Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "
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19.04.2011 |
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Speed up your sprints with ashwagandha
Ashwagandha
And not without reason. In an Indian study of men with fertility problems, a 5g daily dose of ashwagandha boosted the subjects' testosterone levels by a few dozen percent. Some animal studies also indicate that ashwagandha has an anabolic effect. [J Ethnopharmacol. 1994 Dec;44(3):131-5.]
The active substances in ashwagandha are plant steroid compounds, such as withanine, somniferine, somnine, somniferinine, withananine, pseudo-withanine, tropine, pseudo-tropine, cuscohygrine, anferine and anhydrine.
It's not unlikely that, in high doses, ashwagandha has side effects. There are reports of people who have developed heart palpitations after using ashwagandha as a result of excessive thyroxin production.
Arjuna
Study
The researchers examined their subjects before and after the 8 weeks. They got the students to sprint, and measured their maximum speed; they got them to cycle and measured their VO2max; and they measured the power the students had in their legs when they did jumping tests.
Ashwagandha increased the maximum sprint speed by 3 percent, the VO2max by 7 percent and the students' average power by 9 percent.
Arjuna had no effect on the maximum sprint speed, but increased the students' VO2max by 5 percent and their average power by 4 percent.
The combination of ashwagandha and arjuna improved the maximum sprint speed by 2 percent, the VO2max by 7 percent and the average power by 11 percent.
The combination also seems to spare the heart and blood vessels and lowers systolic blood pressure [blood pressure during a heartbeat].
Conclusion
The researchers observed no side effects. "Both drugs appear to be safe for young adults when given for mentioned dosage and duration", they write in their conclusion.
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