The Use of Ergogenic Compounds to Improve Athletic Performance An Ergogenic aid is known as an enhancing quality in sporting performance. Compounds such as bee pollen, caffeine, glycine, carnitine, lecithin, and gelatin are claimed through anecdotal evidence to improve strength or endurance. The use of drugs and other substances has persisted for nearly a century. Ergogenic aids are used to improve an athlete’s performance in as many ways as possible. This includes: § Physiological aids § Nutritional aids § Mechanical aids § Pharmacological/ hormonal aids § Psychological aids The purpose of all these different substances, training advantages is as they give an improved performance and an advantage over others. Some of these Ergogenic aids are legal and some are not. These range from accepted usage like carbohydrate loading to illegal, unsafe using like anabolic androgenic steroid use. Ergogenic aids are substances that enhance natural physiological processes that create physical power. Examples of this could be blood doping. Physiological aids aim to enhance physiological processes that occur naturally in the body. Training includes methods like interval training. Nutritional aids provide natural ways of enhancing performance. Nutritional Ergogenic aids are foods, drinks, herbs and other supplements which are said to improve and increase strength endurance and overall performance. Mechanical aids improve energy efficiency and skill developments.... ... middle of paper ... ...t more research needs to be done and for the government to take a more drastic approach to those who feel it is acceptable to take drugs to enhance their sporting performance. A larger fine should be given and a life time ban if proven guilty and no other reason suggesting otherwise. If a longer ban is given, it would put athletes off taking drugs a lot easier and quicker leading to drug free sports, better and maybe more participation and a wider range of publicity for the right reasons. If a harsher approach was given, it would give athletes a more respectable approach towards their sport and make more take it more seriously. More surveys should be done and more talks within the teams, sports, countries should be given on the responsibilities of each individual and the effects cheating can have on one’s career.
Creatine is one of the most popular sports supplements on the market and is used by bodybuilders, and athletes. It is an amino acid, like the building blocks that makes up proteins. It is also an important store of energy in muscle cells. Creatine is a natural nutrient found in our bodies and in the bodies of most animals. It can also be found in the form of a powder and sold as a supplement. Creatine is categorized as a food supplement by the Food and Drug Administration, like a vitamin and is available over the counter at drug stores and nutrition centers. Approximately 95% of the body’s creatine supply is found in the skeletal muscles. The remaining 5% of creatine is scattered throughout the rest of the body, with the highest concentration in the heart, brain, and testes. The human body gets most of the creatine it needs from food or dietary supplements.
Are young athletes being pushed too far to always perform at higher and higher expectations? Taking vitamins are highly recommended by doctors, but there are some supplements that are illegal for use in high school sports. New pre-workout supplements cause new high school drug policies, research into both the active ingredients and short/long term effects of these products. These pre-workouts are this generation’s steroids and can have side effects that are just as dangerous. Their purpose is to provide you with a burst of quick and long lasting energy, increased blood flow, muscle growth, and faster recovery periods. Their popularity is growing faster than the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can research them and provide more information on what these products truly do to your body, such as whether they are actually safe for young adult athletes to use.
One of the opening points of the article acknowledges the health and safety repercussions of taking performance-enhancing drugs. The authors include this information to inform readers of the severity of the drugs involved and the situation as a whole. For example, in 1997 cyclist Erwan Mentheour tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO), which, “increases the number of red cells in the blood and thus an athlete’s endurance” (Begley and Brant 1). This initially sounds fairly harmless until the authors later explain that the drug “can turn blood the consistency of yogurt” and that “EPO has apparently killed at least 18 Dutch and Belgian cyclists since 1987” (4). Th...
You pop a pre-workout supplement to score perks during your sweat session- so what is with the nasty side-effects, some of the negative consequences may include: headaches, itchiness, insomnia, headache, fatigue, and much more. These are just some of the side-effects of ingredients used in pre-workout supplements. Are the ingredients used in most supplements worth the side effects? Creatine, Caffeine, Arginine, Proprietary Blends, and Taurine are ingredients that are put into pre-workout supplements and are detrimental to the body.
I. The effect of performance enhancement drugs on track and field athletes poses physical problems for the athletes.
Creatine in Athletes As more and more people are playing professional, collegiate and high school sports each year (Debate), the competition for playing time has become more heated. Most male athletes in any sport these days are looking for any sort of edge that they can get over the people who are fighting for the same spot they are. These battles for playing time have become so heated that these kids are willing to try just about anything to win. Most kids are not willing to try anything illegal like steroids, but something very similar to steroids is a supplement called creatine.
The world’s most popular drug is legal, inexpensive, and believed to amplify workouts. It supposedly motivates athletes and helps them stay alert and focused while also boosting physical endurance by twenty to fifty percent. This stimulant is found naturally in sixty-three plants and is consumed by eighty percent of Americans. This white, bitter, crystalline substance is known as caffeine, and is commonly consumed in efforts to enhance athletic ability (http://gopher1.bu.edu/COHIS/substance/caffeine/about.htm).
The use of steroids and performance enhancing drugs is a common trend that is currently fascinating athletes all over the world. Athletes who are using these drugs are damaging the sport and harming their bodies at the same time. Seeking a greater athletic physique and ability, athletes turned to the use of steroids. Once the dangers and possible health risks arose, athletes then turned to performance enhancers. Two specific supplements have taken the sports world by storm and now are being used by athletes of all ages. They are androstenedione and creatine. It took years until people began to understand how dangerous steroids really were. These performance enhancers, like androstenedione and creatine are going to produce the same results.
Arnheim D, & Prentice W, Essentials of Athletic Training (2002) 5th Ed. Chapter 23, pp518-519. New York.
Gatorade is one of many sports drinks that is out in the market. It was first made back in 1956 by a group of scientists in the University of Florida. The main reason Gatorade was made in the first place was to help the athletes of the university by replacing the body fluids that they lost during competitions especially in the hot weather of southern Florida. In a competition athletes lose water, carbohydrates and electrolytes through lots of sweating so Gatorade’s first priority was to replace them and re-energize the athletes. The first ever bottles of Gatorade that were created did not contain as much ingredients as todays Gatorades, and at first 10 players from the University’s Football team tested the drinks. It didn’t take long for the effects to show and the team quickly started to win their games. After the team’s results started to get better, Gatorade gained lots of attention from around the athletic community and after a few short years it was the official drink of the NFL, NBA, MLB, PGA, AVP, and the MLS. After all the l success, it was bought by Pepsi Company in 2001. This meant that it would no longer distribute its products to only the USA and Canada, but to the entire world and since then Gatorade products have been sent to almost 80 different countries. But the big question now, is that does it really help athletes? Was this the reason behind all the success of the Florida Gators through the 60’s?
... Eichner, E. Randy. Ergogenic Aids: What Athletes are Using and Why." The Physician and Sports Medicine. April 1997: 25(4): 70-83.
In today’s age, performance enhancing drugs have become more advanced than just some special herbs and spices. Scientists today have found ways to manipulate elements to help provide muscle mass and stamina. Some types of performance enhancing drugs are human growth hormones (HGH), testosterone boosters, anabolic steroids etc. When taking HGH, a person might experience results such as an increase in muscle mass, an increase in bone density, and a reduced fat content in the body (Freudenrich). The same results could be found when you take anabolic steroids. Anabolic steroids have been sought after to athletes and bodybuilders because they increase the size and strength of muscles. They also increase aggressiveness and competitiveness, which can be desirable traits in sports (Helmenstine). On different occasions such as a cyclist or a long distance runner, these athletes will store some of their red blood cells when their hemoglobin is high. The athlete will then train and work as usual, but right before the athlete competes they will transfuse the blood they took out back into their body therefore creating more red blood cells to ...
06 Jan. 2014. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9780470510544.ch70/summary>. Haugen, Kjetil K. "Why We Shouldn’t Allow Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sport." Academia.edu. Academia.edu, 1 Apr. 2011.
Doping is a practice that has been going on since the time of "ancient Greek athletes, who supposedly ate herbs, sesame seeds, dried figs, and mushrooms for this purpose" (Hoberman, 1992, 104). Likewise, athletes have readily consumed such drugs as caffeine and alcohol to improve performa...
The use of drugs in an attempt to enhance sporting performance is often referred to as doping. It is thought that the word 'dope' originated from the South African language. Dope referred to a primitive alcoholic drink that was used as a stimulant in ceremonial dances. Gradually the term adopted a wider usage and in reference to sport, it became known as 'doping'. In today's sporting context, doping refers to the use by athletes of banned substances or methods t...