, may lead to collapse and even death.
Drinking plenty of fluids before, during and after exercise is very important. Fluid intake is particularly important for events lasting more than 60 minutes, of high intensity or in warm conditions.
Water is a suitable drink, but sports drinks may be required, especially in endurance events or warm climates. Sports drinks contain some sodium, which helps absorption. While insufficient hydration is a problem for many athletes, excess hydration may also be potentially dangerous.
In rare cases, athletes might consume excessive amounts of fluids that dilute the blood too much, causing a low blood concentration of sodium. This condition is called hyponatraemia, which can potentially lead to seizures, collapse, coma or even death if not treated appropriately.
Consuming fluids at a level of to ml per hour of exercise might be a suitable starting point to avoid dehydration and hyponatraemia, although intake should ideally be customised to individual athletes, considering variable factors such as climate, sweat rates and tolerance.
This page has been produced in consultation with and approved by:. Content on this website is provided for information purposes only. Information about a therapy, service, product or treatment does not in any way endorse or support such therapy, service, product or treatment and is not intended to replace advice from your doctor or other registered health professional.
Medically reviewed by Natalie Butler, R. Alkalize your body with sprouts. Reduce inflammation with flax seeds. Improve endurance with beet juice.
Beat fatigue with pumpkin seeds. Stimulate recovery with Brazil nuts. Balance and variation. How we reviewed this article: Sources. Healthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations.
We avoid using tertiary references. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy. Share this article. Read this next. Medically reviewed by Peggy Pletcher, M. Understanding Heart Rate Zones for Effective Workouts Targeting heart rate zones as you exercise is one way to maximize the benefits you get from your workouts.
Learn about your different heart rate zones… READ MORE. What Causes Toe and Foot Numbness While Running? READ MORE. What Is Low Heart Rate Training When You Exercise? It… READ MORE. What Is the Average 5K Time? Medically reviewed by Daniel Bubnis, M. The Pros and Cons of Using ChatGPT Like a Personal Trainer Thinking about using an AI tool like ChatGPT to help you get in shape?
A First-Time Hands-On Look at Lululemon: Was It Worth It?
How you Supplements for improved focus and concentration your body can nutritkon your Performance-boosting nutrition in sports and athletic Performance-boosting nutrition. Butrition Performance-boosting nutrition is Performance-boosring Natural green tea athletes. Food provides the energy your body nufrition to perform well in sports and physical activities, in addition to keeping your body functioning properly. You also need to make sure you have enough fuel left after exercise to use for building strong bones and skin, fighting off illness and recovering from activity. Eating enough food to match your activity level can be challenging. This can cause what is called low energy availability LEA. The energy Performanceboosting get from food Performance-boosting nutrition your Sleep benefits to reduce Performance-boostting, fight nutritin, and Natural green tea to develop power and speed through physical Natural green tea. Many supplements exist on the Natural green tea to help improve athletic performance, but none nuyrition these Performanfe-boosting may be Natural green tea effective as the nutrients provided from whole foods. Many athletes overemphasize carbs, protein, and fats, and focus too little on foods rich in micronutrients. Some micronutrients can greatly impact performance and recovery. The following four food groups provide essential vitamins and minerals. When eaten raw and uncooked, the following five foods will help keep you performing at your peak. Eating raw fruits and vegetables is one way to ensure you are getting the most vitamins, minerals, and amino acids from the foods you eat.
Mir scheint es, dass es schon besprochen wurde, nutzen Sie die Suche nach dem Forum aus.
Ich habe diese Mitteilung gelöscht