11 Natural Ways to Improve Athletic Performance

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You don’t need to resort to steroids to get a leg up on the competition. There really are no substitutes for hard work, discipline, and talent. Nevertheless, there are many natural things that can be done to give athletes a competitive edge.

1. Raw foods

Exercise is essentially an intense stress on the body that requires tremendous nutrition to rebuild break downs in muscles, tendons, ligaments, etc. It is no wonder that athletes that fuel up with nutrient-rich raw foods can increase their athleticism and improve their performance and recovery time.

More info: 1, 2, 3

2. Baking soda

Baking soda has been studied to improve athletic performance. It is believed that baking soda prevents build up of excess lactic acid, which interferes with muscle contractions and ATP production.

More info: 1, 2

3. CoQH (ubiquinol)

CoQ10 is somewhat of a precursor of ATP, the body’s unit of energy currency. CoQH is the active form of CoQ10 (ubiquinone). CoQH is needed in every cell of the body for energy production. Recent studies have shown that CoQH may be 8 times as effective as CoQ10.

4. D-ribose

This is another ATP precursor that can increase cellular energy. In a recent study, 66% of chronic fatigue participants experienced an average of 45% increase in energy in 28 days. Athletes are increasingly using this supplement.

More info: 1, 2, 3, 4

5. Essential fatty acids

EFA’s are needed to form healthy cell membranes. Healthy cell membranes metabolize oxygen more efficiently, getting more energy to cells.

6. Magnesium

Studies suggest that any degree of magnesium deficiency can reduce athletic performance. Magnesium-potassium-aspartate in particular also has some small studies that show significantly improved athletic performance.

More info: 1, 2, 3, 4

7. Heavy water oxygen supplements

Cellfood and OxyE are examples of a type of oxygen supplement the produces nascent oxygen inside cells. Athletes are also turning to these types of products to improve their cellular oxygenation.

8. Phosphoglycolipids

These are nutrients that repair mitochondrial and cell membranes which improve nutrient uptake and ATP production. One study using such a supplement reduced participant fatigue by 40% in 8 weeks. Some athletes are now turning to this supplement.

9. Proleolytic enzymes

Systemic enzymes have been shown to significantly improve the time it takes to heal injuries. It has also been shown to help develop denser and stronger muscles, giving athletes an edge. It turns out that in the past, some Olympians who were using steroids were able to reduce the dosage because they found these enzymes to be so effective.

10. Iron supplements

There are indications that for a variety of reasons, athletes may tend to have more iron deficiency than a sedentary population. If this is found to be the case, then supplementing can increase blood count and improve the body’s total oxygen capacity. There is no evidence that supplementing with iron will help an athlete with normal iron levels.

More info: 1, 2

11. Amino acids

Amino acids have been shown to significantly improve muscle function, fatigue, and recovery of athletes.

Just one word of caution:

Even though these are all natural, be careful about entering the Olympics. The definition of what performance enhancing techniques are ethical is still vague at best. Make sure these all check out with your local rules before officially competing. If a raw foods diet can increase the oxygenation of your blood, there are some people who would call that blood doping! But if all you want is to cream your friends in basketball, then go ahead go right ahead!

About the Author:
David AuBuchon is a Natural Health Consultant and the author of Scientific Living – a project that compiles information on natural treatments used by successful practitioners. David also writes about spirituality and personality development. You can subscribe to his work by RSS.

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