Here are some interesting articles we’ve recently viewed regarding the science of training and supplementation.

Enjoy:

Neuroplasticity Exercise-Induced Response of Peripheral Brain-Der….

Cool article stating cardio at an above moderate intensity will definitely increase your brain power/mental acuity.

The Authenticity of Sports Supplements -An Interview With Our Journal’s Founder,
International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 2010, 20, 264-269
Professor Mel Williams
Louise M. Burke

Your special area of interest has been the effect of supplements on sports performance, and your own research activities have included studies on creatine, inosine, phosphate,and Eleutherococcus senticosus. What intrigued you about supplements for athletes? How have you seen the industry change and what do you think athletes and
researchers should be doing to respond to this?

Based on my doctoral dissertation with alcohol, my initial research interests involved the effects of drugs and related ergogenics on physical performance, and
several of our first research projects at Old Dominion University involved not only the potential ergogenic effects of alcohol but also those of amphetamines, caffeine,
hypnosis, and the technique of blood doping.

The ACSM roundtable also notes some possible medical applications of creatine supplementation.  Creatine has received considerably more research
attention than any other sport supplement, possibly with the exception of carbohydrate/fluid supplementation and prolonged aerobic endurance performance. Research suggests that both may be effective ergogenics under specific exercise circumstances.

However, as noted above, such as the tea and honey use by wrestlers, dietary supplements have been available to athletes for a long time. As athletes in high school, we
would read Scholastic Coach, a publication marketed to coaches and young athletes. I recall reading about wheat germ oil, then being touted as a wonder fuel for
athletes. Other nutritional supplements such as vitamins and ginseng were also marketed to athletes, and most marketing claims were based on personal endorsements
by athletes or low-quality research. When doing research for my doctoral dissertation on alcohol, I was exposed to a variety of articles involving the use of nutritional ergogenics
and noted the absence of high-quality research. This motivated me to conduct research in this area.

The sports supplement industry today is a multibillion-dollar entity. Check out sport magazines targeted to specific athlete groups such as runners, cyclists, and triathletes.
These magazines are replete with advertisements extolling the ergogenic virtues of specific supplements. The vast majority of sports supplements are supported
not by a sound body of scientific evidence but, rather, by personal endorsements or improper extrapolations from scientific study.

In the United States, most supplements also contain the disclaimer, “This statement has not been evaluated by the FDA.” Athletes should be awareof the limitations associated with sports supplements.  Some sport organizations, such as the Australian Institute of Sport and other national sport-governing bodies, do educate athletes on the use of dietary supplements, noting that although a few may be effective under certain sport conditions, most are not.

There are some reputable companies marketing sports supplements, but many, particularly Internet-based operations, are not. As has been demonstrated repeatedly, some sport supplements contribute to a positive doping test, and some athletes have claimed this rationale for their being tested positive.  Researchers need to evaluate the ergogenic efficacy of such purported sports supplements and not only publish the findings in acceptable journals but also write reviews for lay magazines targeted to athletes. Educating athletes about the truth underlying the efficacy of most sport supplements is the key to minimizing their sales and use.  Such has been the case with popular sport supplements
of old, a good example being the mineral chromium.

You have been involved with the story of creatine supplementation in sport, by undertaking original research, writing a whole textbook on this supplement, and being
a member of the panel of the American College of Sports Medicine who wrote the position stand on the physiological and health effects of oral creatine use. What are
your comments on the potential application of creatine supplements for sport and medical uses? Why did the ACSM position stand take such a conservative view of
the performance benefits of creatine?

As documented in our book Creatine: The Power Supplement(1999), we (co-authors J. David Branch, PhD, andRichard B. Kreider, PhD)presented data generally supportive of the use of creatine as an effective ergogenic aid for certain types of exercise tasks, particularly very high-intensity repetitive exercise involving the use of phosphocreatine as an energy source. We also highlighted some of creatine’s possible beneficial medical applications.  Several previous and subsequent reviews and meta-analyses have also presented a synthesis of the available data supportive of beneficial ergogenic effects and medical applications.

Given the data available when the ACSM roundtable was held in 1999, the conclusions regarding creatine supplementation and exercise performance appear to be reasonable. The conclusion in the published abstract notes that “although Cr supplementation exhibits small but significant physiological and performance changes, the increases in performance are realized during very specific exercise conditions. This suggests that the apparent high expectations for performance enhancement evident by the extensive use of Cr supplementation are inordinate.”

This statement may appear to be conservative. However, the main points in the abstract are not conservative. For example, one statement is “Exercise performance involving short periods of extremely powerful activity can be enhanced, especially during repeated bouts of activity.  This is in keeping with the theoretical importance of an elevated PCr content in skeletal muscle.”  The summary also notes, “Cr supplementation is associated with an enhanced accrual of strength in strength-training programs, a response . . . may be related to a greater volume and intensity of training that can be achieved.”  These statements support an ergogenic effect of creatine supplementation.

Can Exercise Make You Feel More Full?

Fascinating article about how regular exercise can actually increase feelings of satiety.

Derick Bownds’ MINDBLOG

This site is an incredible wealth of information about the mind and human behavior.  You should check it out on the regular.

Increasing Speed and Explosiveness-Interview with John Goodwin

This is one of the best and most authoritative articles we’ve ever seen on increasing explosive power output and speed for athletic performance.

MIHWCS