Research has also shown Vitamin D plays a role in muscle repair and function following intense exercise via its effects on muscle inflammatory response, muscle tissue, protein synthesis, and regulation of skeletal muscle function.

Unfortunately, Vitamin D deficiency is highly prevalent among athletes, possibly due to increased utilization and storage depletion, which is a good reason to consider supplementation and healthy sun exposure.

Talk to your doctor or healthcare practitioner for individual recommendations. Magnesium, also known as the anti-stress mineral, is the second most abundant mineral and supports over metabolic processes in the body.

Magnesium is related to many functions connected to athletic performance, including:. Therefore, it has been studied as an ergogenic aid for athletes. Magnesium status can be difficult to screen for as much of it is stored in the bones. However, some studies have shown magnesium intake in endurance athletes is typically much lower than recommended for optimal performance.

Eating magnesium-rich foods and supplementing with high-quality magnesium is a practical and inexpensive way to potentially support muscle function and repair, stress response, sleep cycle, nerve function, glutathione levels, energy production, and more.

Since there are many different forms of magnesium citrate, glycinate, gluconate, etc. and individual variables, more research is needed to know exactly how magnesium may benefit and support endurance athletes. Zinc has gotten much attention for its role in supporting various aspects of immune function.

Research has shown that many people globally may not be getting enough zinc—especially those consuming no or minimal animal foods and lots of grains— or absorbing enough zinc from foods. Zinc absorption may be hindered by various factors, including phytic acids found in grains, nuts, and seeds which inhibit zinc absorption, as well as genetics and digestive health.

Emerging research also suggests that high-intensity physical exercise may change or deplete levels of zinc and copper which have a synergistic relationship due to its effects on metabolism, in which case supplementation may be helpful.

Talk to your healthcare practitioner if you suspect you are not getting enough or absorbing enough zinc. These eight vitamins are essential for various bodily functions—from cognitive function and digestion to cardiovascular function, cell health, and energy.

Emerging research has shown endurance athletes may benefit from B-vitamin supplementation for supporting exercise endurance, energy, metabolism, red blood cell function, muscle building, and recovery. Current research also shows that athletes may be more prone to suboptimal levels of specific B vitamins, especially if they are on very restricted diets, have eliminated food groups, have a genetic variation or mutation that hampers the absorption of crucial B vitamins such as folate or B12 , or anyone eating no or minimal animal foods.

Most endurance athletes are already familiar with various supplements for exercise recovery, performance, and inflammatory response. They can recommend the best combination of nutrients based on your diet, training schedule and terrain remember, high altitudes may affect nutrient levels , and individual needs.

Skip to content. F7CE6FEFB-AEBB5D Back to all posts. Written By: Kristen Boye Are you an endurance athlete looking for ways to optimize performance, nourish your body and support your mind? Five Best Supplements for Endurance Athletes The best supplements for endurance athletes contain high-quality, easy-to-absorb essential nutrients that may be lacking due to the demands of training and high metabolism.

Magnesium Magnesium, also known as the anti-stress mineral, is the second most abundant mineral and supports over metabolic processes in the body. Zinc Zinc has gotten much attention for its role in supporting various aspects of immune function.

Zinc also plays a vital role in: Cellular function Iron transport Growth and development Gut health Protein and DNA synthesis Sense of taste Skin, hair, and nail health Wound healing Research has shown that many people globally may not be getting enough zinc—especially those consuming no or minimal animal foods and lots of grains— or absorbing enough zinc from foods.

Common food sources of zinc include:. Beta-alanine is an amino acid found in poultry, fish, and meat.

It helps increase the carnosine levels in muscles. In addition, it decreases the lactic acid in muscles that helps lessen muscle fatigue.

Beta-alanine is more beneficial for sports with intermittent efforts like hockey. Caffeine is a stimulant found among coffees, tea, and energy drinks. It helps increase the energy levels among athletes for several hours. Varying caffeine amounts will result in varying increases in energy levels.

You may start with 2mg per kg and increase the dose until you find the right amount for you. L-Glutamine is good in increasing energy levels and muscle recovery. With this, athletes can increase the intensity of their exercises.

Having low levels of L-glutamine results in muscle breakdown and inflammation, thus decreasing athletic performance. Omega-3 Fatty acids are found in seafood, fortified foods, nuts, seeds, plant oils, and krill oil. These acids are said to reduce muscle inflammation and accelerate the recovery process.

It can help improve endurance because athletes recover faster, thus allowing them to train longer. Sodium bicarbonate, aka baking soda, has varying effects on different athletes.

It helps lessen the acid build-up in the muscles, which helps reduce fatigue. The common dose for sodium bicarbonate is mL per kilogram of bodyweight. It is essential to be mindful of the side effects, as it may result in nausea and water retention. Turmeric is known for its many health benefits.

It reduces muscle fatigue and soreness and speeds up recovery. Also, turmeric improves mobility and joint health. It has similar effects as omega-3 fatty acids.

In addition, a study was conducted that showed that turmeric provided the same effects as Ibuprofen, although showed fewer side effects on gastrointestinal health. Whey Protein Whey proteins are commonly used for muscle building and recovery. The recommended daily amount is 1.

Endurance athletes are advised to have protein amounts at the lower range. Some of the benefits you could expect from mushroom supplements include increased energy, improved muscle recovery, immune support, heart health, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, and concentration or cognition.

The medicinal mushroom is shown to help the body utilize oxygen more efficiently and increase blood flow. Studies show that this supplement can not only improve exercise and athletic performance but also speed up post-workout muscle recovery. Understand the Difference Between Direct and Indirect Effect Supplements.

When consuming supplements, you will find varying effects on your endurance. Others have a direct impact on increasing energy levels.

Others will have indirect effects like fast muscle recovery, which in turn helps you train longer. It is crucial to take note of the side effects that you experience when consuming supplements. Despite the positive intention, it may result in health risks because each individual will have varying responses.

Do not consume prohibited substances along with supplements. This may decrease the health benefits of the supplements or may have unpleasant reactions that can harm your body. You can check the WADA prohibited substance list if you are a professional athlete.

Taking suppliments is a vitalpoint of any endurance training programme. The key is to get it right, based on your activity, level of training and your own body requirements. Why not read more from my training tips, by simply clicking the link below 🙂.

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to examine the effects that L-glutamine supplementation has on muscle strength and soreness ratings following eccentric exercise. The results concluded that supplementation of L-Glutamine directly influenced the faster recovery of peak torque and diminished muscle soreness following eccentric exercise.

RELATED ARTICLE Why L-Glutamine Is The Best Supplement For Faster Muscle Recovery And Soreness. Swolverine's Clean Carbs are one of the best supplements for endurance, due to it's whole food panel of complex carbohydrates, unlike the majority of carb supplements made from refined corn starch and sugar.

These four ingredients provide the long-lasting and sustained energy your body needs to fuel performance and optimize recovery. Delicious and rich you can add it to your smoothies, shakes, or mix with water, for a rich and tasty treat.

Carbohydrate supplements are formulated from various carbohydrate sources as a tool to delay fatigue and provide energy for endurance athletes.

Carbohydrate supplements help replenish glycogen stores in your muscle tissue, which are depleted during high-intensity workouts. With such high demand for training volume, endurance athletes need an abundant store of glycogen for added energy and improved performance, to promote more power and speed.

Carbohydrate supplements such as gels, chews, or supplemental drinks are extremely crucial especially for endurance athletes like cross-fitters, runners or cyclists, who are competing for a prolonged period of time. RELATED ARTICLE The Ultimate Guide to Carbohydrate Supplements. Participants consumed 0.

The 10km time trial using all three carbohydrate treatments resulted in significantly faster times than water, proving glycogen stores improve exercise performance [ R ].

Your body relies upon a continuous energy supply of glycogen derived from carbohydrates. This is the reason why at race stations, they give you fast-acting sources of carbohydrates made of sugar and maltodextrin such as energy gels, chews, energy bars, and Gatorade, which can provide more muscle fuel and energy and extend your time to exhaustion.

Unlike fat reserves, your body can only store a limited supply of glycogen within your muscles and liver, which ranges between , and grams. You need upwards of grams of carbohydrates during an ultra-endurance event making it essential to refuel along the way for optimal energy levels.

When you deplete your glycogen stores, you may experience extreme fatigue, sudden loss of energy, mental fogginess, and cramping; these are the symptoms of bonking and you are hitting the proverbial wall.

Essentially your entire body and brain shut down and go into triage. Intra-workout supplements are specific sports performance nutrition products made to help power your training while you work out. Intra-workout supplements can come in a wide variety of different forms, either with essential amino acids EAA , branched chain amino acids BCAA , electrolytes, carbohydrates, and endurance enhancing ingredients.

Intra-workout supplements can be extremely beneficial to help boost endurance and provide fuel for long-lasting training and prolonged bouts of exercise. Athletes who train for several hours in the gym, on the track, or on the pavement, need to keep their energy levels, focus, and hydration optimized at all times to maximize their training capacity and output.

The majority of intra-workout supplements contain fast-acting carbohydrates, essential amino acids, and electrolytes. Electrolytes are crucial not only to avoid bonking, but for any type of workout for adequate and efficient hydration for endurance athletes. Hydration during your workout is essential to prolong endurance activity, improve workout volume, delay muscle fatigue, and improve recovery.

Electrolytes are minerals and vitamins that conduct electrical activity in the body so that you can perform mechanical functions, such as muscle contraction and relaxation, which are a part of daily and athletic functions.

In an ultra, you can count on losing much more than that. The loss of water and electrolytes, coupled with not replenishing them, effects recovery times, oxygen levels, and nutrient deliveries contributing to muscle wasting and a poor removal of waste from the blood stream [ R ].

Electrolytes such as magnesium, potassium, salt can help replenish hydration. Coconut water is also a great ingredient for hydration. Naturally low in sugar, coconut water boosts the electrolyte potassium along with a few other nutrients. RELATED ARTICLE 10 Symptoms Of Electrolyte Imbalance. Sodium and electrolytes help your body retain water, which is important during a race.

Amino acids are the building blocks of protein and vital to human health. Essential amino acids EAA stimulate muscle protein synthesis and work by creating new protein cells for muscle size, growth, and recovery. Your body needs 20 amino acids for proper biological function, however, only 9 are considered essential.

These are histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine. A large body of evidence shows that that EAAs can improve athletic performance, delay muscle and mental fatigue, and enhance muscle recovery.

A systematic review, including patients across thirty-nine randomized controlled trials found that EAAs improves muscle strength, physical function and fatigue [1]. When your body works harder and harder during strenuous physical activity, muscle tissue is broken down, resulting in increased levels of tryptophan.

Increased levels of the sleep-inducing amino acid tryptophan , triggers an increase in serotonin, which produces lethargy, decreases muscular contractions, and depresses motor neuron excitability. A bonk happens when your body runs out of carbohydrates. However, when you demand more from your body, you need more fuel to supply it with, as it utilizes more resources.

During high-intensity and prolonged endurance activity, you may experience an amino acid deficit, which leads to neurotransmitter imbalance. We call this muscle catabolism. Muscle catabolism takes place, when your body uses your muscle mass for energy, in times of severe nutrient depletion.

For your nervous system to synthesize amino acids, you also need an adequate intake of b-vitamins which are also the primary building blocks of neurotransmitters. Ingesting essential amino acids each hour during a race, will help you amplify your resistance to mental and muscle fatigue.

INTRA is a combination of essential amino acids, B-Vitamins, electrolytes from pink Himalayan salt and coconut water, as well as raw superfoods proven to help endurance, and recovery such as pomegranate, spirulina, and tart cherry extract.

Adding some of the supplements to your nutrition regimen will definitely help boost your endurance, and maximize your athletic performance.

Swolverine's INTRA -workout powder features an advanced supplement formula to maximize hydration and improve training performance during your workout. INTRA is a vegan EAA powder made with proven sports performance ingredients, antioxidant-rich superfoods, and electrolytes.

INTRA-workout powder combines essential amino acids, tart cherry extract, pomegranate, spirulina, coconut water, and Panax ginseng for maximum endurance, mental focus, muscle growth, hydration, and recovery.

Made for the elite athlete, and the strong-willed our products were designed to fuel your athletic performance.

We perform when you perform. We believe that everyone can optimize not only their athletic performance but their human potential. The way we believe we can optimize performance is through transparency, clinically effective doses, and clinically proven ingredients with evidence-based outcomes.

We provide the nutrients you need to power your active lifestyle. Get exclusive access to discounts and the latest on fitness, nutrition, and wellness delivered straight to your inbox. Your email. Create your account Lost password? First name. Last name. Your cart is empty. DAILY STACKS DIGESTIVE HEALTH JOINT HEALTH WEIGHT LOSS WELLNESS.

Kre-Alkalyn Kre-Alkalyn is a ph corrected form of creatine, and creatine is one of the most heavily researched supplements that's proven to help increase athletic performance.

Why Is Kre-Alkalyn One Of The Best Supplements For Endurance Athletes? RELATED ARTICLE The Ultimate Guide To Kre-Alkalyn In a clinical trial comparing Kre-Alkalyn to Creatine Monohydrate by a group of physicians at Greenberg Medical Center, 24 Male Olympic level athletes were divided into two test groups.

Beta-Alanine CarnoSyn Beta-Alanine is a non-essential beta-amino acid, which has proven to be one of the most effective supplements for endurance athletes, due to its ability to delay muscle fatigue by reducing lactic acid buildup.

Once in the skeletal muscle, it binds with the essential amino acid L-histidine, to form dipeptide carnosine [ R ] RELATED ARTICLE The Ultimate Guide To Beta-Alanine Why is Beta-Alanine One Of The Best Supplements For Endurance Athletes?

Citrulline Malate Citrulline Malate is a unique combination of the nonessential amino acid L-Citrulline and malate, which comes from malic acid. Why Is Citrulline Malate One Of The Best Supplements For Endurance Athletes? RELATED ARTICLE The Ultimate Guide To Citrulline Malate However, the greatest benefit of Citrulline Malate is in its ability to promote Nitric Oxide NO production.

L-Glutamine Your training isn't over until you recover and as an endurance athlete, recovery is crucial to your overall performance. Why Is L-Glutamine One Of The Best Supplements For Endurance Athletes? MSM Infusion: For muscle and joint pain add an MSM IV.

MSM acts as a natural analgesic painkiller by blocking the transfer of pain impulses through nerve fibers. It blocks the inflammatory processes by enhancing the activity of cortisol and relaxing the muscles. It also speeds up healing by dilating blood vessels to enhance blood circulation and thus eliminate waste products from the body.

Boost Athletic Performance Increase Muscle Strength and Lean Body Mass Reduce Fatigue Prevent Muscle Cramps and Dehydration Shorten Recovery Time Replenish Electrolytes THE SCIENCE.

B vitamins help you convert proteins and carbohydrates into energy, while helping with cell repair and production. Vitamin C enhances muscle recovery and growth by protecting your muscles from free radical damage and inflammation, while metabolizing amino acids to aid in collagen production.

Calcium helps with muscle contraction, prevents muscle cramps and makes bones stronger. Magnesium fights inflammation raises antioxidant levels and replenishes muscle energy stores. L-glutamine stimulates growth hormone production to speed up recovery, increase lean body mass and help re-build stronger muscle cells, as well as to enhance glycogen storage and hydrate muscle cells by opening blood vessels to improve blood flow.

L-carnitine increases the amount of fat used as fuel for energy to help you burn more fat even post workout. N-acetyl L-cysteine NAC has been proven to dramatically reduce muscle fatigue and enhance athletic endurance, while increasing lean muscle mass. Taurine and Zinc improve post-exertion tissue repair and in converting food to fuel.

Selenium supports immune function and cellular damage repair. TREATMENT PROTOCOL It is recommended that athletes receive a treatment once a week.