Dec
Ergogenic Aides
Citius, Altius, Fortius: Faster, Higher, Stronger
It’s the Olympic motto. In a world where athletic events are won by hundredths of a second and competitors do almost anything to win, athletes of all levels explore ergogenic aids (substances that improve athletic performance). The Tour riders and Richmond runners are no exception. Legality is a concern. Governing board policies echoe that of USOC (Olympic Committee). This article is not saying that ergogenic aids are bad and don’t you dare touch them. Rather, I realize that you are trying to learn about and use what’s effective and safe… so here’s what you need to know.
Water
Duuuugh. Drink fluids. By the time you feel thirsty, you’ve already lost 1% of your fluid volume and 3% of your strength. It’s legal, free and effective. But don’t go overboard, or you’ll get water intoxication: hyponatrimia.
Carbohydrates
Carbos are the body’s main source of quickly available fuel. Loading carbohydrates for 2-4 days prior to a race improves performance if the event is more than 2 hours long. Drinking carb-containing fluids during the event has been found to IMPROVE PERFORMANCE in marathons and longer races.
Eating a mixture of carbs and protein within 2 hours of an endurance workout helps rebuild glycogen stores and decrease breakdown of the muscles used in the workout. This means you RECOVER FASTER.
O2
Yes that’s right. Oxygen is a tremendous ergogenic aid. It’s free, legal and very effective. So use it to your benefit. At the beginning of a climb, take a few slow deep BREATHS. This will “saturate” your blood with O2.
Keep your red blood cell (RBC) count up, i.e.; DON’T BE ANEMIC. Since RBCs carry oxygen to working muscle, more RBCs mean more O2… you go faster. If you think you might be anemic, consult your Sports Medicine health care provider for a simple blood test and appropriate dietary recommendations.
Beta agonists
O2 is good… is more O2 better? This brings us to the use and abuse of prescription medication to dilate the airways in the lungs. Most beta agonists are USAT illegal. But remember ANYTHING IS LEGAL WITH A PRESCRIPTION. The most common of these medications is albuterol. In fact, you probably have a training buddy who carries and puffs an albuterol inhaler during workouts.
In the 2004 OLYMPICS, more than half the triathletes HAD PERSCRIPTION beta agonists for “asthma.” If you believe all these elite athletes have asthma, then I have a bridge to sell you.
So does albuterol work? It does. Not only does it increase O2 to the lungs, but it also has an “upper” effect by increasing you heart rate. Enter bad side effect: dangerously high heart rate, causing irregular heartbeats.
Other Legal Prescription Meds
Thyroid supplementation can up your metabolism, thereby helping you get leaner and faster. Ask your Sports Med provider if this might be good for you.
Some prescription anti-depressants (like Zoloft) work by increasing you serotonin levels. The result is higher pain tolerance and better concentration during very long (> 5 hour) workouts and races. This is an effective, legal, relatively safe strategy for runners.
Caffeine
Runners know it works… but how? First of all it is a brain stimulant, which helps concentration during long, tough workouts. But moreover, it helps METABOLIZE FAT, from the stores, to the blood and into energy. This helps conserve muscle glycogen stores. Sounds too good? Maybe
Too much caffeine will cause tremors, and make you nervous, DEHYDRATED, and unable to sleep. The ergogenic dose is 250-500mg (about 24 oz of java or 8 sodas).
Stimulants
You’ve seen these on bottle labels: ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, phenylpropanolamine, herbal ephedrine, and ma huang. They all increase metabolism, energy, and endurance while decreasing appetite and perceived exertion. In all regular users they cause hypertension. In regular and occasional users they cause (potentially LETHAL) IRREGULAR HEARTBEATS. This lethal potential is even higher when stimulants are combined with caffeine. Ephedrine and its cousins are responsible for the DEATHS of scores of athletes.
Creatine
You ingest it in beef and fish; your body makes up for any dietary deficits by PRODUCING IT in you liver, kidneys, and pancreas. So what’s all the hype about getting more creatine?
Flash-back: high school biology
Working muscles use ATP. Used ATP becomes ADP. Creatine does the job of turning “used” ADP back to the “fresh” ATP. Increasing muscle creatine means faster regeneration of ATP.
This helps improve performance only in sports that require BRIEF (<10 seconds) repeated bouts of all out exertion (swinging a bat, jumping to a lay up). Since repeated 10 second bouts of exhaustion are not what running is about, creatine supplementation will NOT HELP you. Plus, creatine use results in a 3% weight gain of water. This might even slow you down.
Human Growth Hormone (hGH)
Hope for hGH to rejuvenate older athletes like the “fountain of youth” faded about a decade ago. Studies showed that the laboratory made drug is not as effective as the real thing that young bodies produce naturally. In older patients (>75 years old) hGH does help lose body fat; however, it does not increase strength, endurance, or concentration. Although there is no test to detect its use, it is illegal.
DHEA
Dehydroepiandrosterone is a precursor of other hormones. In other words, in everyone’s liver the body normally converts DHEA to the ergogenic hormone, testosterone, as well as to the feminizing hormone, estrogen. Does this same conversion happen with DHEA that arrives in pill form in the stomach? We know that in men on DHEA, estrogen (but not testosterone) levels are increased. Women taking the supplement DO INCREASE their testosterone levels, but NOT THEIR STRENGTH and endurance. DHEA is illegal, probably NOT EFFECTIVE, and can produce all the bad side effects associated with anabolic steroids (below).
Anabolic Steroids (AS)
Suffice it to say, in the worst-case scenario, AS cause tendon ruptures, irreversible psychosis, and liver CANCER. They are illegal in nearly every sport organization and very dangerous. Just say no.
There you have it. Eat right; drink plenty of fluids; go like hell.
