In one of my first blog posts, I discussed how inorganic nitrates can help lower your blood pressure, increase exercise capacity, and possibly improve your performance in time trials > see here However, we still weren’t sure how inorganic nitrates impact performance in terms of resistance training, at least until now [1].
A recent study tested supplementing subjects with inorganic nitrates, here is a quick run down of the results:
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Increased repetitions
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Increased total weight lifted (duh you do more reps you lift more weight)
What are some of the negatives of the study?
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Small sample size (12 subjects blinded cross-over) Low
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Intensity on the bench (only 60%, not many people train this low of an intensity)
So we see that nitrates have a host of benefits, what are the downfalls of supplementing with nitrates? Well, most nitrate supplements are loaded with vitamin C, which has a negative impact on adaptation to exercise especially in a bolus, un-natural dosage which is often 2,3, 400 % greater than your daily needs (fruits and veggies are fine). How can you get nitrates? The answer is simple, eat dark leafy vegetables such as spinach and beets! In fact, a large portion of the research has used beet root juice as their source of nitrates. It takes about 3 hours for the nitrates to peak, so make sure you get your dark leafy salad or beets in about 3 hours pre-workout.
and remember to check out my vertical jump program here:
https://www.athletesrehab.com/course/verticaljumptraining/
Brett Holland, PT, DPT, CSCS
- Mosher, Scott L., S. Andy Sparks, Emily L. Williams, David J. Bentley, and Lars R. Mc Naughton. “Ingestion of a Nitric Oxide Enhancing Supplement Improves Resistance Exercise Performance.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 30.12 (2016): 3520-524. NSCA.
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