Effects of our Athletic Energy Stack on strength & power
Introduction
Muscle strength provides a very important role in overall athletic performance with it thought to have a great impact in enhancing general skills such as jumping, sprinting and allowing an increase in power while also helping decrease the risk of injury [7].
Muscle strength and power are neuromuscular variables that affect performance in many athletic movements. To perform these movements, anaerobic energy release often determines the outcome of the movements, such as who sprints the fastest or jumps the highest.
Anaerobic power is the result of strength and speed combined and refers to the ability of the neuromuscular system being able to produce the greatest possible impulse in a given time period. It is possible that by increasing the available force through muscular strength that acceleration and speed may improve [8].
How our stack improves strength?
Black maca when combined with resistance training can display positive effects on muscle function and has been shown to decrease body fat and increase muscle mass.
It can help reduce muscular fatigue by potentially lowering blood ammonia levels and shows efficacy in providing an anti-stress response and can inhibit the accumulation of reactive oxygen species becoming too high [1] [2].
Black ginger extract can increase blood flow to the muscles which consequently can increase oxygen supply and enhance ATP production capacity which can have beneficial effects to strength.
It has been shown that grip strength has improved following black ginger supplementation which may be because of the anti-inflammatory effects combined with increased nitric oxide that can help boost strength [3].
Pomegranate extract contains a high concentration of nitrate and polyphenolic compounds. By consuming this it may increase blood flow and increase oxygen debt, furthermore muscle protein synthesis can be improved by delivering more essential amino acids due to this increased blood flow. Following supplementation maximal strength and hypertrophy both were significantly increased [6].
How our stack improves power output?
Rhodiola rosea may increase exercise capacity and provide stimulation to the central nervous system (CNS) which may contribute to its positive affect on mean barbell velocity which improved 8% against a placebo group [4].
Beetroot extract has been proven effective at increasing nitric oxide (NO) and blood flow. This increased blood flow by NO is thought to be specific to type II muscle fibers - fast twitch muscle fibers. This can translate to an increased capacity for power and provide explanation for the enhanced power output of 13.5% seen in one study where they performed maximal muscle efforts of an isometric mid-thigh pull [5].
Similarly to how pomegranate improves strength it has also been shown to benefit average and peak power output. It has been suggested that this is due to it enhancing vessel diameter and blood flow which can help in the form of an increased delivery of substrates and oxygen.
Effectively, this results in an increase in energy that is available for the muscle to use which can mean a reduced energy cost of any given power output or an increase in peak power output [9].
References
[1]https://www.ksep-es.org/journal/view.php?doi=10.15857/ksep.2022.00465#
[2]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10770698/
[3]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4538785/
[4]https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/13/6953
[5]https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/abs/10.1139/apnm-2018-0050
[6]https://cmja.arakmu.ac.ir/article-1-841-en.pdf
[7]https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-016-0486-
[8]https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1600-0838.2008.00780.x
[9]https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17461391.2016.1230892