Do you remember the last time you sprinted at an all-out pace or lifted weights until failure? You may recall having noticed a distinct “burning” in your working muscles that caused you so much pain that you couldn’t continue. At this point, you stopped to rest.

What happens at the cellular level during these high-intensity exercises? Your body is burning carbohydrates rapidly to keep up with the energy demand. As a byproduct of this process, lactic acid builds up and quickly breaks down to lactate and acid. The increased acidity within the cell shuts down many of the energy pathways needed to keep you going.

However, our bodies have an essential enzyme known as nitric oxide synthase that produces nitric oxide from the amino acid L-arginine. Nitric oxide is great at increasing vasodilation, or widening of blood vessels, which brings in important nutrients like oxygen, glucose, electrolytes, and amino acids required for muscular performance. When vasodilation decreases, so can performance. Ultimately, a lack of oxygen and a buildup of waste results in fatigue, exhaustion, and subpar athletic performance.

NOx Out Your Workout

AMPED™ NOx is a pre-workout product comprised of nitrate-rich vegetable extracts and polyphenolic-rich fruit extracts. These vegetable extracts, from beets and celery, provide high levels of nitrates that convert to nitric oxide through a series of reactions (1-4). Those reactions then lead to vasodilation and blood flow throughout the body.

Nitrates are natural molecules found in food that support blood flow to muscles necessary for increased stamina. When consumed as part of a supplement, they are quickly absorbed and converted to nitric oxide, which relaxes and widens blood vessels, allowing for more blood to reach muscle.

Nitrates can also reduce the rate of fatigue from muscle contraction occurring from intense cardiovascular exercise or muscular endurance events (1). These beneficial effects in the body by nitrates and nitric oxide are even greater when combined with polyphenols (5-7).

Nitrates like those found in AMPED NOx use a different pathway to produce nitric oxide then AMPED™ Power, making them ideal for intense exercise. Nitrates also improve stamina by helping muscle use energy more efficiently.

Vegetable Nitrates, Fruit Polyphenols

Vegetable-sourced nitrates lead to nitric oxide production that supports blood circulation. Specifically, studies have demonstrated that nitrate supplementation improves athletic performance by improving oxygen use, increasing power output and time to exhaustion (2-4).

Fruit polyphenols in AMPED NOx can function as antioxidants and help support blood flow by assisting in the conversion of nitrates to nitric oxide. These polyphenols not only work well with nitrates, but also support cardiovascular health through their actions on endothelial function. (5-7)

The use of both vegetable-sourced nitrates and fruit polyphenols in AMPED NOx can support exercise at all levels of intensity. In fact, the ingredients have been studied in all different types of sports including cycling, running, rowing, swimming, team sports, and weight lifting.

AMPED NOx can be taken at any time of the day. Studies suggest that nitrates will reach peak concentrations at approximately two to three hours after ingestion and can stay elevated for up to 24 hours in your bloodstream (6, 8). For maximum benefit to exercise, take AMPED NOx alongside AMPED Power and e+™. AMPED Power supplies creatine and also supports nitric oxide production through different pathways. e+ offers a natural energy boost featuring Adaptogens that are ideal for performance and caffeine from green tea and yerba mate to help you push through your workout.

References

  1. Wylie LJ et al. Dietary nitrate supplementation improves team sport-specific intense intermittent exercise performance. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2013 Jul; 113(7):1673-84.
  2. Bailey SJ et al. Dietary nitrate supplementation reduces the O2 cost of low-intensity exercise and enhances tolerance to high-intensity exercise in humans. J Appl Physiol. 2009; 107:1144-55.
  3. Cermak NM et al. Nitrate supplementation’s improvement of 10-km time-trial performance in trained cyclists. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2012; 22:64-71.
  4. Jones AM et al. Influence of dietary nitrate supplementation on exercise tolerance and performance. Nestle Nutr Inst Workshop Ser. 2013; 75:27-40.
  5. Barona J et al. Grape consumption increases anti-inflammatory markers and upregulates peripheral nitric oxide synthase in the absence of dyslipidemias in men with metabolic syndrome. Nutrients. 2012 Dec 6; 4(12):1945-57.
  6. Li SH et al. The acute effects of grape polyphenols supplementation on endothelial function in adults: meta-analyses of controlled trials. PLoS One. 2013 Jul 24;8(7):e69818.
  7. Ignarro LJ et al. Pomegranate juice protects nitric oxide against oxidative destruction and enhances the biological actions of nitric oxide. Nitric Oxide. 2006 Sep; 15(2):93-102.
  8. Clements WT et al. Nitrate ingestion: a review of the health and physical performance effects. Nutrients. 2014 Nov 18; 6(11):5224-64.