Ergogenic aids are commonly used by athletes of all levels of experience prior to and during exercise without them even knowing it.
An ergogenic aid is anything that can improve performance; in this instance, anything that can improve performance in exercise or sport. For example, ergogenic aids in sport and exercise can be nutritional, mechanical, pharmacological, or psychological. These aids act by preparing an individual for exercise, improving performance during competition, or enhancing the development of physiological adaptations as a result of training.
Nutritional Ergogenic Aids
The foundation for success in exercise and sport is meeting basic nutritional guidelines for an active lifestyle. A basic principle to follow is that energy intake must offset the total amount of caloric expenditure, meaning you can't efficiently and effectively exercise if you don't have fuel to burn. When a caloric deficit occurs, the potential for loss of muscle tissue, decreased strength, and susceptibility for over-training is increased.
In a 2010 article published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, Kreider and colleagues explain how food serves as an ergogenic aid: A well-balanced and well-timed diet can naturally enhance performance during sport as well as in the development of adaptations as a result of training. This practice can help prevent the onset of over-training and injury that can occur as a result of repetitive exercise.
Supplements
Dietary supplements are commonly ingested as quick alternative forms of nutrition in conjunction with or opposed to a proper well-balanced diet. The scientific evidence behind the effectiveness and safety of these supplements is still relatively scanty. Common supplements that are taken in conjunction with exercise include pre-energy drinks, re-hydrators, and post-recovery drinks. In particular, studies published in 2010 in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition and Amino Acids, Byars and colleagues and Hoffman and colleagues both show using pre-exercise energy drinks and pre and post-weight training protein supplementation can enhance performance, recovery, and adaptations as a result of exercise.
Placebo Effect
The scientific evidence behind the absolute effectiveness of certain ergogenic aids is questionable and needs significantly more science-based studies. One type of ergogenic aid is psychological in nature, and plays a role in exercise and sport performance. The placebo effect means that taking something you think works will show similar results to taking something that actually works. A study in the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psycology in 2007, by McClung and Collins, shows that there may indeed be a placebo effect occurring with the use of ergogenic aids. Their results showed a similar performance response in the subjects who took a placebo supplement when compared with the actual supplement users. Thus, this type of evidence demonstrates the use of natural healthy lifestyle and dietary guidelines may be just as effective and safer ergogenic aids than unproven artificial supplementation.
References
- "Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition"; ISSN exercise & sport nutrition review: research & recommendations; R.B. Kreider et al.; 2010
- "Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition "; The influence of a pre-exercise sports drink (PRX) on factors related to maximal aerobic performance; A. Byars et al.; 2010.
- "Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology"; "Because I know it will"! Placebo effects of an ergogenic aid on athletic performance; M. McClung and D. Collins.; 2007.
- "Amino Acids"; Effect of a proprietary protein supplement on recovery indices following resistance exercise in strength/power athletes; J.R. Hoffman et al.;2010.
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