Going That Extra Mile
Whether you are a runner, weight lifter, swimmer or any other athlete, increasing your performance is key. Some people run or do other exercise because their doctor recommends it to stay healthy, but that is not you. You want to push yourself and improve at your favorite exercise or sport. There are a few important elements to improving performance and supplements can certainly help.
The Basics of Performance Improvement
Getting sufficient sleep and eating right could be considered so elementary as to not need to be stated, yet it can be difficult in our hectic world. You have a lot to do, and there are only so many hours in the day. One supplement that can actually help with eating right is having a protein bar that is low in sugar handy in your car or office. This enables you to snack between healthy meals without having to get Doritos from the vending machine. It is important to have healthier alternatives to foods that would weigh you down and slow you down.
Laying the Groundwork
According to Nutrition Pit Supplement Store, “The first supplement for improving performance is also the first one for improving general health; a good multivitamin. One that has all the basic vitamins and minerals the body needs will keep your performance from being held back by any deficiencies in certain nutrients.” This is also a good life long insurance policy against diseases that may be caused by nutritional deficiencies, so you’re killing two birds with one stone.
Serious Supplements for Serious Performance
Rhodiola is a Himalayan root that improves the transfer of oxygen from the lungs to the red blood cells. It has been shown to improve endurance exercise capacity in young healthy volunteers.1 Cordyceps is a Tibetan mushroom that is available in supplement form, and it also has been shown to improve exercise performance.2 Cordyceps is also used in Chinese medicine for lung protection. Green tea is a supplement that is both good for overall health and can provide you with additional energy to persist through workouts, and this exact description could also be applied to ginseng. Take them together for an extra boost to get your workout going. Many weight lifters swear by creatine supplements for increasing the intensity of and speeding up recovery from their workouts.
Another Type of Performance Improvement
There are also supplements that can give your brain a boost if that is the particular type of improvement you need. Enhancing your physical workout is great, but what about thinking more clearly for work or school? There is actually some crossover between supplements that are good for physical and mental improvement. The improved oxygenation performance of Rhodiola, for instance, can also help your brain function better. Additionally, the green tea and ginseng that give you energy for a workout can give you more energy for thinking. Vinpocetine, from the periwinkle plant, is an example of an excellent performance enhancer for your mind. It increases blood flow to the brain making you more alert. Bacopa Monnieri is an herb that can reduce the symptoms of anxiety, which frees up your mind for more productive use. Huperzine A is derived from a plant native to China, and it provides a potent boost to your memory. If the aforementioned supplements are taken together, they can give you one lean, mean oxygenated, alert, chilled out and memory recalling brain that will help get you through a tough day at work or school.
Supplements Can Work Together to Maximize Your Performance
There are supplements available that can help you with improving your physical and mental performance. As long as you have the cornerstones of adequate sleep and a good diet in place, they can give you an edge to take you over the top in your favorite sport, exercise, or just helping your brain wrestle its way through your day. Start slow and see what supplements you feel a benefit from, and then try adding others to see if you get a synergistic effect from multiple supplements. You may even want to try certain products that are multivitamin equivalents specific to physical or mental energy. Presumably someone made your job easier by putting a combination of performance enhancing supplements in one pill or powder, so you can just get on with your workout and the rest of your day.
1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15256690
2 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3110835/
