Studies have shown that numerous dietary supplements can boost athletic performance, including beta-alanine, creatine, caffeine and nitrates (such as those found in beetroot juice).
Beta-alanine enhances exercise capacity by increasing muscle carnosine levels, which help buffer hydrogen ions and delay fatigue during high intensity exercise sessions. A daily dosage of 2-6 g is typically taken.
Beta-alanine
Carnosine is an essential compound found within skeletal muscles and has been demonstrated to enhance performance during high intensity exercise by buffering excess protons and scavenging reactive oxygen species, increasing calcium sensitivity, improving cross bridge formation and force production during contractions.
Studies demonstrate that beta-alanine supplements significantly lengthen the time until exhaustion when engaged in aerobic, open-end point exercises like cycling or running. Furthermore, supplementation with beta-alanine improves workout quality when engaged in interval training sessions.
Tactical athletes may find b-alanine especially valuable in helping them overcome mental fatigue under stressful conditions. One study using Special Operations soldiers demonstrated how b-alanine could significantly enhance results on a 2-minute written subtraction test; this performance boost could allow these soldiers to make smarter decisions under pressure and minimize mistakes during missions.
Creatine
Creatine is a natural substance produced in the body in the form of phosphocreatine and stored in muscle cells. It’s produced by liver, pancreas, and kidneys and taken orally for improved athletic performance.
Studies consistently demonstrate the ergogenic benefits of creatine supplementation on short duration, high intensity exercise. Creatine increases intracellular creatine pools leading to an increase in ATP synthesis.
Studies demonstrate that creatine supplementation coupled with resistance training increases muscle strength, particularly on repeated bouts of lower-body exercises like the squat and deadlift. Long-term supplementation for up to 4 years does not appear to cause adverse health effects and may even help alleviate symptoms associated with dehydration and muscle cramps [80,81]. [82,83].
Caffeine
Caffeine is an effective stimulant that can enhance mental alertness and delay fatigue during physical activity, such as exercising. Naturally occurring forms can be found in coffee, black and green tea, cocoa, soft drinks with caffeine content such as Coca Cola and many nonprescription energy and diet pills; in addition to this it may be given orally or IV to newborn infants at risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).
Supplementation with caffeine appears to acutely enhance aerobic and anaerobic exercise performance, though its impact varies by individual. Consuming coffee close to times when fatigue is at its height – for instance during longer races – may prove particularly effective. Furthermore, caffeine has also been proven to enhance sprinting, jumping and throwing performance, with one study finding consuming a taurine/caffeine drink improved shot put throwing distance significantly for trained athletes; although its effect size wasn’t large enough to have any significant bearing on race results.
Nitrates
Athletes who consume an abundance of vegetables such as spinach and kale as well as root veggies such as beets can enjoy the advantages of natural nitrates found in foods like these, as these convert to nitric oxide in the body to increase blood flow to muscles and enhance performance.
Recent research showed that supplementing with nitrate for six days significantly increased peak Wingate power 24 hours post dose; however, due to its highly variable testing protocol used during this study any potential performance benefits associated with supplementing may have been lost.
Future research should employ a consistent ingestion and washout protocol in order to evaluate the impact of chronic nitrate intake on performance, since muscle stores of nitrates and nitrites vary over time due to ingestion. Furthermore, it would be advantageous to examine how different doses and timings of ingestion affect performance in both men and women.
Protein
Protein is an essential nutrient for athletes that is both found in foods and taken as dietary supplements. Protein contains amino acids which assist with muscle metabolism; BCAAs in particular are often recommended because muscles use them as energy source. Unfortunately, claims by sellers regarding how protein enhances exercise or athletic performance is often unsubstantiated; studies tend to be small scale, short duration affairs that do not always mirror real world activity.
Recent meta-analyses of data on the effects of protein ingestion on endurance performance and muscle strength showed that higher intake did not improve performance compared to carbs; however, when combined with carbs in subgroup analysis it did show statistical significance in improving endurance performance and increasing strength.
