Ergogenic Aids for Athletes | Overview, Examples and Use Cases

Bigger, faster, stronger — the pursuit of these attributes drives athletes to explore every possible edge, including the use of ergogenic aids. These substances are designed to enhance physical performance, increase muscle mass and strength, and boost endurance, and are an important part of an athlete's regimen.

This article discusses the science behind ergogenic aids, exploring their benefits, potential risks, and how to use them along with proper training and diet.

What Are Ergogenic Aids?

An ergogenic aid is any substance or technique used to enhance athletic performance. These aids range from the use of accepted techniques such as carbohydrate loading and supplements to illegal substances like anabolic steroids. Many athletes utilize ergogenic aids with hopes of gaining a competitive edge (1).

Ergogenic aids sold as dietary supplements aim to increase exercise performance by:

• decreasing fatigue

• improving recovery

• modulating the inflammatory response

• reducing oxidative stress

• supporting immune function

• increasing lean muscle mass and strength

• reducing perceived exertion and pain

• improving muscle force production

• increasing cellular energy production

There is strong evidence to support the efficacy of some ergogenic aids, while for others there is a lack of data or it is very limited.

That said, all ergogenic aids are dietary supplements, but not all dietary supplements are ergogenic aids.

Ergogenic Aids that Directly Enhance Athletic Performance

Several dietary supplements have strong evidence to support their use as ergogenic aids. Here's an overview of some of these supplements and how they increase exercise performance:

Caffeine

Caffeine is a nervous system stimulant effective for decreasing perceptions of fatigue and pain and enhancing muscle contractility force, attention, and vigilance.

Through these effects, caffeine, taken in doses of 3–6 mg/kg (1.4–2.7 g/lb) of body weight 60 minutes before exercise, has been shown to enhance muscular endurance, strength, and power (2).

Higher doses of caffeine don't enhance performance further and are more likely to lead to negative side effects, including nausea, anxiety, insomnia, and restlessness.

Creatine

Creatine supplementation increases your ability to regenerate adenosine triphosphate (ATP) — the energy currency of the cell — allowing you to lift heavier weight for more repetitions before fatiguing (3).

Creatine loading is the most common supplementation strategy. It involves taking five grams four to five times daily for 5–7 days (the loading phase) followed by five grams daily (the maintenance phase).

Alternatively, you can skip the loading phase and supplement with the five-gram maintenance dose, but this method, while just as effective, takes about four times longer to experience creatine's effects.

Nitrate

Nitrate increases your body's production of nitric oxide, a molecule that relaxes the inner muscles of the blood vessels, causing them to widen and increase circulation.

By increasing nitric oxide, nitrate supplementation increases muscle contractility, reduces the energy cost of muscle force production, increases blood flow to working muscles, and enhances mitochondrial respiration.

These benefits are seen within 2–3 hours of supplementing with 310–560 mg (5–9 mmol) of nitrate, though performance benefits are harder to obtain for highly trained athletes (4).

Other supplements like arginine and citrulline can also increase nitric oxide levels, offering similar ergogenic effects as nitrate. Some ingredients contain nitrate bonded to arginine.

Beta-alanine

Supplementing with beta-alanine increases muscle carnosine levels. This helps buffer the acid produced during high-intensity exercise, delaying the onset of fatigue.

An effective dose is 4–6 grams taken daily for at least 2–4 weeks. Supplementing with this dose is known to cause a tingly effect in the hands, face, or neck, known as paresthesia. While this is a harmless side effect, you can take smaller (less than 800 mg), split doses throughout the day to prevent it (5).

Sodium bicarbonate

Better known as baking soda, sodium bicarbonate acts as an extracellular (blood) buffer to balance pH levels. Similar to beta-alanine, sodium bicarbonate supplementation helps delay muscle fatigue, allowing you to exercise longer and harder.

An effective dose is 0.2–0.4 g/kg (0.09–0.18 g/lb) of body weight 60–150 minutes before exercise (6).

Sodium bicarbonate is known to cause digestive distress, which can be minimized by taking it with a carbohydrate-rich meal or using sodium citrate as an alternative.

Ergogenic Aids that Indirectly Enhance Athletic Performance

While some supplements can directly increase exercise performance, others can do so indirectly by supporting health, body composition, injury avoidance or recovery, and training adaptations.

For example, some athletes can benefit from nutritional supplements like vitamins C and D, zinc, and probiotics to support immunity during the cold season or prolonged stretches of intense training, which can temporarily depress various aspects of immune function (7).

Other supplements like protein powders are effective for promoting gains in lean body mass when combined with resistance training while weight gainers can make it easier to get enough calories to support an energy surplus (8).

Moreover, collagen can reduce joint pain and anti-inflammatory compounds like curcumin, tart cherry juice, and omega-3 fatty acids can reduce markers of inflammation and muscle damage to support exercise recovery and alleviate delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) (9, 10).

Illegal Ergogenic Aids

Some ergogenic aids are so effective or linked with serious adverse side effects that they are either banned for use in competitive sports or illegal to use without a doctor's prescription.

Here are some common examples of banned or illegal substances:

• anabolic steroids

• erythropoietin (EPO)

• diuretics and other masking agents

• human growth hormone and other peptide hormones

• clenbuterol and other beta-2 adrenoceptor agonists

• certain types of stimulants, including phentermine and ephedrine

• selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMS)

Most organizations with drug-testing programs like the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) follow the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) list of banned substances.

Athletes subject to regular banned substance testing must be extra cautious when taking dietary supplements as some may contain undisclosed banned ingredients.

This is why it's crucial for athletes — as well as non-competitive athletes — to purchase supplements that have been third-party tested to ensure that the product contains only what's stated on the label — nothing more, nothing less.

Here are some helpful resources for athletes who want to learn more about approved and banned substances:

• World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) List of Prohibited Substances and Methods

• United States Anti-Doping Agency List of Prohibited Substances and Methods

Using Ergogenic Aids to Supplement Proper Training and Diet

No supplement can overcome a poor training regime or diet. Thus, unless you have optimized these pillars, supplementation won't do you much good.

However, when your training and diet are on point or close to optimized, several supplements can significantly boost athletic performance.

There is no "best" training plan as it will differ based on your goals, sport, and training experience, among other factors, but you should always aim to safely and progressively increase the difficulty of your workouts over time.

The same is true for diet as what and how much you should eat for performance varies based on several factors, but, ideally, you should aim to consume a wide variety of different colored fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, healthy fats, and lean proteins.

Once you've built a strong foundation with training and diet, supplementation with legal and safe ergogenic aids can help you train harder for longer and recover quicker.

Still, make sure to only purchase supplements from reputable manufacturers that have their products third-party tested for purity and potency (and absence of banned substances).

Conclusion

Ergogenic aids, whether directly enhancing performance through substances like caffeine and creatine or indirectly supporting health and recovery with vitamins and anti-inflammatory compounds, play a vital role in an athlete's regimen.

However, the effectiveness and safety of these aids depend on proper use in combination with well-structured training and nutrition plans. Athletes must be cautious of potential risks and ensure they use third-party tested supplements to avoid banned substances.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Are Ergogenic Foods?

Many foods can act as ergogenic aids. For example, foods rich in nitrates like beets and spinach increase nitric oxide production, and other foods like salmon and berries are rich in anti-inflammatory compounds that can improve muscle recovery.

Are Ergogenic Aids Safe?

Many ergogenic aids like creatine are generally safe but others, particularly in high doses, like caffeine can cause adverse side effects. Illegal ergogenic aids like anabolic steroids and certain stimulants pose a greater risk of adverse health effects.

Are Ergogenic Aids Approved by the Food and Drug Administration?

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates supplements but not to the extent of prescription drugs. The FDA does not approve any ergogenic aid nor do they guarantee that dietary supplements are safe or effective.