Just Say NO to this Supplement

Teens….Just Say NO to N.O. Supplements

The last thing I’d ever want to do is bash a particular brand of supplement, since by doing so…I’d be insinuating that there is one “bad guy” and that everyone else…by default …must be the “good guys”.

Well…in the case of the nitric oxide (NO) supplements, there are “NO” good guys.

The rage in the supplement industry today is the nitric oxide products, particularly (and disturbingly) among teen athletes. I’m not sure what the infatuation is. It might be the cool looking packaging, the exaggerated product claims that promise “Muscle Expanding Pumps and Unparalleled Strength and Stamina”, or just the fact that word of mouth hype amongst teens can never be understated.

Whatever the case is, I felt compelled to write an article on why I feel it’s time that we as coaches, start getting our athletes to say “NO” to this supplement.

So many of you are probably asking….what the heck does this stuff really do?

Good question.

First of all, your body produces natural nitric oxide in the form of a gas that travels within the bloodstream. With chemical stimulation, the body can prompt the release of more of this element, which has the effect of dilating the blood vessels to increase the flow of blood to specific areas.

Yes, you might be laughing at this point thinking….hmm…sounds similar to another wildly popular prescription drug that we can’t watch five minutes of a baseball game, football game, NASCAR race, or anything else men watch for that matter, without being inundated with commercials for it!

I guess it sells!

Ironically, it works by the same mechanisms as these drugs. That said, when it comes to the effects this can have on one’s training, the idea is that with the increased blood flow you’ll be able to get “better pumps”, “more vascularity” and “insane energy” since you’ll be flooding your hard working muscles with more oxygen rich blood than the guy that isn’t taking these supplements.

Not so fast. Just because this sounds good “in theory” it doesn’t mean that it is the case in actuality.

What’s more? In an attempt to bring theory and actuality together, the teen that messes with this stuff is often left with nothing but an empty wallet, disappointing results, and a heck of a bad headache.

I’ll explain.

Let’s start with the “better pump” claim. Well, yes…if you’re stimulating increased blood flow by opening the arterial vessels wider, you may in fact get the sense of that improved workout associated “pump” that seems like instant gratification to a teen of a job well done in the weight room.

The only problem is that there are two things that are being overlooked here. The first is that the “pump” itself is not an indication of workout success any more than going 2 for 4 in your first game doesn’t mean that you’ll be a .500 hitter for the season.

Secondly, and more seriously, nitric oxide doesn’t limit its effects to your muscles. Remember, it acts to dilate vessels throughout the body. One doesn’t have to think too long and hard to realize that one of the most populated areas of blood supply in the body is the brain…and messing with their dilation is not something you want to make a habit of. It’s not uncommon for those taking Nitrous Oxide to complain of severe headaches, dizziness, vision disruption, and an inability to concentrate.

Geez…not the makings of the perfect pre-game power up now is it?

Next is the claim of “more vascularity”.

For those of you out there who might be confused as to what this even is…it refers to the ability to see someone’s veins sitting atop the muscles, which gives the impression that the person is “ripped” or incredibly defined and muscular.

Well, again, if blood flow through the muscles is in fact improved you might very well be able to see more of the overlying veins after a few sets of curls, that would make your biceps look more menacing (not sure to who…but that’s another issue!).

The problem here is again two-fold.

First, the effect is transient. Wait 20 minutes following the workout, and whatever feelings you had of having Reggie Bush-like “Pipes” have gone down the drain with blood flow (and the size of your inflated biceps) returning to normal.

Secondly, no matter what type of increased blood flow you’ve got going on, if you’re diet and nutrition isn’t good (as any of you out there who’ve seen my presentation on the current state of teen nutrition could attest to how common this unfortunately is) then you’re never going to be able to see the muscles or vascularity as it sits beneath a layer of fat too thick to reveal anything resembling cuts or definition.

Finally, we get to my favorite claim…”insane energy”!

I mean, what happened to the days when “intense energy” was good enough? Now it’s insane. However, the only thing insane in my opinion is the belief that this claim is actually true.

First of all, besides the fact that nitrous oxide has never been proven clinically to result in increased energy (either short term or long term) it’s hard to imagine feeling too energetic when you’ve got a raging headache, your head is spinning, and you’re looking for a place to lie down to get rid of these things!

Do you see what I’m getting at here guys?

Look, the point is this…as I said before, I’m not looking to bury any individual supplement company here. There’s no reason to. What I am looking to do is get some information out there to the athletes who look up to me for solid, unbiased information and the coaches and parents who want to be able to get the lowdown on the supplements that they can safely recommend to their athletes or children (since they know they’ll be taking lots of these on their own anyway) and also be able to steer them clear of the ones that just don’t provide the benefits that they are hyped to provide.

As with anything worth pursuing, the answers often lie at the end of a road without shortcuts. Becoming the best teen athlete one can become starts and stops with a solid nutrition plan and builds from there.

Supplements are not all bad…not by a long shot.

However, even the good supplements are exactly what their name implies…supplements or add-ons to a sound eating plan.

Is your nutrition where it should be?

Are you eating the right kinds of foods at the right times of the day in the right amounts to produce consistent energy, greater muscle growth, and as a result, better performances each time you step to the plate, on the court, or onto the mat?

If not, then I invite you to head to:

Go there now and see for yourself how easy it can be to get yourself locked in on the “right” way to do this, as I’ve taken the whole topic of teen sports nutrition and broken it down in a nonscientific way, a practical way, that you as an athlete can start following today to start seeing the benefits as early as tomorrow.

Or that you as a coach can learn and then teach to your athletes…to start getting the most out of your team this season and beyond. Forget all the untapped talent that you always wished you could find a way to extract from your players but couldn’t quite find the solution.

Let my Teen Sports Nutrition Blueprint lay it out for you step by step and remove all the guesswork.

Thanks for reading, and more importantly, thanks for being either a coach or parent after my own heart, who cares about our young athletes and will stop at nothing to improve the sad state of teen sports nutrition and supplementation.

To your health,

Jeff Cavaliere, MSPT, CSCS