Athletes spend a fortune on an endless variety of dietary supplements, such as proteins, vitamins, and weight - gain products. However, an overwhelming body of literature has demonstrated that as long as an athlete is receiving a balanced diet, most dietary supplements have no effect on performance. Of course, if the diet is deficient in any essential nutrient, then supplementation may very well be beneficial. This section focuses on those nutritional supplements that are specifically used as ergogenic aids.
Carbohydrate (CHO) feeding, often in the form of glucose, dextrose, or honey, has long been used as an ergogenic aid to increase strength, speed, and endurance. CHO feeding has no effect on strength, power, or high - intensity, short - term exercise.
Consuming liquid meals before and during exercise has been shown to be beneficial in endurance exercise. Compared to no feeding, carbohydrate feeding during exercise increases blood glucose concentration. During prolonged exercise, carbohydrate intake increases endurance and the ability to exercise intensely late in exercise. The longer exercise continues, the more important ingested carbohydrate becomes as a fuel source. Carbohydrate feeding is most effective in well - trained athletes when exercise duration exceeds three hours. The effective exercise duration decreases with the training status of the subject. In mode rat Iv trained people, carbohydrate feeding may be effective in events lasting as little as 1.5 hours.
