• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

  • Fitness
  • Workouts
    • Best Shoulder Workouts
    • Best Chest Workouts
    • Best Leg Workouts
    • Best Leg Exercises
    • Best Biceps Exercises
    • Best Kettlebell Exercises
    • Best Back Workouts
    • Best HIIT Workouts
    • Best Triceps Exercises
    • Best Arm Workouts
  • Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Pre-Workouts
      • Best Whey Protein
    • Equipment
      • Best Home Gym Machines
    • Certifications
      • ISSA Review
  • News
  • Exercise Guides
    • Legs
      • Back Squat
      • Bulgarian Split Squat
      • Goblet Squat
      • Zercher Squat
      • Standing Calf Raise
      • Hack Squat
    • Chest
      • Bench Press
      • Dumbbell Bench Press
      • Close-Grip Bench Press
      • Incline Bench Press
    • Shoulders
      • Overhead Dumbbell Press
      • Lateral Raise
    • Arms
      • Chin-Up
      • Weighted Pull-Up
      • Triceps Pushdown
    • Back
      • Deadlift
      • Trap Bar Deadlift
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Inverted Row
      • Bent-Over Barbell Row
      • Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
      • Pendlay Row
Fitness

Ergogenic Aids: Which Ones Actually Work?

Most athletes use some kind of ergogenic aid to improve their performance. Are you using aids that really work or falling for a gimmick? A new review helps answer that question.

Doug Dupont

Written by Doug Dupont Last updated on June 21, 2013

We are all looking for an edge in competition, and anything external that we can take to improve performance is called an “ergogenic aid.” Although we normally think of things you ingest, an ergogenic aid can be anything really, including clothing and other gear that claims to enhance performance. So besides conditioning, skill, and psychological preparation, ergogenic aids cover a major aspect of athleticism and shouldn’t be ignored.

The problem, however, is that many ergogenic aids, especially the ones you consume, typically come to us through dubious hearsay. The discussion starts with something like, “Try eating (insert ergogenic aid here) bro, it’ll make your next workout crazy.” Yeah right. I’ll prepare some oysters for my girlfriend tonight too. Instead of all that noise, we want to know what has actually been shown by science to improve performance, and a recent review in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning has done just that.

In the review, researchers looked specifically at ergogenic aids for running. But let’s be clear: even if you don’t run, the mechanisms for exhaustion and performance for running are the same as those for any athletic event of similar duration and intensity, so I’d wager the results are applicable to anyone. Additionally, for most Breaking Muscle readers, running is probably an adjunct to athletic preparation anyway, even if it’s not a direct part of competition.

Now, with that aside, let’s get to the results. First up are ergogenic aids for middle-distance runs. In running, middle distance is about 400m to 5K. Just under 1,000 feet to just over 3 miles is a big gap, so I’ll break the results up into two categories: less than 3K, and then 3K to 5K.

The aids proven effective for 400m to 3K are sodium bicarbonate and caffeine. That’s right, baking soda and coffee make you faster. In fact, baking soda gives an average boost of 3.6 seconds in a 1,500m. That’s a major advantage. For 3K to 5K, the most effective aids were caffeine and sodium citrate. Sodium citrate is often a flavoring agent and preservative in foods, such as club soda. In fact, some club sodas have both sodium bicarbonate and sodium citrate. The ergogenic effects of sodium citrate are less studied, but it probably works similarly to baking soda. To give you an idea of the benefit, caffeine had an average boost of 10 seconds in a 5K. That could mean the difference between first place and also-ran.

For longer events, in particular events lasting over an hour, carbohydrates were the only noted ergogenic aid, although results are mixed for shorter events. Interestingly, new studies have indicated that having carbs in your mouth without even ingesting them might give you a boost, although more research is needed.

So we know what products work, but how do we use them? For baking soda, take up to .3 grams per kilo of body weight two hours before exercise. Take the baking soda with water and a high carbohydrate meal, but test it first as it can lead to some gastric upset. For caffeine, consume 3 mg per kilo of bodyweight one hour before your workout. Sodium citrate would be .5 grams per kilo of bodyweight, 1.5 to 2 hours before exercise. Keep in mind you may gain weight from water retention. For carbs, the improvement comes if you consume them while you run, starting at 30 grams per hour and increasing as the race gets longer.

References:

1. Matthew Schubert, et. al., “A Systematic Review of the Efficacy of Ergogenic Aids for Improving Running Performance,” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 27(6), 2013.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

Doug Dupont

About Doug Dupont

Having grown up at the foot of a forest covered mountain in rural Vermont, Doug was active from a very young age. Hiking, running, and climbing were a part of everyday life in the Green Mountains. This culture of exercise led to dabbling in martial arts as a teen, and also getting work in a local powerlifting focused gym. Doug continued to pursue knowledge and training in exercise, becoming a certified personal trainer while still a teenager. Once in college he began his hand at the business side of fitness, taking a management position at a large local gym. During that time he became a founding member of the UVM Brazilian Jiu Jitsu club, and was the first among their competition team. After only a few months he was assisting in coaching, and ran conditioning program for the club.

Out of college Doug set up his own training center. He grew his list of clientele including several professional MMA athletes, eventually going so far as to corner a world title fight. He has continued ­­­to develop his business into today.

View All Articles

Recommended Articles

Method Man Incline Dumbbell Presses December 2022
Check Out Rapper Method Man Cruising Through 120-Pound Incline Dumbbell Presses for 10 Reps
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson Leg Workout
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson Crushes 5 “Monster Sets” of a Leg Workout
Michael B. Jordan poster for Creed III
Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors Look Like Shredded Boxing Stars in “Creed III”
person running on road
How to Run an 8-Minute Mile Pace

Primary Sidebar

Latest Articles

Justin Medeiros Walks Through a Full Tour of His Home Gym Before CrossFit Season

Powerlifter Jimmy Kolb Logs 612.5-Kilogram (1,350.3-Pound) Equipped Bench Press World Record

The Ultimate Back and Biceps Workout for Every Lifter From Beginner to Advanced

Strongman Legend Hafthor Björnsson Receives International Sports Hall of Fame Induction

Latest Reviews

ISSA Personal Trainer Certification Review

ISSA Personal Trainer Certification Review

Best Whey Proteins for Packing on Muscle, Shredding Down, Meal Replacement, and More

Best Pre-Workouts for Building Muscle, Running, Taste, and More

Best Home Gym Machines

Best Home Gym Machines

woman lifting barbell

Be the smartest person in your gym

The Breaking Muscle newsletter is everything you need to know about strength in a 3 minute read.

I WANT IN!

Breaking Muscle is the fitness world’s preeminent destination for timely, high-quality information on exercise, fitness, health, and nutrition. Our audience encompasses the entire spectrum of the fitness community: consumers, aficionados, fitness professionals, and business owners. We seek to inform, educate and advocate for this community.

  • Reviews
  • Healthy Eating
  • Workouts
  • Fitness
  • News

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed

© 2023 · Breaking Muscle · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy · Affiliate Disclaimer · Accessibility · About