WarriorFX

Thousands of companies battle over the $20-billion U.S. dietary supplement industry every day, trying to turn profit by selling vitamins, minerals, botanicals, meal replacement supplements and various sports nutrition products. With all the money exchanging hands, from research and development to overly hyped-up advertising, it’s often hard for the average bodybuilder to separate fact from fiction. Looking at clinical evidence, conclusions based on scientific observation, as well as anecdotal reports from trained athletes, two over-the-counter supplements consistently come ahead of all others: creatine and caffeine. Continue reading

There are massive amounts of nutritional supplements marketed toward athletes today. Many magic-pill wonders quickly fade away as other fitness fads hit the market – each making a few dollars during their short shelf life. Others withstand the test of time; positively passing many scientific and anecdotal trials. Probably the most debated dietary supplement available is glutamine. It’s a non-essential amino acid, which means it can be synthesized in the body. The big question facing bodybuilders is whether exogenous use is necessary to build muscle and lose fat. Continue reading

Hard physical training requires massive amounts of energy and sustained mental focus. Caffeine has been employed as an ergogenic in athletics for many years – from recreational bodybuilders to competitive athletes. The substance positively affects time-to-exhaustion and endurance-training potential. Caffeine has a large number of reported physiological benefits to athletes; such as greater muscle contractions from antagonistic actions on adenosine receptors, delayed fatigue by stimulating the central nervous system, direct neuro-endocrine activation and direct actions on skeletal muscle function. It has been shown to support endurance athletes engaged in strenuous cycling, running and swimming. Caffeine has also been shown to improve performances in intermittent high-intensity team sports.
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Nicotine is commonly associated with smoking cigarettes – something routinely shunned by people in pursuit of greater physical performance. However, is nicotine itself the venom? Moreover, could it provide an ergogenic affect for athletes?

Nicotine was first identified in the early 19th century. It’s an addictive alkaloid that has long been obtained from the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, Nicotiana tabacum. Nicotine is its main active ingredient. It is well understood that smoking tobacco is toxic to the human body; causing irritation of lung tissues, constriction of blood vessels, increased blood pressure and heart rate, as well as central nervous system stimulation. The bad is well known, but the potential for good is often less understood; as well as how the two relate. Continue reading