Caffeine and creatine are both helpful for our mental and physical performance.

They are 2 of the only 5 supplements recommended by the International Olympic Committee.

The other 3 are:

• 🧂 Sodium bicarbonate
• 🧬 Beta-alanine
• 🥬 Nitrate
  

But we only get physical performance benefits from these 3. So they’re not really necessary for the everyday athlete’s day-to-day.

Sodium bicarbonate (your kitchen baking soda) and beta-alanine work in different ways to achieve the same goal. They help manage acid levels in working muscles.

Beneficial when we use our glycolytic system. Like a 400m sprint (or any short, high-intensity effort lasting about 15 seconds to 2 mins).

But we'll only get about a 2% increase in physical performance from each.

Relevant for pro athletes? 100%.

The everyday athlete? Maybe not.

Sodium bicarbonate can also help reduce delayed onset muscle soreness.

So if you’ve got baking soda lying around, can’t hurt to add it to a bath for some recovery benefits.

Nitrate on the other hand might be a goer.

Nitrate is an ion. It’s found in beets, celery and leafy greens like spinach.

It works by making nitric oxide more available in the body. Which:

• 💥 Allows the body to create and use energy more efficiently
• ‍🩸 Increases blood flow to the muscle
• 🦵 Improves the function of our fast twitch muscle fibres
  

Nitrate supplementation has been found to increase endurance performance by up to 25% 😮

Specifically, the research suggests benefits of:

• 🏃 4-25% for longer events over 40 minutes‍
• 🤽 3-5% for higher intensity activity lasting 12-40 minutes
  

The recommendation is about 400mg, 2 hours before performance.

This is a popular brand. Or just smash those foods above.

Something to think about if you wanna push it up in your next (half, full, ultra) marathon, ocean swim or triathlon.