Ergogenic Aids

What is an ergogenic aid?

Any training, nutritional, mechanical, psychological, or pharmacological aid that is intended to improve exercise performance

What are the three WADA criteria for banning a substance or method?

Potential to enhance sport performance, potential health risk to the athlete, violates the spirit of sport

What is a TUE and why is it important?

Therapeutic Use Exemption allows an athlete to use a banned substance for legitimate medical reasons without being sanctioned, if approved in advance

What is the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP)?

Long-term monitoring of selected biological markers to detect indirect evidence of doping rather than the substance itself

What are the sympathomimetic amines and what do athletes use them for?

Drugs that mimic SNS activity to increase arousal, focus, and reduce fatigue, but with high cardiovascular and addiction risk

In what type of sport are beta-blockers potentially ergogenic, and why?

Precision sports, because they lower HR and tremors, improving steadiness

What are systemic beta₂ agonists banned in sport?

They can be anabolic and have major cardiovascular and metabolic risks

Anabolic

Increase muscle mass and power

Why might an athlete misuse diuretics?

For rapid weight loss and as masking agents to dilute urine and hide other banned substances

What are the main performance effects of anabolic steroids?

Increased muscle mass and strength, greater fiber cross-sectional area, enhanced recovery, and increased RBC volume, especially at high doses

What is a key long-term concern with anabolic steroid use regarding “muscle memory”?

Added myonuclei can persist, so muscle may regain size faster even after stopping, giving a long-lasting advantage

What is the main performance goal of blood doping or EPO use?

To increase hemoglobin and VO₂max, thereby improving endurance performance

What is a major health risk shared by blood doping and EPO use?

Increased blood viscosity, which raises risk of clots, stroke, heart failure, and hypertension

What is the primary ergogenic mechanism of creatine monohydrate?

Increasing muscle phosphocreatine stores, improving short, repeated high-intensity efforts (<~30 s), and aiding strength/power gains

What does beta-alanine supplementation increase inside muscle, and why is that helpful?

It increases carnosine, an intracellular H⁺ buffer, helping performance in high-intensity efforts lasting ~30 s-10 min

What is the main purpose of sodium bicarbonate as an ergogenic aid?

To increase extracellular buffering capacity (blood pH), helping tolerate acid buildup during intense exercise (0.5-12 min)

Why are dietary supplements considered a “buyer beware” market in sport?

They are loosely regulated, may be ineffective, contaminated, or mislabeled, and a significant proportion contain undeclared banned substances, risking accidental doping

Why is a “food first” approach recommended before using supplements?

Because whole foods provide nutrients with lower contamination risk, and many supplements offer little additional benefit relative to their cost and risk