Ergogenic Aids is the application of a natural, physical, mechanical, psychological, or pharmacological procedure or aid to allegedly improve physical work capacity or athletic performance. Surprisingly, large populations consume ergogenic aids daily, often without knowledge of doing so. Before continuing further, I want to acknowledge problems within research conducted on
ergogenic aids. First and foremost, human subject committees will not allow doses as high as many people use. Often users take much higher doses then what is considered "safe". Furthermore, double-blind studies are hard to do with some aids because the effects are obvious to the researcher. Because ergogenic aids is an extremely broad term, I have broken them down into categories that are used by most athletes.
STIMULATION OF NERVOUS SYSTEM
*Because this is an athletic based blog, sports performance will be the topic of discussion.
The most common and readily available ergogenic aid are stimulates. The most common stimulates are caffeine and amphetamines. Caffeine binds to the adenosine receptor (this receptor normally slows down nerve cell activity), and instead speeds up never cell activity. Blocking of the adenosine receptor will cause blood vessels to constrict in the brain (this vasoconstriction causes caffeine induced headaches). The increase in neurofiring will trigger
the pituitary glad to communicate with adrenal glands ultimately producing adrenaline (epinephrine). Consuming caffeine will place the athlete in a sympathetic (fight or flight) state that will dilate pupils, increase heart rate, redirect blood flow from other areas of the body, increase blood pressure and release sugar into the blood stream for energy preparing the body for action.
Effects involving amphetamines are similar. An influx of neurotransmitters, dopamine and norepinephrine, are released causing inhibition of reuptake to occur. When nerve cells are activated by amphetamines, an increase in alertness, focus, concentration and the ability to stay awake is present.
*parasympathetic neuron
INCREASE STORAGE OR AVAILABILITY OF LIMITING SUBSTANCE
The most common way to increase availability of a limiting substance is to consume more carbohydrate. Carbohydrates are the sugars, starches, and fibers found in fruits, grains vegetables, and milk products. Carbohydrates provide fuel for the central nervous system and energy for working muscles throughout the body. According to Perrin Braun, VO2max is a measure of how much oxygen your body is able to supply to your muscles, limiting athletic performance if levels are too low. In addition to your VO2max, glycogen stores in your liver and muscles also affect your performance. These glycogen stores depend on your
*graphical representation of energy expenditure versus duration
carbohydrate intake. Your body converts glycogen to glucose (a type of sugar), which your muscles use as a primary source of fuel during exercise. This means that your ability to exercise is limited by the amount of glucose in your body. After about 90 minutes of exercise, your body’s supply of glycogen is completely depleted, which puts you at a risk for “hitting the wall”, or feeling lethargic during your event. If your body doesn’t have enough glycogen to get you through an event, it will start to burn fat for energy. Fat burns at a much slower rate than carbohydrates, which will slow you down. Increasing carbohydrate intake during a specific competitive event may increase performance. Think of increasing carbs as adding fuel to the fire, more isn't always better! Negative aspect to carbohydrate loading includes increased water retention, added weight increases the energy cost of weight bearing exercise, depletion phase may inhibit ability to train.
Creatine monohydrate is another great example. Creatine is a natural compound made in the
body and is derived from the diet through meat products, or in this case, supplementation. In the body, Creatine is converted into a molecule called phosphocreatine which serves as a storage reservoir for regenerating ATP. Creatine's job is to replenish the phosphate to keep ATP running. Supplementing creatine increases the sheer volume of available fuel to power ATP. ATP is the chemical source of energy for muscle contraction and quick energy.
Phosphocreatine is an important source of
ATP energy in muscle tissue and studies have shown that Creatine can increase performance for athletes in activities that require quick bursts of energy, such as sprinting and weight lifting. Creatine supplementation combined with strength training has been shown to cause dramatic improvements in muscle.
Modification of internal environment
Why exactly are proper warm ups important for athletes? First and foremost, the physiologic considerations are immeasurable when an athlete completes a general or sport specific warm up. The nonpharmacologic approach is said to increased muscle contraction and relaxation, facilitate oxygen delivery (Bohr effect), facilitate nerve transmittion and muscle metabolism, increase enzyme activity, and increased blood flow to active tissue.
Psychological considerations should be noted. When athletes disrupt homeostasis and modify internal temperature they feel physical prepared. Athletes with no warm up routine are are at risk of injury. If proper warm up is nonexistent, sedentary individuals or those with coronary heart disease are at risk of myocardial infarctions (heart attack).
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