Supplement Your Performance
If you read my last blog post, you know that I believe most individuals should be taking supplements. Those supplements were all about setting the foundation of your performance. That is, if you’re always sick, injured, or struggling to recover, you can’t perform your skills at a high level, produce high amounts of force, or move with high speeds.
If your foundational health is solid, there’s still another level that your performance can reach with additional subset of supplements. Let’s talk about those…
Beta Alanine
Every hockey player knows the heavy leg feeling that comes from high intensity exercise. The buildup of hydrogen ions (not lactic acid) can cause players to skate higher, limit force production, and cause poor judgement making plays due to brain fog and fatigue.
Carnosine’s job in the body is to remove those hydrogen ions and increase pH levels (less acidity). While it may make sense for players to ingest carnosine supplements to help buffer the hydrogen ions, carnosine isn’t absorbed well when it’s ingested. A work around is to consume 4-6 grams of beta alanine daily for 4-6 weeks to increase carnosine levels in the body.
The caveat here is that you must take beta alanine every day for 4-6 weeks just to start to get the benefits. So, if you’re going to reap the benefits, you need to stay consistent to keep your carnosine levels high.
If you’ve ever taken a pre-workout and felt the pins and needles side effect from it, that was the beta alanine in the product, and is the only potential downside. While there’s nothing inherently bad about those pins and needles, some individuals just have a tough time tolerating that feeling. To avoid that, you could take a “slow release” beta alanine product or take your 4-6 grams in multiple doses throughout the day to disperse that side effect.
Lactigo/PR Lotion
Lactigo is a revolutionary product that works similarly to beta alanine. Lactigo is a carnosine, magnesium, and menthol product that is delivered through the skin in a topical form. So, by applying Lactigo to your skin, the carnosine levels increase in the area you’ve applied it, helping buffer hydrogen ions.
A similar product, PR Lotion, looks to reduce the acidity in the muscle by using sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). Sodium bicarbonate has been shown to improve performance in a similar way to beta alanine and Lactigo, because it can reduce the acidity in the working muscles. The downfall to ingesting sodium bicarbonate orally is that it can be extremely tough on the gut, causing abdominal pain, bloating, and diarrhea. PR Lotion is a topical cream that delivers sodium bicarbonate through the skin to the working muscles to avoid the GI stress that would come with ingesting it.
While both products attack the same issue in two separate ways, it’s unknown the true effectiveness of these products entering through the skin. There are studies that show both products improve aerobic and anaerobic performance, but because it’s a bit of a secret of how the products go through the skin and enter the muscle and blood stream, I can’t say for sure whether the improvements are from the products or are a placebo. Best case scenario, the products are entering the skin in the exact way they say and causing the improvements. Worst case scenario, the products aren’t doing anything and you’re in the same spot physically as you were without the product. I can’t think of a scenario where there would be a negative side effect.
Beet Root Juice
While beets aren’t necessarily a popular food group for many individuals, beet root juice is becoming extremely popular in the performance world. A lot of beet root juice supplements can be flavored and can also be put in small amounts of water to throw back easier like a shot.
Beets contain nitrogen, which increase nitric oxide, a compound that increases blood flow to the muscles. More blood flow means you’re able to work at higher intensities for longer periods of time.
Tart Cherry Juice
Melatonin is produced naturally by the body, but its production can be dampened by exercise, light, etc. Melatonin supplementation has increased exponentially over recent years but, I believe, is taken incorrectly by most. The pineal gland releases less than .1mg of melatonin at night (naturally), so supplementing with .1-.3mg is enough to increase concentrations in the body. Unfortunately, most melatonin supplements range from 1-20mg, which can cause issues for natural production down the line if you’re utilizing melatonin supplementation over the long-term.
On top of that, because melatonin products aren’t overseen by the FDA, there can be discrepancies in the label’s listed dosage and the actual dosage. This recent study found that the actual quantity of melatonin found in products range from 74% to 347% when compared to the quantity listed on the label.
An effective work around is by supplementing with tart cherry juice (or eating tart cherries). Tart cherry juice contains tryptophan, which increases the natural production, and availability, of melatonin. Because this is an increase in natural production, consuming tart cherry juice won’t cause a dependency like taking high levels of supplemental melatonin would.
Another benefit of tart cherry juice is that their high levels of antioxidants help fight oxidative stress that occurs during intense training. Supplementing with tart cherry juice will help minimize muscle soreness and will aid in quicker recoveries between shifts and sessions on the ice.
UCAN
Carbohydrates are the source of energy for all your physical activity. Most hockey players consume some version of pasta, rice, or potatoes with their pregame meal, with fruit and sports drinks (like Gatorade) being commonly consumed during games and practices.
Consuming normal carbohydrates causes a spike in blood sugar (thus a spike in energy) with a subsequent crash in blood sugar. This means that you could need to eat small amounts multiple times throughout a game to maintain a high energy level. Not only can this be tough on your gut to digest all this food, but you run the risk of having too much time between consumption and having a dip in energy during a crucial time.
UCAN is a revolutionary carbohydrate supplement that has a time-release component that allows for a smaller spike in blood sugar that is maintained over the course of hours. This can allow you to have sustainable energy levels over the course of an entire game without having digestion concerns.
As you dive deeper down the rabbit hole of supplementation, it’s important that you’re making sure you’re getting your supplements from a reliable source. Like the point above about melatonin labels having inaccurate quantities listed, there are many companies that don’t do any testing with their products. A lot of supplements are made in factories where illegal performance enhancing drugs are also made. Because of this, there can be a concern of certain illegal ingredients getting into legal supplements.
The companies I trust all perform third party testing through either NSF or Informed Choice, which tests every flavor of every product to make sure the ingredients on the label match the ingredients in the product. At the time of writing this, my two favorite companies to get supplements through are Thorne and Designs For Sport.
Taking control of your health and performance can potentially cost a lot of money (especially buying from reputable companies and paying for their quality), but it’s well worth the investment.
