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percent)

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Creatine supplementation isn’t banned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC)

and, with the exception of a small increase in body mass over the initial three to six days,

doesn’t appear to have any adverse side effects, at least with short-term use. Little scientific

data are available for more prolonged use, but considering the large numbers of athletes using

creatine over the past 10 years and the absence of reported problems, it’s likely that the

purported long-term adverse effects are false or at least greatly overestimated.

It’s been suggested that dicreatine malate is the most bioavailable form of creatine on

the market and that by supplementing with dicreatine malate, users can take less of the actual

product compared to creatine monohydrate, yet still achieve the desired performanceenhancing

effects. However, there’s no scientific evidence supporting these statements.

Arginine is classified as a conditionally essential amino acid. Although it has numerous

important physiological functions, weight trainers take arginine supplements for two main

reasons: 1) to increase growth hormone secretion and 2) to augment nitric oxide (NO)

synthesis. It’s now crystal clear that oral arginine supplementation alone has little, if any, effect

on growth hormone secretion. However, one study reported that the ingestion of arginine (1.5

grams) and lysine (1.5 grams) resulted in a 2.7-fold increase in growth hormone concentration

in strength-trained athletes. So, the arginine-plus-lysine combo appears to be a somewhat

effective "GH booster."

As noted above, another possible ergogenic potential of arginine is its role in the

synthesis of nitric oxide (NO). NO acts as a signaling molecule to facilitate the dilation of blood

vessels; its main effect on muscle metabolism is to increase the delivery and uptake of nutrients

via its vasodilating effects. (Recently, nitric oxide boosters (i.e., arginine, arginine alphaketoglutarate

[AAKG]) have become popular among serious weight trainers. It’s been postulated

that these products enhance blood flow to muscle, leading to greater gains in muscle mass and

strength during training).

A recent study at Baylor University’s exercise and sports nutrition lab examined the

effects of AAKG supplementation during training on body composition and training adaptations

in experienced gym rats. Thirty-five resistance-trained males were matched according to fat-free

mass and randomly assigned to ingest supplements containing either a placebo (fake

supplement) or commercial AAKG supplement in a double-blind manner (an experimental

procedure in which neither the subjects nor the experimenters know what subjects are in the

test and control groups during the actual course of the experiments).

Subjects took four grams of the supplements three times daily (12 grams per day) for

eight weeks during standardized training. No significant differences were observed between

groups in terms of changes in body mass, fat-free mass, fat mass or percent body fat. However,

changes in bench press one repetition maximum were significantly greater in the AAKG group.

It’s unclear how AAKG supplementation added an average of more than 13 pounds to bench

press max over placebo without a concomitant increase in muscle mass. This seems to suggest

that the changes are neural in origin.

In patients with stable angina pectoris (a disease marked by brief attacks of chest pain

precipitated by deficient oxygenation of the heart muscles), ingestion of six grams of arginine

per day for three days has been shown to improve exercise workload during a treadmill stress

test. The vasodilatory properties of arginine may facilitate an increase in oxygen delivery, which

helps meet the increased demands caused by exercise.

Finally, it’s been reported that arginine treatment prevents the development of high

blood pressure (hypertension) in animals prone to this disease and also causes rapid reduction

in both systolic and diastolic blood pressures when infused into healthy humans and patients

with essential hypertension (a common form of hypertension that occurs in the absence of any

evident cause). So, it’s possible that arginine supplementation may offer some protective effects

in those athletes using performance-enhancing drugs.

Taurine is the second most abundant free amino acid in muscle after glutamine.

Published research indicates that it has a potential role in cell hydration, which refers to

the volume of fluid within the cell. Increasing fluid in the cell (i.e., cell volumization) has been

shown to decrease protein breakdown while stimulating protein anabolism. On the other hand, a

reduction in cell volume (i.e., cell dehydration) promotes protein breakdown and inhibits

anabolism. Furthermore, there’s recent evidence that taurine deficiency is associated with

decreased nitric oxide production.

A recent study by Zhang, et al. evaluated the protective effects of taurine

supplementation on exercise-induced oxidative stress and exercise performance. Simply put,

seven-day taurine supplementation resulted in a significantly reduced DNA migration after

exercise and also significantly increased VO

workload. The investigators concluded that, "Taurine may attenuate exercise-induced DNA

damage and enhance the capacity of exercise due to its cellular protective properties."

Caffeine is probably the most popular performance-enhancing substance on this and

other planets. This can partly be attributed to its safety, wide availability and low price. A recent

study by Doherty and Smith used the meta-analytic approach (the process of synthesizing

research results by using various statistical methods to retrieve, select and combine results from

previous separate but related studies) to examine the effects of caffeine on athletic

performance. The authors limited their investigation to lab-based, double-blind, fully

randomized, placebo-controlled trials using adult subjects and published in the peer-reviewed

scientific journals. In other words, only well-controlled studies were included. As expected, the

results clearly indicated that caffeine improves endurance performance and to lesser extent,

high-intensity exercise. More recently, the same investigators used the meta-analysis approach

to examine the effects of caffeine ingestion on rates of perceived exertion. In comparison to

fake supplementation (placebo), caffeine reduced rates of perceived exertion during exercise by

5.6 percent. Not surprisingly, caffeine also improved exercise performance by 11.2 percent.

Citrulline is a non-essential amino acid and plays a role in many metabolic processes.

Citrulline malate is a salt form of the amino acid. The malate, also known as malic acid, is

involved in energy production in the mitochondria of the cell (Kreb´s cycle).

To my knowledge, there’s only one study examining the effects of citrulline malate on

exercise performance in healthy humans. Benhadan, et al. reported that citrulline malate (six

grams per day) promotes aerobic energy production in men complaining of fatigue (but with no

documented disease). Whether this product has similar effects in well-trained athletes remains

to be determined.

Glucuronolactone is a naturally occurring human metabolite that has received some

attention in the sports nutrition industry thanks to the explosion of "functional energy drinks"

(e.g., Red Bull). There’s some evidence suggesting glucuronolactone may positively affect

exercise performance; however, more research is needed before any conclusions can be

drawn.

NO-Xplode also contains tyrosine, keto-isocaproate potassium, gynostemma

pentaphyllum, guranidino propionic acid and a host of other ingredients. For more information,

visit www.bsnonline.net.

On training days, BSN recommends that one takes two to three scoops with eight to 12

ounces of cold water or any beverage of your choice 30 to 45 minutes prior to workout on an

empty stomach. On non-training days, BSN recommends one scoop on an empty stomach.

Avoid eating a meal or drinking a protein shake within an hour of taking NO-Xplode, because

food will diminish its effects. Taking a product that contains ephedrine/ephedra will also diminish

the effects of NO-Xplode. Serving Size: 1 scoop (20.5 grams). Servings per container: 40. Read

the product label carefully for more detailed directions.