Ergogenic Aids and Performance

Question 1

Performance

Answer 1

• stimulants
• anabolic agents
• relaxants
• reduce weight
• increase oxygen delivery
• masking agents

Question 2

Caffeine

Answer 2

• dieretic
• brought in after fasted state (so controlled limit)
• most widely used psychoactive drug in the world.
• After ingestion it is rapidly absorbed by GI tract with absorption usually complete in 1hr.
• Peak plasma caffeine concentration is usually reached 15 to 120 minutes after oral ingestion.
• mainly excreted in urine with a half life of 3 to 5 hours
• generally taken around 60mins prior to exercise in doses equivalent to around 6mg/kg (e.g. 300-500mg total)

Question 3

More on caffeine

Answer 3

• mobilises FFA from adipose tissue (help spare glycogen)
• used in endurance athletes (generally improve)
• improve calcium/ potassium pumps (so caffeine not lost)
• effect of alertness (central effect)
• improves in events under 30mins
• increase reaction time
• too much can impair precision

Question 4

Safety and Side effects

Answer 4

• no adverse effects on sweating or body temperature.

- may be associated with withdrawal effects of headaches / mood disturbance

Question 5

Glycerol

Answer 5

• interest in hyperhydration since 1987
• as blood looses water blood gets more viscous and heart has to work harder
• sweat to keep core temperature down
• stores more water in body (so can sweat more)

Question 6

Risks

Answer 6

• large intake can increase risk of cerebral and intraocular deydration
• water leaves brain and eyes to go into blood - dizziness, nausea, bloating, vomiting and headaches are allpossible side-effects of glycerol supplementation
• gastrointestinal distress

Question 7

Alkalising agents: sodium bicarbonate and sodium citrate

Answer 7

• Increase extracellular pH
• Accelerates the transfer of hydrogen ions from the active muscle cells to the blood ( slows the rate of intramuscular acidosis)

Question 8

findings

Answer 8

• durations capture max time of production of lactic acid
• relative to body weight
• sodium citrate raises pH of blood

Question 9

Risks

Answer 9

• nausea

Question 10

ß-Alanine

Answer 10

• can improve muscle carnosine concentration (buffer intramuscular hydrogen ions and prevents muscles seizing up)
• within several hours of taking, homeostasis restored (therefore within those few hours is only chance of ‘benefit’)
• can improve sprint performance
• supplementation can be as short as 4 weeks but 8 weeks was found to improve sprint performance
• if stop taking the carnotene concentrations will remain high but will start to detoriate
• paraesthesia - pre loading stuff

Question 11

Side effects

Answer 11

• Skin irritation
• Flushing (ears, forehead, scalp, chest, arms)
• Tingly sensation (also termed paraesthesia)
• 40mg of β -alanine per kg of bodyweight (i.e., 2.8g for 70kg)
• Continual use for 4 weeks in the study showed non-toxicity and blood health markers were normal.

Question 12

Beetroot Juice

Answer 12

• high in nitrate (converts to nitrite then nitric oxide in body)
• lowers blood pressure
• mitochondrial function and muscle efficiency might improve with supplementation

Question 13

Nitric oxide (NO)

Answer 13

• powerful vasodilator

- increases blood flow to tissues (e.g. skeletal muscle)

Question 14

Effects on performance

Answer 14

• reduces resting blood pressure and may influence mitochondrial function and improve muscle efficiency.
• Research has shown that dietary nitrate supplementation reduces the oxygen cost to both low-intensity and high-intensity exercise.
• rapidly absorbed and plasma levels peak after 1 hour of following ingestion
• effective dose of nitrate equivalent to 500ml of beetroot juice
• 300-500ml of beetroot juice taken before exercise can improve exercise capacity both in endurance events and also in multiple sprint activities.

Question 15

Adaptations

Answer 15

• if doesn’t have adaptations that occur with endurance training beetroot juice will be very beneficial
• if well trained and already have good adaptations with endurance training not beneficial

Question 16

Side effects

Answer 16

none

Question 17

Glutamine

Answer 17

• non essential amino acid
• produced during exercise (abundant in muscle and plasma)
• skeletal muscle is major producer
• hardly ever short as produced by body
• need rapid production of lymphocytes for sickness e.g. flu (lymphocytes use glutamine as fuel to multiply)
• overtrained athletes - some become susceptible to URTR (colds and bugs) - when blood sample had low glutamine levels so had supplements to boost immune system
• used by kidney for acid base balance
• no obvious research to prove it actually improves immune function (as non-essential produce enough in body usually)

Question 18

low glutamine

Answer 18

• overtraining in athletes

- increased susceptibility to infection

Question 19

creatine monohydrate

Answer 19

• over 5 day period
• almost all creatine found in muscle in form of creatine phosphate - therefore should benefits sprinters
• best source - muscle of animal e.g. meat and fish
• synthesised from guanidine and arginine
• 95% of creatine found in skeletal muscle
• intake generally less than 1g per day

Question 20

creatine monohydrate supplements

Answer 20

• includes creatine monohydrate and various creatine salts such as creatine citrate & creatine pyruvate
• boys and adolescences and high intensity exercise are most common supplement takers
• In 2000, 2,500 tons of creatine were sold worldwide.

Question 21

Creatine Monohydrate

Answer 21

• 5 day loading period - heat power output and speed may increase
• helps with buffering of hydrogens ions

Question 22

Creatine Monohydrate energy production in muscle

Answer 22

• Creatine phosphate- immediate (anaerobic) energy source for rapid resynthesis of ATP.
• Delay the rate of fatigue during high intensity exercise (eg. multiple sprinting).

Question 23

intake

Answer 23

• intramuscular concetrations of creatine increased by consuming 20g (4.4kg of red meat) of creatine over 5 consecutive days (max amount of days) - improves strength and sprint performance
• more trained magnifies effect
• high creatine phophate levels high output

creatine gets taken up into blood and into muscle and water follows - acute weight gain can be due to water in muscle which can stimulate protein synthesis

Question 24

Studies

Answer 24

• creatine supplementation in conjunction with resistance training augments gains in muscle strength and size (mechanisms unclear)
• could be due to improves quality of training and enhanced recovery or the fluid intake that stimulates protein synthesis

Question 25

effects

Answer 25

• water retention - muscle swell and can become painful (compartment syndrome if take too much creatine)
• kidney failure with creatine but unsure
• creatine is most likely to work for individuals who don’t eat much meat
• creatine uptake into muscle appears to improve when taken with carbohydrate

Question 26

side effects

Answer 26

• Presently, oral supplementation with creatine, even in the long-term, is considered safe.
• Anecdotal reports of muscle cramping, increase in muscle tears, & dizziness.