L-Carnitine: An Unnecessary Ergogenic Aid WHAT IS L-CARNITINE? L-Carnitine is a naturally occurring amino acid which plays a vital role in the metabolism of fat. It functions as a transporter of fatty acids into the mitochondria, the metabolic furnace of the cell. L-carnitine was discovered in Russia, and one year later in Germany. The proper name, Carnitine, refers to the Latin origin, (carno, caris). Its structural formula was decoded in 1927, and its physiological significance was understood
Amino Acids Amino acids are considered the building blocks of proteins. Breaking down protein will yield 22 known amino acids. There are three types of amino acids. These are indispensable(essential), conditionally dispensable, and dispensable. Conditionally dispensable amino acids can be synthesized from other amino acids by our bodies. Dispensable amino acids are considered non-essential. Amino acids are "one of the six basic nutrients our body needs". Essential Amino Acids acids are central
drugs used on Soviet and East German Olympic athletes was revealed. Aside from exposing the truth about illegal anabolic steroid use, there was the discovery of a "vitamin" called creatine, which was quickly introduced to the U.S. and marketed as an ergogenic, or energy-enhancing supplement. Creatine was not a vitamin, however, but a synthesized blend of certain amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins. The benefit creatine provides is increased energy for quick, anaerobic bursts of activity
mental performance. It is supposed that caffeine can improve the athlete’s endurance in sports where long-term stamina is needed. These sports include cycling, running, and even soccer. In an experiment to study the effects of caffeine as an ergogenic aid, 6 regular caffeine users were monitored while they exercised until exhaustion. During this double ... ... middle of paper ... ...ash, Harvey (1962) Alcohol and Caffeine: a study of their psychological effects. New York Spiller, Gene
sports, and to future athletes who follow their example by using these dangerous substances. These ergogenic aids popularity is growing among young teenage athletes which see big superstars taking certain drugs and they expect their athletic ability to be boosted if they take these drugs too. On the contrary, taking these supplements are especially dangers when used by adolescents. The ergogenic aid called creatine is used to build muscle mass very rapidly. Many people consume this supplement
Ergogenic Aids in Sports A large problem in sports today is the use of ergogenic aids. An ergogenic aid is any substance or device that increases or enhances energy use, production, or recovery giving the athlete an advantage in competition. Not all ergogenic aids are illegal; many such as dietary supplements, vitamin supplements, or protein supplements are widely used and accepted, however, many are illegal and are banned by many athletic committees(Ahrendt,1). I will be discussing these illegal
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
Since the dawn of the twenty-first century, performance enhancing drugs have become a religious practice in “the lives of some sport figures.” The use of these supplements have given the user an edge, an edge to perform at maximum capability. Most major athletes all agree on the fact that the competitive drive to win can be quite intense. Besides the satisfaction of personal accomplishment, athletes commonly pursue high hopes of attaining a medal, a college scholarship or the once in a lifetime opportunity
enhanced performance, greater power, and super natural strength has driven many to the dark side of the ergogenic world. The use of ergogenic aids of any type, brings about many differences of opinion and is the topic of great debates the entire world. Ergogenic aids may in fact be one of the few topics that raise eyebrows worldwide. So what exactly is an Ergogenic aid? In laymen's terms an ergogenic aids is any substance, technic, mechanism that is designed to enhance a person naturally occurring abilities
Music is ubiquitous and we are exposed to it every day: in the elevator, on the way to work and on the university campus. We have all been exposed to music at least once in our lifetime. Music is inspirational, motivational and can help us focus. Music can help college students stay alert and focused when they are staying up late cramming for tests or writing English papers. The same can be applied to athletes and why they listen to music before a game. Athletes want to get in the "zone" and music
tiredness. Caffeine is a white odorless powder that is most commonly found in coffee, tea, energy drinks, and pops. Caffeine can also be considered and ergogenic aid. Ergogenic aids are external influences that enhance/ improves ones strength, endurance, reaction time and speed of recovery. (Healthline) The three theories that make caffeine an ergogenic aid during exercise is the effect it has on the central nervous system, skeletal muscles, and metabolic changes. (Sheila G. Dean) Caffeine also has
After that, the subjects were ready to begin testing. During the first eight visits, the participants performed the exhaustion ride (ER) at the same time of day. Most of the ERs were performed on a week by week premise, but sometimes it went up to 3 weeks in between test sessions. The first phase of the ER involved 5 min of non-stop cycling at around 50% VO2max with a pedal frequency that was between 60 and 100 rev/min. During the second phase, subjects rode until they felt exhausted at roughly 80%
However, our prediction that caffeine consumption is a factor responsible increasing respiration rate and pulse rate was not observed but rather, results imply that caffeine does not have a visible effect on short-term exercise performance. Therefore, the alternate hypotheses are rejected in favour of the null. is This may be because caffeine only has a positive effect in prolonged, intense exercise that last up to 2 hours (Hogervorst 2008). As respiratory rate and pulse rate are just simple measures
With sportsmen seeking alternatives to illegal and unsafe performance enhancing drugs, “ergogenic aids” have come to their rescue. Ergogenic aids are supplements that enhance the performance of athletes by improving their speed, strength and agility. A number of natural products are marketed as ergogenic aids, which have found a ready market among sportspersons. Their biggest advantage is that they are legal, apart from being safe and
Plyometrics has proven to be an effective ergogenic aid for athletes. Plyometric training are exercises involving constant rapid stretching and contracting of muscles, where muscles use maximum force in short breaks of time, with the goal of increasing power (speed-strength). Although it has been studied comprehensively, many questions still remain about how plyometric training works, how one might benefit from the training and whether plyometrics is the best type of training for athletic ability
of salts, energy drinks are not a good beverage choice when prolonged exercise in a warm environment is likely to require rehydration. They also found that ingestion of high doses of caffeine, although ergogenic, could result in negative side effects that could counteract the caffeine’s ergogenic effect. Even though energy drinks have the ability to increase a certain amount of energy, the energy would be short lived, due to lack of hydration. A similar study was performed by a team of scientists
Wrestling Practices and Creatine Monohydrate: A Deadly Combination? Introduction On December 9th, 1997 Michigan University wrestler, Jeff Reese, attempted to cut 12 lbs in one day. His goal was to wrestle at the 150 lb weight class for the Wolverines in the team's match against Michigan State. Reese died trying to reach his goal. Cutting weight is a common practice in the sport of wrestling. In fact, wrestlers have been shedding pounds to qualify for lower weight classes since the
Works Cited Eichner, E. Randy. "Ergogenic Aids: What Athletes are Using and Why." The Physician and Sportsmedicine April 1997: 25(4): 70-83. Gordon, Kevin. Personal Interview. 7 May 1998. Jenkins, Mark A. "Creatine Supplementation in Athletes: Review." (1998) Online. SportsMedWeb. 10 May 1998. Lowengrub, Tamara. "Creatine: The Jury's Still Out." Swimming World April 1998: 39(4): 16-17. Mujika, I and Padilla, S. "Creatine Supplementation as an Ergogenic Aid for Sports Performance in
exhaustive exercise related muscular breakdown indicator, probably by decreasing pre-oxidative MDA levels in the skeletal muscle. However, it is apparent that spirulina supplementation to adult male rats has no positive effect on antioxidant activity and ergogenic status in our exercise protocol. There are few studies which investigates effects of spirulina supplementation to exercise-induced oxidative stress and exercise endurance capacity, and the action mechanism of spirulina on oxidative stress during
substance with researches shown that 87% of US population consume caffeine.(Frary et al., 2005) The worldwide popularity of caffeine causes concerns in its safety, thus it is important to understand its effects on metabolism. This report focuses on the ergogenic effect of caffeine on aerobic metabolism. Aerobic capacity (VO2 max) measures the maximal oxygen consumption during incremental exercise. It describes the ability of the cardiorespiratory system in distributing oxygen to muscles. Thus, VO2 max acts