Performance Supplements
Next Stop: Gainsville
Summary
Some of the most common questions I receive daily on social media have to do with proper supplement intake. For those of you that are unaware, I have professionally formulated for some of the biggest names in the industry for the past 15+ years.
There are a handful of supplements that appear to have significant evidence for effect or significant promise with further research needed. These include: micronized creatine monohydrate, citrulline with or without malate (although more recent research has been very disappointing with regards to citrulline malate), nitrates (this would be my choice over citrulline malate, currently), taurine, tyrosine, beta-alanine, betaine (TMG), protein powder (not beef protein isolate or collagen), cherry juice/extract, KSM-66, fish oil (properly dosed is 2-3g of EPA + DHA, this is not the same as total Omega 3), and agmatine.
Then there are some supplements that simply don’t seem to help at all (or in most practical situations) such as BCAAs, EAAs, HMB, CLA, glutamine, arginine, beef protein isolate, DAA, carnitine specifically for fat loss, and ecdysterone/turkesterone. Before everyone loses their minds, I go over where BCAAs/EAAs may be helpful in my BCAA article linked farther down the page. In most cases where a bro recommends BCAAs/EAAs, a carbohydrate source would perform the same function, if not better.
A succinct one-stop overview of the literature can be found in a recent research review which suggests: For muscle mass and strength there is strong evidence for the use of nitrate and caffeine for their acute beneficial effects on muscle strength, whereas the long-term consumption of creatine, protein, and polyunsaturated fatty acids (I am personally skeptical of PUFAs for increasing size and strength, but this review placed them in their most credible category) seems to consistently increase or preserve muscle mass and strength.doi.org/10.1007/s00394-018-1882-z
In the following sections I will give personal recommendations for specific products, as well as go over individual ingredients with research citations for your benefit. As a general rule of thumb, most people should at least be taking micronized creatine mono, a well-dosed fish oil, and a protein powder to supplement their daily intakes.
My current recommendations for pre-workout products include:
- Stimmed Pre-workouts: Nutrabio Pre Workout, Citadel Nutrition Tier 1, Controlled Labs White Flood Plus if you don’t want creatine, Nutrex Outlift, Hosstile Hosstility, or Legion Pulse if you prefer no artificial sweeteners or dyes.
- Non-Stim Pre-workouts: Legion Pulse (stim free version) or Hosstile Bloodshot
- Utility: Orange Brainwash for best nootropic stimulant/cognitive/mood boost. I like this for throughout the day, studying, work, gaming, etc. It doesn’t crack you out like most pre’s. I use this daily and there is potential for the ingredients to become better with continued use.
Check out Legion Supplements with the code “DrBacon” for 20% off your first purchase and double rewards points on returning purchases. This is good for all products on their website and allows you to test out some of the best dosed and tastiest supplements on the market.
For more in-depth articles on individual supplements please check out my blog articles on:
- BCAAs
- Glutamine
- Beef Protein Isolate
- Hydrolyzed Collagen
- Joint Support
- Stress Supplements: Bacopa, Rhodiola, Ashwagandha
- Supplemental Anti-Oxidants and Strength Training
- HMB
- CLA – Coming Soon
- Carnitine – Coming Soon
- Arginine – Coming Soon
- Nootropics – Coming Soon
- General Health – Coming Soon
- Fat Loss – Coming Soon
You can find a videocast of my personal supplement stack, including dosages and brands, on my YouTube channel:
Research
Caffeine
Caffeine increases both maximal strength and muscular endurance.
“Caffeine reduces the perceived effort during exercise and increases the capacity for sedentary individuals, as well as trained athletes, to tolerate higher intensity exercise for greater duration; and, these benefits were not further enhanced by ingesting doses of low carbohydrate regularly during exercise.”
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2019.00009/
The mean half-life of caffeine in plasma of healthy individuals is about 5 hours. However, caffeine’s elimination half-life may range between 1.5 and 9.5 hours, while the total plasma clearance rate for caffeine is estimated to be 0.078 L/h/kg (Brachtel and Richter, 1992; Busto et al., 1989).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK223808/#:~:text=The%20mean%20half%2Dlife%20of,et%20al.%2C%201989
caffeine ingestion increases rate of force development (RFD), which is relevant given that RFD is commonly associated with sport-specific tasks. From a practical perspective: (1) individuals interested in the acute enhancement of RFD in resistance exercise may consider supplementing with caffeine; and (2) given that evaluation of RFD is most commonly used for testing purposes, caffeine ingestion (3–10 mg/kg 60 min before exercise) should be standardized before RFD assessments.
doi.org/10.1111/sms.14109
There is convincing evidence that caffeine ingestion is ergogenic for (i) one-repetition maximum, isometric, and isokinetic strength; and (ii) muscular endurance, velocity, and power in different resistance exercises, loads, and set protocols. Furthermore, there is some evidence that caffeine supplementation also may enhance adaptations to resistance training, such as gains in strength and power. Caffeine ingestion is ergogenic for resistance exercise performance in females, and the magnitude of these effects seems to be similar to that observed in men. Habitual caffeine intake and polymorphisms within CYP1A2 and ADORA2A do not seem to modulate caffeine’s ergogenic effects on resistance exercise. Consuming lower doses of caffeine (e.g., 2-3 mg/kg) appears to be comparably ergogenic to consuming high doses of caffeine (e.g., 6 mg/kg). Minimal effective doses of caffeine seem to be around 1.5 mg/kg. Alternate caffeine sources such as caffeinated chewing gum, gel, and coffee are also ergogenic for resistance exercise performance. With caffeine capsules, the optimal timing of ingestion seems to be 30-60 min before exercise. Caffeinated chewing gums and gels may enhance resistance exercise performance even when consumed 10 min before exercise. It appears that caffeine improves performance in resistance exercise primarily due to its physiological effects. Nevertheless, a small portion of the ergogenic effect of caffeine seems to be placebo-driven.
DOI: 10.1007/s40279-021-01521-x
The findings from the study further establish caffeine’s potential ergogenic benefit on measures of muscular strength.
DOI: 10.1080/17461391.2019.1675767
CAFF supplementation improved anaerobic performance in both the elite and recreational athletes. However, the ergogenic effect of CAFF on several mood dimensions and subjective vitality was greater in the elite athletes.
DOI: 10.1186/s12970-019-0332-5
Due to their composition, caffeinated sports drinks seem to be more beneficial to consume during long-duration exercise, when the drinks are used for both rehydration and caffeine supplementation. Energy drinks may be more appropriate for providing caffeine before exercise. Lastly, the magnitude of the ergogenic benefits obtained with caffeinated drinks seems similar in women and men athletes. Overall, the current systematic review provides evidence of the efficacy of caffeinated drinks as a valid form for caffeine supplementation in sport.
doi.org/10.3390/nu13092944
“Synthesis of the currently available meta-analyses suggest that caffeine ingestion improves exercise performance in a broad range of exercise tasks. Ergogenic effects of caffeine on muscle endurance, muscle strength, anaerobic power and aerobic endurance were substantiated by moderate quality of evidence coming from moderate-to-high quality systematic reviews. “
https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2019/03/29/bjsports-2018-100278
“Caffeine can be used effectively as an ergogenic aid when taken in moderate doses, such as during sports when a small increase in endurance performance can lead to significant differences in placements as athletes are often separated by small margins.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29876876
“The ergogenic response to caffeine varied from 9% to 1% among individuals, but all participants increased both cycling power in the incremental test and Wingate mean power at least three to eight times out of eight the caffeine–placebo comparisons. These data expand the suggestion of a minimal occurrence of caffeine non-responders because it shows that all individuals responded to caffeine when caffeine is compared to a placebo on multiple and repeated testing sessions.”
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/11/4/732
“Caffeine doses of 2, 4, and 6 mg·kg-1 seem to be effective for acute enhancements in lower-body ballistic exercise performance in recreationally trained male individuals. For the upper-body ballistic exercise performance, only a caffeine dose of 6 mg·kg-1 seems to be effective. The acute effects of caffeine ingestion do not seem to be impacted by habitual caffeine intake; however, this requires further exploration.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/30702372/
“Ingestion of 3 mg·kg-1 body mass of caffeine enhanced endurance exercise performance in women. The magnitude of the performance enhancement observed in women was similar to that of men, despite significantly greater plasma caffeine concentrations following exercise in women. These results suggest the current recommendations for caffeine intake (i.e. 3-6 mg·kg-1 caffeine prior to exercise to enhance endurance performance), which are derived almost exclusively from studies on men, may also be applicable to women.”
https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Abstract/publishahead/Women_Experience_the_Same_Ergogenic_Response_to.96712.aspx
“The meta-analyses showed significant ergogenic effects of caffeine ingestion on maximal muscle strength of upper body and muscle power.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5839013/
Tyrosine
Tyrosine has potential nootropic uses as it metabolizes to Dopamine, Noradrenaline (Norepinephrine), and Adrenaline (Epinephrine). It may have benefits for mood, ability to feel pleasure, focus, motivation, and energy. Due to competition of uptake at the blood brain barrier, it would be best to take L-Tyrosine an hour away from other amino acids or protein containing meals. It may attenuate the effects of neurotransmitter depletion during stress by enhancing catecholamine synthesis only in neurons that are actively firing.DOI: 10.1093/jn/137.6.1539S
It is recommended to use L-Tyrosine instead of N-Acetyl Tyrosine (NAT) starting with a dose of 1-3g to upwards of 15g. Another way to co-administer this with caffeine would be 1-2g of tyrosine for every 100mg caffeine. Supplemental tyrosine should be avoided by the elderly (due to altered dopamine signaling) as well as with those hyperthyroidism or anyone taking L-dopa or monoamine oxidase inhibitors.
Although NAT dissolves better in water, it appears to have much less bioavailability.
L-Tyrosine peak for 1-2 hours and can boost tyrosine levels in the body for up to 8 hours.doi.org/10.1016/0024-3205(79)90294-7 Orally ingested L-Tyrosine has been shown to increase tyrosine levels in the body between 130-276%.DOI: 10.1007/BF00441411; doi.org/10.1016/0024-3205(79)90294-7; DOI: 10.1016/s0022-3476(95)70031-5; doi: 10.1136/adc.78.2.116
NAT on the other hand may increase tyrosine levels anywhere from 0-25%, and this is given intravenously.DOI: 10.1016/0026-0495(89)90005-x; doi.org/10.1152/ajpendo.1991.260.2.E280 It is a logical assumption to believe this would be even less when administered orally since intravenous injections give us the maximum effect of a compound in the body. The body simply doesn’t effectively convert N-Acetyl Tyrosine to Tyrosine. 35-60% appears to be immediately excreted in the urine.DOI: 10.1177/0148607103027006419; DOI: 10.1016/0026-0495(89)90005-x; doi.org/10.1152/ajpendo.1991.260.2.E280
NAT also appears to be less effective in crossing the blood brain barrier in mice (we don’t have human data on this yet).DOI: 10.1111/j.2042-7158.1989.tb06368.x
TYR does seem to effectively enhance cognitive performance, particularly in short-term stressful and/or cognitively demanding situations. We conclude that TYR is an effective enhancer of cognition, but only when neurotransmitter function is intact and dopamine and/or norepinephrine is temporarily depleted [such as mentally demanding situations].
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2015.08.014
Tyrosine has been shown to increase working memory and focus under stressful conditions.
DOI: 10.1016/0091-3057(94)90299-2
Higher doses of L-Tyrosine seem to be tolerated with no adverse effects (around 10g for a 68kg/150lbs individual).
DOI: 10.3390/nu9121279
Tyrosine significantly decreased symptoms, adverse moods, and performance impairments in subjects who exhibited average or greater responses to these environmental conditions. These results suggest that tyrosine should be evaluated in a variety of acutely stressful situations.
DOI: 10.1016/0361-9230(89)90096-8
The group supplied with the tyrosine-rich drink performed better on a memory and a tracking task than the group supplied with the carbohydrate-rich drink. In addition, the supplementation of tyrosine decreased systolic blood pressure. These findings suggest that supplementation with tyrosine may, under operational circumstances characterized by psychosocial and physical stress, reduce the effects of stress and fatigue on cognitive task performance.
DOI: 10.1016/s0361-9230(98)00163-4
The detected effects of tyrosine include an overall increase in pulse pressure (LBNP typically reduces pulse pressure) and an increase in auditory event related potential amplitude (P300-N300), an electro-physiological correlate of attention which may indicate enhanced cognitive activation.
DOI: 10.1016/0031-9384(94)00278-d
Tyrosine was found to improve the performance on two cognitive tasks, which were performed 1 h after administration of the medication and which could be characterized as highly sensitive to stress. In addition, tyrosine decreased diastolic blood pressure 15 min after ingestion, while 1 h after ingestion diastolic blood pressure was the same with tyrosine and placebo.
DOI: 10.1016/0361-9230(94)90200-3
The present results indicate that tyrosine may sustain working memory when competing requirements to perform other tasks simultaneously degrade performance, and that supplemental tyrosine may be appropriate for maintaining performance when mild to severe decrements are anticipated.
doi.org/10.1016/S0091-3057(99)00094-5
Subjects received 150 mg.kg-1 tyrosine in a split dose while the other half received cornstarch placebo in a double-blind procedure. Tyrosine administration was associated with a significant amelioration of the usual performance decline on a psychomotor task and a significant reduction in lapse probability on a high-event-rate vigilance task. The improvements lasted on the order of 3 h. The results of this study also suggest that tyrosine is a relatively benign treatment at this dose. After further testing with other doses and timing of administration, tyrosine may prove useful in counteracting performance decrements during episodes of sustained work coupled with sleep loss.
PMID: 7794222
These data support previous findings that dietary tyrosine supplementation is effective for mitigating cold-induced cognitive performance such as working memory, even with reduced core temperature, and extends those findings to include the psychomotor task of marksmanship.
DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2006.09.027
The results show that TYR ingestion is associated with improved vigilance and mental effort when exposed to individualized soccer-specific exercise in a warm environment. This suggests that increasing the availability of TYR may improve cognitive function during exposure to exercise-heat stress.
DOI: 10.1007/s00421-014-3022-7
The results indicate that acute ingestion of tyrosine by healthy men has no measurable effect on endurance, muscle strength, or anaerobic power.
DOI: 10.1123/ijsnem.15.2.173
Tyrosine increased and imipramine decreased 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG) excretion significantly, but there was no evidence that tyrosine had antidepressant activity.
DOI: 10.1016/0165-0327(90)90017-3
Taurine
Taurine may be beneficial for performance effects, hydration, and for aiding cardiovascular health. There do not appear to be any serious side effects of note in the research.DOI: 10.1016/j.yrtph.2008.01.004
Dosing can range from 1-10g daily, with 3 grams per day suggested to be possible to consume indefinitely without risk of side effects.DOI: 10.1016/j.yrtph.2008.01.004
Taurine supplementation increased time to exhaustion and local sweating, while decreasing ratings of perceived exertion and core temperature in the later stages of exercise, as well as reducing post-exercise blood lactate concentration. This study provides the evidence of taurine’s role in thermoregulatory processes. These findings have implications for the short-term preparation strategies of individuals exercising in the heat. Based on these findings, a single dose of taurine 2 h prior to training or competition would provide an ergogenic and thermoregulatory effect.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17461391.2019.1578417
Taurine is an amino acid that has been shown to increase protein synthesis, increase cell hydration, metabolism, and improve cardiac function.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12355187
Taurine potentially improves jumping performance and time to exhaustion.
DOI: 10.1519/SSC.0000000000000729
Taurine supplementation is beneficial in reducing glycemic indices, such as HbA1c, Fasting Blood Sugar, HOMA-IR in diabetic patients.
DOI: 10.1016/j.fochms.2022.100106
Taurine has also attracted attention because it has beneficial actions in chronic heart failure, in part by its demonstrated inhibition of the harmful actions of the neurohumoral factors.
DOI: 10.1007/s00726-013-1507-z
These findings indicate that, in patients with liver dysregulation, taurine supplementation can lower blood pressure and improve the lipid profile by reducing total cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
DOI: 10.1016/j.ejphar.2020.173533
Energy drink ingestion improved performance in muscle strength and endurance, endurance exercise tests, jumping and sport-specific actions. However, the improvement in performance was associated with taurine dosage.
DOI: 10.1007/s00394-016-1331-9
Taurine has shown promise in reducing DOMS and accelerating recovery.
DOI: 10.1007/s00421-020-04432-3
In conclusion, compared to PLA the combined ingestion of 6 mg/kg of CAF and 1 g of TAU improved both peak power and mean power in female athletes habituated to caffeine.
doi.org/10.3390/sports9120162
From the selected literature, we observed that taurine supplementation (2 g three times daily) with exercise can decrease DNA damage. Furthermore, 1 g of acute taurine administration before or after exercise can decrease lactate levels. However, acute administration of taurine (6 g) at a high dose before the start of exercise had no effect on reducing lactate level, but increased glycerol levels, suggesting that taurine could be an effective agent for prolonged activities, particularly at higher intensities. However, further studies are warranted to establish the role of taurine in fat metabolism during exercise. Finally, we observed that a low dose of taurine (0.05 g) before performing strength enhancing exercises can decrease muscular fatigue and increase enzymatic antioxidants.
doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2021.700352
Taurine can lead to a reduction in blood pressure, and an improvement in exercise capacity.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21334852
These results indicate that taurine controls glucose homeostasis by regulating the expression of genes required for glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. In addition, taurine enhances peripheral insulin sensitivity.
doi.org/10.1016/j.jnutbio.2008.05.008
Limited and varied findings prohibit definitive conclusions regarding the efficacy of taurine on aerobic and anaerobic performance and metabolic outcomes. There are mixed findings for the effect of taurine consumption on improving recovery from training bouts and/or mitigating muscle damage. The timing of taurine ingestion as well as the type of exercise protocol performed may contribute to the effectiveness of taurine as an ergogenic aid. More investigations are needed to better understand the potential effects of taurine supplementation on aerobic and anaerobic performance, muscle damage, metabolic stress, and recovery.
doi.org/10.1186/s12970-021-00438-0
The results suggest that taurine supplementation represents an important factor in improving performance and decreasing muscle damage and oxidative stress but does not decrease the inflammatory response after eccentric exercise.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24383513
Taurine has been shown to improve performance in middle distance runners. Taurine has also been shown to significantly increase fat oxidation in endurance trained cyclists, and to decrease the accumulation of lactate
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22855206
The acute ingestion of 1.66 g of Taurine before exercise did not enhance time trial performance but did result in a small but significant increase in fat oxidation during submaximal cycling in endurance-trained cyclists.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20739720
The use of caffeine and taurine over a 2 week period enhanced endurance performance. Moreover, taurine significantly decreased the accumulated concentration of lactate over long running distances.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19455480
These data demonstrate that extracellular taurine promotes angiogenesis by Akt- and ERK-dependent cell cycle progression and Src/FAK-mediated cell migration without inducing vascular inflammation, indicating that it is potential use for the treatment of vascular dysfunction-associated human diseases.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22130357
Two weeks taurine supplementation reverses endothelial dysfunction in young male type 1 diabetics. This is an important indicator of cardiovascular health benefits.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20667936
Citrulline (with or without Malate)
The addition of malate does not appear to make a major difference in performance benefits, or lack thereof. Currently, there is no bonded citrulline malate products on the market, as far as am I aware. They simply toss citrulline and malic acid powder into a tub and stir it up, then call it citrulline malate. Whether the malic acid component is included in the mix should not currently be a reason to avoid or purchase any particular product as we currently do not have any evidence suggesting it makes a difference.
Our findings suggest that citrulline malate supplementation does not improve muscle strength in healthy and resistance-trained individuals
DOI: 10.1080/19390211.2021.1939473
Meta-analysis concludes “that citrulline malate supplementation does not improve muscle strength in healthy and resistance-trained individuals.”
https://doi.org/10.1080/19390211.2021.1939473
The results of this study suggest that neither acute nor chronic supplementation of CM had an effect on recovery or fatigue rates.
DOI: 10.1123/ijsnem.2021-0117
To date, a single acute 8 g dose of CM on either resistance exercise performance or cycling has been the most common approach, which has produced equivocal results. This makes the effectiveness of CM to improve exercise performance difficult to determine. The efficacy of CM supplementation to improve exercise performance remains ambiguous.
DOI: 10.1007/s00421-021-04774-6
Nitrates
Dosage recommendations include 400-1200mg (verify) taken 2-2.5 hours before exercise. They have a lot of promise for acute performance enhancement, but long-term benefits to lean muscle building are currently equivocal.
Mouth wash and other oral antiseptics may negatively affect absorption of supplemental nitrates for performance.
Nitrate ingestion during a four-week running program improved 10-km time trial performance and kept blood lactate concentration steady when compared to placebo in recreational runners.
https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4663/7/5/120
The co-administration of a single dose of inorganic nitrate and vitamin C lowered diastolic blood pressure (BP) and improved peripheral pulse wave velocity (PWV) in older participants. Vitamin C supplementation improved PWV in both age groups but decreased systolic and mean BP in older participants only.
https://www.clinicalnutritionjournal.com/article/S0261-5614(19)30119-0/fulltext
Nitrate, via beetroot juice or a high-nitrate diet, improved exercise performance, in particular, in sessions lasting between 2 and 10 min. Ingestion of 5-14.9 mmol⋅d-1 taken ≥150 min prior to exercise appears optimal for performance gains and athletes should be aware that practices controlling oral microbiota diversity may decrease the effect of nitrate.
DOI: 10.1093/advances/nmac054
These findings indicate that muscle strength gains are possible provided the dose, format, frequency, period, and exercise test are appropriate. Best results were observed with a minimum acute dose of 400 mg of nitrate provided as beetroot juice/shot taken 2-2.5 hours before exercise involving low- and high-intensity muscle contractions. This nitrate supplement regime seems to improve muscle efficiency in terms of reduced phosphocreatine and energy costs (P-magnetic resonance spectroscopy) and improved time to exhaustion.
DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000004101
A strong positive correlation was observed in experimental situations using a chronic supplementation protocol but not in acute protocol situations. In the context of our results and recent histological observations of muscle fibres, there might be a fibre-type specific role in nitric oxide production and, therefore, supplement of ergogenicity.
https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12092734
Acute or chronic dietary NO3− intake significantly increases maximal muscle power in humans. The magnitude of this effect–on average, ~ 5%–is likely to be of considerable practical and clinical importance.
doi.org/10.1186/s12970-021-00463-z
In conclusion, elevation of plasma nitrate and nitrate reduces leg skeletal muscle V02 and blood flow during exercise. However, nitrate supplementation does not enhance muscle V02 kinetics during exercise, nor does it improve time to exhaustion when exercising with a small muscle mass. Despite slower VO2 kinetics in the transition from moderate to intense exercise, no effects of nitrate supplementation were observed for VO2 kinetics and time to exhaustion.
doi.org/10.1113/JP281995
A total of 29 studies were identified that investigated the effects of nitrate supplementation on exercise tolerance or performance in accordance with the criteria outlined. Analysis using time to exhaustion as the outcome variable revealed a significant effect of nitrate supplementation on exercise tolerance compared with placebo. Analysis using time to complete a specific distance as the outcome variable revealed no significant effect of nitrate supplementation on exercise performance compared with placebo. Nitrate supplementation is likely to improve exercise tolerance and capacity that may improve exercise performance.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29786633
Nitrates may be more beneficial for new trainees than advanced trainees. “These data suggest that nitrate ingestion up to 6.5mmol does not enhance recovery from supra-maximal exercise in world-class athletes”
Richard, et al. “Time-trial Performance in World-Class Speed Skaters After Chronic Nitrate Ingestion.” Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2018 May 10:1-22.
Nitrates resulted in reduced perception of effort and leg muscle pain. Our findings extend the mechanistic basis for the improved exercise tolerance by showing that dietary nitrate supplementation (i) attenuated the development of muscle fatigue by reducing the exercise-induced impairments in contractile muscle function; and (ii) lowered the perception of both effort and leg muscle pain during exercise.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2019.00404/full
Ingestion of nitrate (NO3−), found in green leafy vegetables and especially beets, increases the production of nitric oxide (NO). Acute or chronic (NO3−) intake also improves muscle contractile function in a variety of subject populations, including healthy young and middle-aged individuals, athletes, patients with heart failure, and the elderly. Precisely how dietary (NO3−) intake enhances the contractile properties of human muscle is still unclear. We hypothesize that such improvements are the result of increased NO bioavailability and hence changes in Ca2+ signaling in muscle.
https://journals.lww.com/acsm-essr/Fulltext/2018/10000/Dietary_Nitrate_Enhances_the_Contractile.9.aspx
The described cardio-metabolic effects of dietary nitrate from experimental and clinical studies include lowering of blood pressure, improved endothelial function, increased exercise performance, and reversal of metabolic syndrome, as well as anti-diabetic effects. The mechanisms underlying the salutary metabolic effects of nitrate are being revealed and include interaction with mitochondrial respiration, activation of key metabolic regulatory pathways, and reduction of oxidative stress.
https://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131(18)30389-9
Intake of inorganic nitrate, which is predominantly found in green leafy vegetables and beets, has a variety of favourable cardiovascular effects. As hypertension is a major risk factor of morbidity and mortality worldwide, much attention has been paid to the blood pressure reducing effect of inorganic nitrate. Here, we describe how dietary nitrate, via stimulation of the nitrate-nitrite-NO pathway, affects various organ systems and discuss underlying mechanisms that may contribute to the observed blood pressure-lowering effect.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29694703
Beta-Alanine
Beta-alanine appears to increase short bout exercise performance and has equivocal data on body composition and strength improvement. There may be promise for a synergistic effect in strength and body composition when taken concurrently with creatine.
“The current study showed that 24 weeks of BA supplementation at 6.4 g day−1 did not significantly affect muscle taurine content, clinical markers of renal, hepatic and muscle function, nor did it result in chronic sensory side-effects, in healthy individuals. Since athletes are likely to engage in chronic supplementation, these data provide important evidence to suggest that supplementation with BA at these doses for up to 24 weeks is safe for healthy individuals.”
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00394-018-1881-0
“BA supplementation seems to improve perceived exertion and biochemical parameters related to muscle fatigue and less evidence was found for improvement in performance.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27377257
The results of this review indicate that β-alanine supplementation within the doses used in the available research designs, does not adversely affect those consuming it.
https://academic.oup.com/advances/article-abstract/10/3/452/5450731
Results of this study demonstrate the efficacy of creatine and creatine plus beta-alanine on strength performance. Creatine plus beta-alanine supplementation appeared to have the greatest effect on lean tissue accruement and body fat composition.
DOI: 10.1123/ijsnem.16.4.430
Beta-alanine supplementation did not enhance strength or body composition outcomes in combination with weight training.
DOI: 10.5114/biolsport.2023.112967
“β-Alanine supplementation was effective at increasing power output when lifting loads equivalent to the individual’s maximal strength or when working at maximum power output. The improvement observed at 1RM was explained by a greater load lifted, or strength gain, in response to training in the participants who took this supplement.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5918575/
This meta-analysis study suggests that beta-alanine supplementation is unlikely to improve body composition indices regardless of supplementation dosage and its combination with exercise training. No studies have examined the effect of beta-alanine combined with both diet and exercise on body composition changes as the primary variable.
doi.org/10.1080/15502783.2022.2079384
“In conclusion, this investigation demonstrated that 12 g/day of BA supplementation for 14 days resulted in several improvements in physical performance, cognitive function, and mood during a 24 hour simulated military exercise.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6299243/
“In line with the purported mechanisms for an ergogenic effect of β-alanine supplementation, exercise lasting 60-240 seconds was improved in BA compared to Pla, as was exercise of >240 seconds.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22270875
Cherry Juice/Extract
Recommended dosage: The most common dosage for tart cherry juice concentrate is 60mL daily split into two doses. The most common dosages for tart cherry juice are ~250-350mL, consumed twice daily (500-700mL total). Tart cherry juice should be taken daily for 3–7 days before the exercise session of interest and 1–2 hours before exercise on the day of the event, as well as 2-4 days following the event.
Tart cherries, rich in antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, may have a protective effect to reduce muscle damage and pain during strenuous exercise. Ingesting tart cherry for 7 days prior to and during a strenuous running event can minimize post-run muscle pain.
doi: 10.1186/1550-2783-7-17
Cherry extract intake acutely reduces systolic blood pressure (SBP) in men with early hypertension. These benefits may be mechanistically linked to the actions of circulating phenolic acids. This study provides information on a new application of MCs in health maintenance, particularly in positively modulating SBP.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27146650
These results suggest that consumption of sweet or tart cherries can promote health by preventing or decreasing oxidative stress and inflammation.
doi: 10.3390/nu10030368
Current evidence would suggest that acute supplementation with ~ 300 mg polyphenols 1-2 h prior to exercise may enhance exercise capacity and/or performance during endurance and repeated sprint exercise via antioxidant and vascular mechanisms. However, only a small number of studies have been performed to date, some with methodological limitations, and more research is needed to confirm these findings. A larger body of evidence suggests that supplementation with > 1000 mg polyphenols per day for 3 or more days prior to and following exercise will enhance recovery following muscle damage via antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mechanisms.
DOI: 10.1007/s40279-018-0998-x
Montmorency cherry juice consumption improved the recovery of isometric muscle strength after intensive exercise perhaps owing to the attenuation of the oxidative damage induced by the damaging exercise.
DOI: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e31820e5adc
This review collates evidence from previous research on a wide range of nutritional compounds that have the potential to speed up post-exercise recovery. We show that of the numerous compounds investigated thus far, only two—tart cherry and omega-3 fatty acids—are supported by substantial research evidence.
doi.org/10.3390/nu14235069
These data show efficacy for this cherry juice in decreasing some of the symptoms of exercise induced muscle damage. Most notably, strength loss averaged over the four days after eccentric exercise was 22% with the placebo but only 4% with the cherry juice.
DOI: 10.1136/bjsm.2005.025429
The results of the study suggest that Montmorency cherry concentrate can be an efficacious functional food for accelerating recovery and reducing exercise-induced inflammation following strenuous cycling exercise.
DOI: 10.1139/apnm-2014-0244
The cherry juice appears to provide a viable means to aid recovery following strenuous exercise by increasing total antioxidative capacity, reducing inflammation, lipid peroxidation and so aiding in the recovery of muscle function.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0838.2009.01005.x
The attenuated oxidative and inflammatory responses suggest MC may be efficacious in combating post-exercise oxidative and inflammatory cascades that can contribute to cellular disruption. Additionally, we demonstrate direct application for MC in repeated days cycling and conceivably other sporting scenario’s where back-to-back performances are required.
DOI: 10.3390/nu6020829
Short-term supplementation of Montmorency powdered tart cherries surrounding a single bout of resistance exercise, appears to be an effective dietary supplement to attenuate muscle soreness, strength decrement during recovery, and markers of muscle catabolism in resistance trained individuals.
DOI: 10.1186/s12970-015-0102-y
The main finding of this study was that participants supplemented with MC were able to maintain greater functional performance than PLA counterparts following prolonged intermittent sprint activity.
doi: 10.3390/nu8070441
Supplementation with tart cherries appears to provide a prophylactic effect in reducing exercise induced muscle damage.
DOI: 10.1007/s00421-020-04432-3
The data demonstrate that cherry extract supplementation may be a practical nutritional intervention to help attenuate the symptoms of muscle damage and improve recovery on subsequent days.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17461391.2018.1502360
Tart cherry concentrate has a significant benefit for endurance exercise performance. Tart cherry concentrate may enhance endurance exercise performance via its low glycemic index, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative capacity, and blood flow enhancing effects.
DOI: 10.1080/07315724.2020.1713246
These results suggest that acute supplementation with cherry extract can lower blood pressure and improve some aspects of exercise performance, both aerobic and anaerobic. Particularly end‐sprint performance in trained cyclists.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/sms.13088
These results indicate that the consumption of a TC supplement can aid aspects of recovery from strenuous exercise.
DOI: 10.1123/ijsnem.2020-0145
This study demonstrated that tart cherry extract reduced oxidative stress and markers of muscle and cardiac damage following intense resistance exercise. This occurred along with a prevention of the decrease in handgrip strength seen following the intense exercise protocol, indicating a potential reduction in central fatigue. These benefits were seen with minimal energy intake.
doi.org/10.1186/s12970-021-00449-x
This study demonstrated that tart cherry extract reduced oxidative stress and markers of muscle and cardiac damage following intense resistance exercise. This occurred along with a prevention of the decrease in handgrip strength seen following the intense exercise protocol, indicating a potential reduction in central fatigue. These benefits were seen with minimal energy intake.
DOI: 10.1186/s12970-021-00449-x
This review confirms that the “consumption of sweet or tart cherries can promote health by preventing or decreasing oxidative stress and inflammation.” This can potentially lead to increased recovery. Increased oxidative stress contributes to development and progression of several human chronic inflammatory diseases. Cherries are a rich source of polyphenols and vitamin C which have anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323901150_A_Review_of_the_Health_Benefits_of_Cherries
The results suggest that TCJ, in addition to habitual diet, can accelerate recovery after intermittent exercise and therefore extend the efficacy of TCJ in accelerating recovery in team sports.
DOI: 10.1123/ijspp.2019-0101
Tart cherry intake modified aquaporin 4 and endothelial inflammatory markers. These findings indicate the potential role of this nutritional supplement in preventing obesity-related risk factors, especially neuroinflammation.
https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12030623
Betaine
Current recommended dosing is 2.5-4g of TMG daily. it may raise blood lipids when taken in high doses. And since lower doses seem to work just as reliably for exercise performance, I recommend taking 4g or less daily.
There are studies suggesting some digestion benefits, but then you need to be using Betaine HCl rather than TMG. These studies use as low as 500mg of betaine HCl for digestion support. It is more likely due to the HCl than the betaine itself.
The results of this study indicated that betaine supplementation may enhance reductions in fat mass, but not absolute strength, that accompany a resistance training program in untrained collegiate females.
doi: 10.1186/s12970-018-0243-x
The ergogenic and clinical effects of betaine have been investigated with doses ranging from 500 to 9,000 mg/day. To the authors knowledge the studies performed to date on performance and physique enhancement have mainly utilized 2–5 g/day of betaine supplementation. Future research is required to investigate the interaction between betaine supplementation and varying training protocols on performance and body composition.
DOI: 10.1007/s00726-014-1748-5
Results from this study suggest BET supplementation may improve body composition and some markers of performance during exercise in collegiate women. Six-weeks of betaine supplementation improved body composition, arm size, bench press work capacity, attenuated the rise in urinary HCTL, and tended to improve power (p = .07) but not strength.
DOI: 10.1186/1550-2783-10-39
BET supplementation may be beneficial for homocysteine concentration in healthy, physically active males, with no detrimental effect on lipid profile.
DOI: 10.3390/metabo12080731
14-week of betaine supplementation increased predicted 1-RM, VO2max, and repeated sprint ability performance in youth professional soccer players. Betaine supplementation seems to be a useful nutritional strategy to improve and to maintain performance during a competitive soccer season.
doi.org/10.1186/s12970-021-00464-y
Betaine (vs. placebo) supplementation enhanced both the anabolic endocrine profile and the corresponding anabolic signaling environment, suggesting increased protein synthesis.
DOI: 10.1007/s00421-012-2492-8
In conclusion, we reported that betaine supplementation does not augment muscle PCr content. Furthermore, we showed that betaine supplementation combined or not with creatine supplementation does not affect strength and power performance in untrained subjects.
doi.org/10.1007/s00726-011-0972-5
We conclude that plasma tHcy is lowered rapidly and significantly by 3 or 6 g betaine/d in healthy men and women.
DOI: 10.1079/BJN20041253
Observations indicated that rehydration with fluids containing betaine resulted in significant differences (p < 0.05) of plasma volume, oxygen consumption, plasma lactate concentration, and thermal sensation. The present experiments did not support the use of betaine to improve sprint duration, but nonsignificant trends occurred when betaine trials were compared with non-betaine trials (mean C+B > C by 32 seconds, +16%; mean W+B > W by 38 seconds, +21%). We interpret the increases of both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism (C+B > C) to mean that further investigation of betaine as a nutritional supplement, using other types of exercise, is warranted.
DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e31816a6efb
One week of betaine ingestion improved cycling sprint power in recreationally active males and females.
DOI: 10.1186/1550-2783-9-12
Two-weeks of betaine supplementation in active, college males appeared to improve muscle endurance of the squat exercise, and increase the quality of repetitions performed.
DOI: 10.1186/1550-2783-6-7
Two weeks of betaine supplementation improved upper- and lower-body muscle endurance and influenced indices of endocrine function following an acute session of high-intensity RE in adolescent handball players.
DOI: 10.1080/15502783.2022.2041988
These findings indicate that betaine supplementation results in a moderate increase in total repetitions and volume load in the bench press exercise, without favorably impacting other performance measures.
DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e318217d48d
B supplementation increased power, force and maintenance of these measures in selected performance measures, and these were more apparent in the smaller upper-body muscle groups.
DOI: 10.1186/1550-2783-7-27
Creatine
Recommended dosage: 2-3g micronized creatine monohydrate per day is enough for most people, although larger individuals may benefit from upwards of 10g per day. As general recommendations, there is no practical reason to load or cycle off, take any time of day as long as it is taken daily, it can be taken with or without caffeine, and co-administration of carbohydrates is not needed to fully benefit from the effects of creatine.
Creatine monohydrate intake should be avoided by those with pre-existing kidney health issues.
“Creatine monohydrate supplementation can increase total creatine and phosphocreatine stores for re-synthesis of adenosine triphosphate. Although most existing literature has investigated creatine to improve strength and body composition, it has also been shown to promote brain energy homeostasis and improve cognitive parameters. This may be another mechanism for performance enhancement because exercise is both physically and mentally depleting.”
https://journals.lww.com/nsca-scj/Citation/2018/04000/Creatine_Monohydrate_Supplementation__.7.aspx
“Following 24-h sleep deprivation, creatine supplementation had a positive effect on mood state and tasks that place a heavy stress on the prefrontal cortex.”
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00213-005-0269-z
the results suggest that creatine supplementation combined with RT promotes a small increase in the direct measures of skeletal muscle hypertrophy in both the upper and lower body.
doi.org/10.3390/nu15092116
“Wallimann and colleagues [50] noted that since creatine stores are not fully saturated on vegan or normal omnivore diets that generally provide 0 or 0.75–1.5 g/day of creatine, daily dietary creatine needs may be in the order of 2–4 g/person/day to promote general health [1,50]. The most effective and rapid way to increase muscle creatine stores is to ingest 5 g of creatine monohydrate four times daily for 5–7 days (i.e., 0.3 g/kg/day) [46,49]. However, some studies have shown that consuming 2–3 g/day of creatine for 30 days can also effectively increase muscle creatine stores [46,49].”
doi: 10.3390/nu13020447
Mechanistically, creatine supplementation elevates skeletal muscle phosphocreatine (PCr) stores facilitating a greater capacity to rapidly resynthesize ATP and buffer hydrogen ion accumulation. When co-ingested with carbohydrates, creatine enhances glycogen resynthesis and content, an important fuel to support high-intensity aerobic exercise. In addition, creatine lowers inflammation and oxidative stress and has the potential to increase mitochondrial biogenesis. In contrast, creatine supplementation increases body mass, which may offset the potential positive effects, particularly in weight-bearing activities. Overall, creatine supplementation increases time to exhaustion during high-intensity endurance activities, likely due to increasing anaerobic work capacity. In terms of time trial performances, results are mixed; however, creatine supplementation appears to be more effective at improving performances that require multiple surges in intensity and/or during end spurts, which are often key race-defining moments. Given creatines ability to enhance anaerobic work capacity and performance through repeated surges in intensity, creatine supplementation may be beneficial for sports, such as cross-country skiing, mountain biking, cycling, triathlon, and for short-duration events where end-spurts are critical for performance, such as rowing, kayaking, and track cycling.
DOI: 10.1080/15502783.2023.2204071
In addition to strength gains, research has shown that creatine supplementation may provide additional benefits including enhanced postexercise recovery, injury prevention, rehabilitation, as well as a number of potential neurologic benefits that may be relevant to sports. Studies show that short- and long-term supplementation is safe and well tolerated in healthy individuals and in a number of patient populations.
DOI: 10.1249/JSR.0000000000000863
Cr increased muscular strength in as little as two weeks during a resistance training program; however, this was not accompanied by decreased muscle damage. Greater muscle damage with Cr may be due to a greater training intensity enabled by Cr supplementation. This might lead to greater protein turnover and enhanced muscle adaptation.
https://www.minervamedica.it/en/journals/sports-med-physical-fitness/article.php?cod=R40Y2019N04A0608
“Creatine supplementation had a significant positive effect on both working memory (backward digit span) and intelligence (Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices), both tasks that require speed of processing. These findings underline a dynamic and significant role of brain energy capacity in influencing brain performance.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1691485
“This study concluded that creatine supplementation combined with complex training improved maximal muscular strength and reduced muscle damage during training.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/30400221
“Oral creatine administration may improve short-term memory and intelligence/reasoning of healthy individuals but its effect on other cognitive domains remains unclear. Findings suggest potential benefit for aging and stressed individuals. Since creatine is safe, future studies should include larger sample sizes. It is imperative that creatine should be tested on patients with dementias or cognitive impairment.”
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0531556518300263
“These results indicate that short-term creatine supplementation attenuates the loss in muscle mass and strength during upper-arm immobilization in young men.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19130643
“A number of studies suggest that creatine supplementation improves cognitive processing under resting and various stressed conditions. “
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27108136
“Creatine supplementation may enhance post-exercise recovery, injury prevention, thermoregulation, rehabilitation, and concussion and/or spinal cord neuroprotection. Additionally, a number of clinical applications of creatine supplementation have been studied involving neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., muscular dystrophy, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s disease), diabetes, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, aging, brain and heart ischemia, adolescent depression, and pregnancy. These studies provide a large body of evidence that creatine can not only improve exercise performance, but can play a role in preventing and/or reducing the severity of injury, enhancing rehabilitation from injuries, and helping athletes tolerate heavy training loads. Additionally, researchers have identified a number of potentially beneficial clinical uses of creatine supplementation. These studies show that short and long-term supplementation (up to 30 g/day for 5 years) is safe and well-tolerated in healthy individuals and in a number of patient populations ranging from infants to the elderly. Moreover, significant health benefits may be provided by ensuring habitual low dietary creatine ingestion (e.g., 3 g/day) throughout the lifespan. “
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28615996
