Somewhere in your local green grocers hides a vegetable with superpowers; which when consumed in the correct quantities has been shown to significantly improve performance in both high intensity exercise and endurance.
This unassuming little vegetable sits quietly on the shelf, and only a few people appreciate potential benefit. The supplement industry is on it and has already refined and purified its active ingredient and shoved a hefty price tag on it.
With a supplement you can chuck down some artificially sweetened powder and water. With this super vegetable you can indulge in a deep purple, earthy, sweet and comforting vegetable, filled with antioxidants and vitamins. You'll feel great, and perform even better.
Have you guessed what it is yet?
It's beetroot!
Nitric oxide in the blood is both an ergogenic aid and a vasodilator.
- An ergogenic aid is something which helps people to perform better when it is taken; examples include caffeine and creatine.
- A
vasodilator is a substance which encourages blood flow to the peripheral muscles;
this is good for reducing blood pressure and achieving the ‘pump’ which
bodybuilders love.
Beetroot contains very high levels of nitrate and when this absorbed by the body, it gets converted into nitric oxide and these effects become pronounced.
Sounds pretty good so far... Here's what the evidence is saying
A study in 2010 went out to discover what it is exactly about the nitrates in beetroot which increase performance. They felt that it was doing one of three things:
1.
Increasing the amount of oxygen delivered to the muscle
2.
Increasing the efficiency with which the muscle uses
oxygen
3.
Altering the ratio of energy systems used
All of which would lead to a slower rate of fatigue and increased performance
What they found was unexpected; in both high and low intensity exercise they found that increased levels of nitric oxide in the blood allowed muscles to use the body’s units of energy (ATP) more efficiently to do the same work. So each ATP molecule would produce slightly more force than before, leaving more ATP behind for later, and reducing the rate of fatigue.
In essence both 2 and 3 from the list above were correct.
The differences between 1 week of beetroot supplementation and placebo were huge, in high and low intensity exercise efficiency increased by 14% and 11% respectively.
This translates to the average gym goer in a couple of ways:
·
Muscle
o
If you want to build more muscle; high levels of
nitric oxide will allow you to cause more damage to your muscles for longer.
·
Strength
o
If you want to get stronger or more powerful; high
levels of nitric oxide will allow you to train at a higher intensity for
longer.
·
Calorie burning
o
Not much benefit for fat loss and calorie burning will probably have very
little effect.
·
Aerobic fitness
o
It will make it harder for you fatigue
yourself, which is the aim of aerobic training.
How long do these effects last for? I don't know, but I imagine as with all things, if you supplement above natural levels then your body will naturally down regulate production, leaving you at a disadvantage.
So save it for before big competition events, or take it during strength and muscle building training for the best results! The results of the study were achieved by drinking 0.5 litres of organic beetroot juice for 6 days, that's it.
No comments:
Post a Comment