I love to run… often and long distances!
I’m always keeping my eyes and ears open for natural ways of boosting my aerobic (long distance) performance.
I want to share with you a couple of natural performance enhancers when it comes to endurance sport:
Beetroot Juice – A study done at the University of Exerter’s School of Sport and Health Sciences tested to see if the nitrates in beet juice had a positive effect on endurance athletes. 8 men in the study drank 500ml of beet juice for 6 days leading up to an endurance test on a stationary bike – black currant juice was used as a placebo. The men in the beet juice group were able to cycle 16 percent longer – that’s huge! The take home point from the study is that nitrates from beetroot juice can improve exercise endurance.
Lets take a look at the theory behind this study. Nitrates in the beet juice are processed by your body increasing your levels of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide then relaxes and expands blood vessels. More blood carrying oxygen and nutrients now flows to the active muscles. The nitrates also make your muscles work more efficiently by decreasing the amount of oxygen they need.
I’ll definitely be experimenting with this beet juice routine before my next marathon!
Cordyceps sinensis – This Chinese tonic herb is a fungus that grows on and gets its nutrients from caterpillars in the mountains of China, Tibet and Nepal.
Not interested anymore? Keep reading and you will be!
Cordyceps has many health benefits including protecting your body from free radical damage and it’s anti-inflammatory.
It has become one of the top selling sport supplements among competitive athletes due to its endurance boosting effects by improving oxygen utilization and increasing aerobic capacity. Cordyceps also improves energy levels and stamina.
Still not convinced? Supplementing with Cordyceps can also improve your libido and sexual functioning.
I’m currently supplementing with 1 gram of cordyceps a day. I’m using Paul Stamets’ brand – Fungi Perfecti. Paul is a mycologist who has been studying fungi for over 30 years. You can check out his excellent TED talk here.
Experiment away with these two endurance enhancers and see if you notice any improvement in your performance. I think you will!
Do you know of any other ways to boost your endurance naturally?
To your health!
Jesse
