Performance Enhancing Supplements for Athletes
As an athlete, one of the things you cannot do without is an intense routine of exercises and workout sessions. This routine is very important to your performance as it puts you in a better position to perform very well and break new records in your sport. However, to be able to do this, your body needs to be in optimal working condition. This means you need to feed and treat your body well.
Apart from the nutrients gotten from food items, you can also equip your body with nutrients from supplements. This article will discuss some of the beneficial supplements that your body requires to be in an optimal working condition.
Protein
The basic building blocks in the body are made from proteins and this showcases its importance and relevance. Muscles are usually the most affected during training and workout sessions. They expand and might get torn during the process. Medical experts have shown that taking about 20 grams of protein after a workout or training helps the muscles rebuild and recover from the effects of workouts.
However, as experts have stated, the first rule of nutrition is to get your nutrients from food and cover for the remaining deficiencies through supplements. The food options for proteins include legumes, lean meat, quinoa, and tofu. As for protein supplements, a protein powder works perfectly for athletes. This protein powder can be made into a post-workout smoothie.
It is important to state that a complete protein, according to medical experts, is a food item that contains all the essential nine amino acids that the body cannot produce by itself.
Creatine
Creatine is the form in which the muscles store energy. Research has shown that athletes in need of a short and intense burst of energy would benefit immensely from this nutrient. Also, a clinical review in a journal by the Pharmacological Reviews shows that creatine actually converts energy into a molecule known as ATP. This ATP is what the body uses as fuel and is also used to power protein synthesis.
Beta-Alanine
Beta-Alanine helps athletes increase their exercise capacity according to research. This means that beta-alanine elongates the time taken to reach exhaustion or fatigue. According to another research, beta-alanine also helps reduce the buildup of lactic acid in the muscles. The higher the quantity of lactic acids, the easier it becomes for the body to get fatigued. Thus, by reducing the buildup of lactic acid in the muscles, you get more energy to complete your workout and training sessions.
Functional Mushroom Powder
Cordyceps is a type of mushroom that works the same way creatine works. The mushroom powder helps your body store more ATP in the body, therefore reducing fatigue and exhaustion. There is also a medical study that confirms this.
Another mushroom that helps with fatigue is the Reishi. It, however, has increased benefits that revolve around treating inflammation and also supporting your immune system. NootroFX has mushroom powders that contain these mushrooms and help you achieve an optimal working condition for your body as an athlete.
Electrolytes
Everyone knows the importance of drinking water as an athlete. However, athletes lose more water than they drink through sweating. Sweat does contain water only. It also contains electrolytes, also known as minerals. Electrolytes help the proper functioning of the human body and also help with endurance for athletes.
Therefore, it helps that you add electrolytes to the water that you take after working out because taking only water doesn’t help replenish the lost electrolytes and you may still feel fatigued after taking water without electrolytes.
Glutamine
Glutamine is a type of amino acid, just like beta-alanine. While the effects of the beta-alanine show during the workout session by helping you increase the duration to exhaustion and increase your endurance, glutamine works after workout or training sessions.
Workouts and training result in sore muscles. Glutamine helps treat this soreness and ensures that the muscles recover faster from the soreness so that you can start training as fast as possible.
Conclusively, ensuring that you have excellent performance as an athlete doesn’t only revolve around your training and workout. Providing your body with the necessary tools and nutrients to increase your energy level and decrease your fatigue level. These six nutrients and supplements are very helpful in this regard. However, you may want to talk to your doctor or dietician before you start using any of these supplements.