Sport-X Detox
“SPARE PARTS FOR THE ROAD” 

 

 

Carbohydrates and fat act as fuels (petrol or diesel) contained within fuel tanks of varying capacities. What about the rest of the car? Spare wheels and an extra fan belt could have made a world of difference in some competitive situations during the race.

 

The same principle applies to the human body. Nutrients other than carbohydrates and fats also make a contribution towards maintaining power output during the race. Most of the nutritional supplements on the market cater for more fuel and compensate for over-heating (dehydration). Extra engine oil, spare wheel, and spare spark plugs, for example, could also determine the outcome of the venture - especially when a time-imposed constraint becomes applicable.

Many of these required nutrients cannot be stored within the body in sufficient amounts prior to the event and necessitate the need for supplementation during the event. Many, if not all, commercialized sports drinks do not contain these spare parts, and a second set of capsules needs to be taken during the event to facilitate those processes within various organs involved to rid the muscle tissue of noxious metabolic by-products that impair muscle power output.

 

SCIENTIFIC DETAILS

 

Acidosis (decrease in the acid-base status of the blood) is a variable that surely shows contributing properties towards enhancing exercise-induced fatigue. In combination with the actions of the blue capsules, these capsules help to rid the muscle tissue of acidic metabolic waste products. Acidosis impairs the power output of muscle tissue associated with peripheral fatigue. Furthermore, the ingredients that comprise these capsules also help to optimize the altered plasma amino acid concentrations brought about by strenuous physical activity that initiates and triggers central fatigue. These factors affect the rate of perceived exertion.

 

 

Example 4

Trial 1

Marathon athletes consumed capsules containing a combination of specific amino acids (AA) at a rate of one capsule every 30 minutes after the onset of a marathon race. The athletes reported that they “felt better” during the race and an improvement in performance time was reported for many athletes.

Trial 2

The same athletes (on a different occasion) consumed an alkaline metal bicarbonate (AB) in the form of a capsule at a rate of 500 mg every 30 minutes after the onset of a marathon. The same findings were noted.

Trial 3

The same athletes (on yet a different occasion) consumed a product comprising the amino acids ingested during trial run 1 (AA) in combination with 500 mg of the alkaline metal bicarbonate (AB) ingested during trial run 2 at a rate of one capsule every 30 minutes after the onset of the race.

 

RESULTS (refer to Figure 1)

An improvement in the perceived rate of exertion occurred in 8 of the 10 athletes during and after the events (see accompanying Figures) when the results of trial 3 were compared with the results of trials 1 and 2. Athletes also reported that they were less “stiff” within hours after trial run 3 had been completed.

 

 

 

 

  

Figure 1: Effect of the supplement on the rate of perceived exertion

 

  

COMPETITIVE FIELD ANALYSES

 

The limited capacity of science always to make appropriate measurements in a biologic active system in order to render variables parameters is fallible and should be acknowledged before attempts are made to explain the involvement of a specific mechanism's contribution towards the changes that have occurred. Genetic endowment (muscle fibre composition and function; the ability of an individual to adapt to physical activity (inter-organ homeostasis); and the current fitness level of individuals differ among athletes. It is therefore irrational to make measurements and subject these measurements in an orderly fashion to statistical analyses in order to relate the changes that might have occurred, to chance. Ignoring these views would actually imply that the homeostasis mechanisms at work during physical activity in all athletes respond similarly to the same workload. This is not realistic and most certainly not true.

 

Well-informed trainers currently recognize that the most effective methods of preparing athletes for the demands of international competition are those methods based on "competitive field analyses” rather than those methods based solely on so-called “proven scientific principles" only. Since laboratory criteria (in this instance incremental treadmill running tests to exhaustion and bike-ergometry at a constant workload) do not mimic the actual demands/events during competition, the stimulatory effect on performance ability was further evaluated during competitive field analyses in different sport codes.