Originally Posted by
SyntaxMonstr
I take Nitrotech protein (with creatine included) before gym sessions and either ON's Whey Isolate, BCAA's or Casein after, depending on the session and timing. I tried beet juice during my rugby days but didn't see any real benefit. Just started on Nitrotech so I don't know if there are any actual benefits to the creatine or whether my strength block is just going well, haha.
I read a study that showed that dark chocolate, already known to be a vasodilator, was more effective than beet juice. I can't find the original study, but here are two studies on dark chocolate itself, one focused on cyclists using 20 min 80% Ftp and 2 min time trials.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4678700/ - cycling
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17984375 - vasodilation measurement
One more:
https://www.nutraingredients.com/Art...ce-study-shows
Excerpt
Results
DC (dark chocolate) consumption increased GET (gas exchange threshold) and TT performance compared to both BL (baseline) and WC (P < 0.05). DC consumption increased V.O2max by 6 % compared to BL (P < 0.05), but did not reach statistical significance compared to WC (white chocolate). There were no differences in the moderate-intensity cycling for V.O2, RER, BLa and heart rate between conditions, although, V.O2 and RER exhibited consistently lower trends following DC consumption compared to BL and WC, these did not reach statistical significance.
Conclusion
Chronic supplementation with DC resulted in a higher GET (gas exchange threshold) and enhanced TT performance. Consequently, ingestion of DC reduced the oxygen cost of moderate intensity exercise and may be an effective ergogenic aid for short-duration moderate intensity exercise.
K-