• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Click here to download the  free ebook of Alberto Juantorena’s  detailed training workouts leading up to the 1976 Montreal Olympics

SpeedEndurance.com

Success in Track & Field ... and Life

  • Home
    • About
    • Contact
  • Track & Field
    • 400 meters
    • 800m & Mile
    • 1/2 & Full Marathons
    • Long & Triple Jump
    • Hurdles
  • Training
    • Weight Training
    • Abs & Core
    • Injury Prevention
    • Shoes & Spikes
    • Masters
  • Coaching
    • Freelap Friday Five
    • Interviews
    • Sports Nutrition
    • Sport Psychology
  • Archives
  • Shop
    • My account
    • Checkout
    • Basket

Viagra and Nitric Oxides (Ethical Cheating or Ergogenic Aids)

You are here: Home / Coaching / Viagra and Nitric Oxides (Ethical Cheating or Ergogenic Aids)
8
SHARES
FacebookTwitter

October 20, 2011 by Jimson Lee Leave a Comment

Last Updated on February 22, 2012 by Jimson Lee

This is part 6 of a multi part series.  Part 1 was the ESPN radio interview. Part 2 looked at the history of Ethical Cheating or Ergogenic Aids and some of the disgusting food choices.  Part 3 discussed coffee and caffeine.  Part 4 discussed Nootropics.  Part 5 discussed baking soda and beta alanine.

Let’s go over some of the common products you can buy today over the counter and NOT test positive, and remember this is only a short list.

Here are some of the food groups, common sources, chemical names, and classification (in no particular order):


  1. coffee, caffeine, stimulants
  2. RedBull, 5 Hour, Vitalyze, phenylalanines including Tyrosine & Taurine, nootropics
  3. baking soda, TUMS, sodium bicarbonate, beta alanine, lactic acid buffers
  4. Viagra and other Nitric Oxide products including L-Citrulline Malate and L-Arginine, vasodilators
  5. Quercetin (new product… discussed briefly here)
  6. IHT or Intermittent Hypoxic Training methods (tents, chambers, masks, etc.) to increase erythropoietin (EPO) levels and therefore increase red blood cells.
  7. Others?

Viagra and Nitric Oxides

Nitric Oxide products are extremely popular in the weight room for both weightlifters and bodybuilders.

The theory behind Nitric Oxide (and Viagra) is with increased vasodilation (increased blood flow), you get additional blood to the muscles carrying oxygen and glucose, and at the same time, the removal of waste products like lactic acid.

One way to increase Nictric Oxide is to consume more L-arginine, because L-arginine along with Nitric Oxide Synthase, you form L-citrulline and nitric oxide.  (It also requires certain B complex vitamins, plus Iron and Calcium)

See also  8 Tips to Prevent the Common Cold (and Getting Sick)

The biochemical pathway for the other direction, L-citrulline to L-arginine produces ornithine, and that is why you’ll see L-ornithine in “nitric oxide” and “mental alertness” products.

Arginine has a double benefit, as it can also stimulate the release of growth hormone from the brain’s pituitary gland.

To get Arginine through foods, you would have to eat 100 grams of chicken just to get 1.5 grams of arginine.  And you need to get those arginine levels to 5 or 6 grams per day!  Maybe that’s why Usain Bolt success is eating a diet high in chicken!   (or else he’s superiorly gifted and trains hard… yeah, that’s it)

L-Citrulline also has a double benefit.  As part of the urea cycle, L-citrulline plays a pivotal role in removing ammonia from your muscles.

The recommended dose for L-Citrulline is also around 4-6 grams per day.

There are tons of products in the supplement market, and funnily enough, they are all expensive!  Here are are some examples in no particular order:

  1. BSN No-Xplode
  2. Super Charge Extreme NO by Labrada
  3. Shock Therapy by Universal Nutrition
  4. Muscletech NaNo Vapor

They have proven increasing arginine **will** increase nitric oxide levels in the blood.  But like the beta alanine studies, they just haven’t proved it increases performances in sprinting or 400 meters.

In the above dosages, we are talking about grams, not milligrams, worth of supplements.

But the best advice is to eat more fruit and vegetables which are naturally high in nitrates and nitrites, and thus gets converted to nitric oxide.  See, your mother was right all these years!

See also  Million Dollar Man Richard Thompson - Bigger than Ato Bolden?

Category iconCoaching,  Featured Story,  Health & Wellness,  Sports Nutrition,  Supplements,  Track & Field,  Weight Training

About Jimson Lee

I am a Masters Athlete and Coach currently based in London UK. My other projects include the Bud Winter Foundation, writer for the IAAF New Studies in Athletics Journal (NSA) and a member of the Track & Field Writers of America.

Reader Interactions

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

Primary Sidebar

Shop Our Store

  • Bud Winter (9)
  • Championship Productions (6)
  • Clyde Hart (2)
  • Derek Hansen (1)
  • Electrical Muscle Stimulation (0)
  • Jim Hiserman (6)
  • Jimson Lee (3)
  • Uncategorised (0)

Articles by Category

Products

  • Jim Hiserman - Developing 800m Runners: Identifying, Categorizing and Developing 400m-800m Type Athletes $42.99 $39.99
  • Jim Hiserman-Developing-Distance-Runnersv2 Jim Hiserman - Developing Distance Runners Volume 2: A Systematic Approach to Developing Individual Success within a Dynamic Team Culture $34.95 $29.95
  • Feed-the-Cats-Clinic-3-Pack-701 'Feed the Cats' Clinic 3-Pack $64.99
  • Tony Holler's Feed the Cats": A Complete Sprint Training Program Tony Holler's "Feed the Cats" Complete Sprint Training Program $49.99
  • Bud Winter and Speed City presents Arthur Lydiard 509x716 Bud Winter & Arthur Lydiard MP3 [Download only] $9.99
  • Clyde Hart’s 200/400M Sprint Training Program Clyde Hart's 200/400M Sprint Training Program $119.99

RECENT POSTS

  • Cool Down Part 2: How to End Every Workout for Best Improvement & Recovery
  • Do you Really Need to Cool Down after a Race or Workout?
  • The 400m Race Secret? Reach Top Speed and one Long Deceleration
  • Why does my Warm Up feel like a Workout? Because it’s Part of the Workout!
  • Video Analysis Solutions for Track and Field: Sprints, Jumps, Hurdles, Throws
  • Onwards to 2024 Gothenburg
  • EMACs 2023 (European Masters Athletics Championships) in Pescara
  • 2023 Race Report (Part 1)
  • My 10 Tips for Attempting a Masters Track Comeback
  • My Masters Track Comeback – Goal Setting (Part 1)

Copyright © 2023. SpeedEndurance.com is owned and operated by Aryta Ltd. Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}