Nutritional Supplements Runners
Saturday, October 31st, 2009
If you are going to the gym, or picking up a game of your favorite sport without seeing much improvement or progress in the last couple of months, you may not be doing all you can to fuel your workouts. Sometimes, your performance can be sub-par because you just don’t have the right energy or stamina for your best game. What does that mean, exactly?
Compare your body to a car engine. Sure, your car will run on regular gas. It will run better on premium gasoline, though. What if you put a special additive into your tank to give it even better, top-of-the line sports performance? The human body reacts in a very similar way.
Your body will run on junk food. Not well, but it will function. If you feed it lean protein, healthy vegetables, fruits and grains, it will run very well. If you add to this a special supplement here and there to give it the chance to have the best possible performance, you will see the results.
If you’re the type of person who goes to the gym faithfully and already eats a fairly clean diet, you should look into some pre-workout supplements that will help you achieve your highest goals. Whether you want more brute force in the gym, greater longevity for more cardio miles, or a faster recovery, there are some excellent supplements to take in all of these areas.
If you want to make phenomenal strength gains, one of the best supplements you can take before your workout is creatine. Creatine is a great energy source that used to be known only to bodybuilders, but has now become popular by those who lift weights in the gym, as well as endurance athletes and team sports players.
Although creatine is found naturally in the body, it is not produced at high enough levels to be effective as a strength-gaining supplement. Most athletes who use creatine supplements consume a large amount, or “load,” for about a week before tapering off to a regular pre-workout dosage.
Creatine is best taken with a high-glycemic carbohydrate, which means something high in sugar. You can take it mixed with orange juice or another quickly-digested, high-carbohydrate sports drink. If you take it about thirty minutes prior to your workout, you will notice great results in strength and longevity. Over time, your strength gains will produce the lean body mass you are looking for in the gym!
Another great pre-exercise supplement is called nitric oxide, not to be confused with the nitrous oxide that you receive in the dentist’s chair! Nitric oxide, again, occurs in the body naturally. It contains amino acids, most notably a form or arginine which is an amino acid that stimulates the release of growth hormone and helps to reduce adipose tissue (body fat), while helping lean muscle mass to form. Arginine is a pre-cursor to nitric oxide, meaning it is needed in the body in order for nitric oxide to be of value.
Once you take nitric oxide, your blood vessels expand which causes greater blood flow and oxygen transport to the muscles. Not only does this give you quite a powerful workout, as it delivers nutrients to your muscles quickly, but it reduces your blood pressure as well. The increase in blood flow to the muscle helps produce greater growth of muscle tissue over a shorter period of time. Who doesn’t want that in a pre-workout supplement?
Since we have covered a couple of the best pre-workout supplements for growth and stamina, let’s look at what works well for endurance athletes before they hit the track or field. While they too may benefit from the use of creatine and / or nitric oxide, their cardiovascular systems are going to be more challenged than those who perform mainly anaerobic activity. Accordingly, they will need small doses of higher-glycemic compounds.
The marathon runner, for example, may need to ingest something before he begins his grueling twenty-six (and two tenths!) mile trek. However, the best fuel for him is a small, half ounce portion of something like “Gu.” These are sometimes known as runner’s gels, and they are basically fruit or honey-type sugars that someone can rip from a foil packet easily and squirt into their mouth while running.
Those who run short distances will not need this kind of fuel, as their energy stores will not be depleted that quickly. However, if you are an endurance athlete who will be performing for an hour or more, make sure you invest in a bunch of these supplements. They will help you tremendously in maintaining your peak levels of performance.
No matter what type of training you favor, if you are at all serious about giving your top-notch performance, give these popular and worthy pre-workout supplements a try!
About the Author:
Megan Hazel is a freelance writer and blogger who writes about health and fitness, often focusing on specific products such as discount supplements.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Pre-Exercise Supplements that Will Fuel Your Workout
Hornet juice – Running endurance / fat burning
|
|
FRS Chews Helps sustain energy & performance.Eat 2 chews in the morning and 2 in the afternoon or whenever you need extra energy or a pre-workout boost. Athletes take 30 minutes before exercise. Supplement Facts Serving Size: 2 chews Amount Per Serving %DV Calories 40 Calories From Fat 5 Total Carbohydrate 8 g 3%* Sugars 5 g ** Vitamin C 120 mg 200% Vitamin E 30 IU 100% Thiamin 1.5 mg 100% Riboflavin 1.7 mg… |
|
|
Accelerade Advanced Sports Drink Mix – 60 Servings Accelerade sports drink has been shown to help athletes increase their endurance. In 2004, sports scientists at James Madison University asked trained cyclists to ride stationary bicycles to exhaustion while drinking either Accelerade or a conventional sports drink The athletes drinking Accelerade were able to ride 29 percent longer than those drinking the conventional sports drink At the Universi… |
|
|
Clif Bar Energy Bars $15.29 Clif Bar’s flagship product, the Clif Bar, isn’t dry and doesn’t taste like sawdust, like so many energy bars. This flavorful, moist bar features 70% organic ingredients, protein, vitamins, and minerals to get you through your bike ride, daylong hike, or workday. Get a 12-pack of your favorite fruity, chocolaty, or nutty concoction.Product FeaturesServings: 12Serving Size: 1 BarCalories: 250Carboh… |
|
|
Hammer Endurolyte Capsules 120 Per Bottle Plain $17.00 Hammer Nutrition Endurolytes Nutritional Supplements helps prevent cramping, spasms and other heat related issues.Superior cramp preventionGluten-Free and Vegan FriendlyFull-spectrum electrolyte replacement capsulesItem SpecificationsUnit of SaleBottle of 120FlavorN/ATypeCapsuleUseDuring… |
|
|
GU GU Performance Energy Sampler GU® PERFORMANCE ENERGY SAMPLER :: Variety is the spice of life. It’s also good when you’re not sure you want to buy a whole box of one kind of GU®. Thanks to the GU® Performance Energy Sampler you get 9 different flavors of gel packs, 3 flavors of power-packed Roctane Ultra Endurance gel packs, 2 packets of Electrolyte Brew, 1 packet of Recovery Brew and 2 packets of GU® Chomps. Enjoy!… |
|
|
SportLegs Supplement $19.60 A smart supplement to start with. No faster or healthier way to prevent muscle “burn” and next-day soreness.. Cheapest way, too. Take only when you”re planning to ride. No need to take every day.. Works one hour after you take it. No week-long “loading” phase. Also works in combination with loading-phase supplements.. Surprisingly gentle. Even those with sensitive tummies can take SportLegs, ev… |
|
|
Thrive: The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life $6.16 “The Thrive Diet feeds your body all the nutrients it needs without empty calories and with minimal stress.”- Chicago Tribune ”Mr. Brazier’s vegan principals have garnered a cult following.”- Globe & Mail”…The Thrive Diet, a guide to vegan diets in sports…has become something of a bible…”- The Wall Street JournalThe thrive diet is a long-term eating plan to help all athletes (professional… |
|
|
Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes $12.00 Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes provides sound nutrition guidelines to boost athletic performance in seven of the most popular endurance sports. Endurance athletes regularly push their bodies to the limits with a strenuous training regimen that demands smart nutrition. Monique Ryan offers proven strategies for improved athletic performance with sport-specific guidelines for the most popula… |
|
|
Anti-Monkey Butt Powder Anti-Friction Plus Sweat Absorber $15.95 Its here!!! Anti-Monkey Butt powder with calamine is an anti-friction that is specially formulated to absorb excess sweat and reduce frictional skin irritation. Ideal for butt busting activities such as motorcycling, bicycling, horseback riding, runners, other extreme sports and anyone who suffers from Monkey Butt can find relief by using Anti Monkey Butt PowderAlso for those occasions when you si… |