Crossfit athletes often find it difficult to keep up work capacity and volume for a long time. That is why programming (waving the load) and nutrition got so important in the last couple of years. Most intense exercise regimens – including Crossfit and other high-intensity functional training styles – need enormous focus to keep the technique and the body right and tight during high rep Olympic lifts for instance. This process burns massive amounts of calories, drains blood amino acids, tears down muscle tissue, etc.
As I have written in one of my earlier articles, post-workout supplementation (WOD CRUSHER’s Balanced Recovery, a great blend of fast acting carbs and hydrolysed whey protein) is essential for regeneration. However, if all things are done right (workout programming, nutrition, sleep, post workout supplementation) and you still suffer from fatigue and lethargy already at the beginning of your workout, then the problem might come from the skeletal muscle system or the central nervous system causing peripheral or central fatigue respectively.
Peripheral and Central Fatigue
Peripheral fatigue is caused by decreased or empty glycogen stores and low phosphocreatine concentration in the muscle cells and an increase in the concentration of lactate alongside with hydrogen ion accumulation (Figure 1). This type of fatigue makes you tired by the end of the session or even at the end of high rep sets causing you a slight acidosis in the muscles. This whole process may be delayed by using Citrulline Malate (helps to increase the aerobic energy production and the detoxification of the amino acid waste product, ammonia) and Beta-Alanine (precursor of the acid buffer Carnosine) and a mixture of carbohydrates (30 grams for every hour of training consecutively).
Central fatigue is caused by the reduction in the concentration of the branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) and L-Tyrosine in the blood. Fatigue is a complex process with many pathways in a metabolic network, but there is a hypothesis that may tell us the basics behind the tiredness and fatigue: the BCAA/L-Tryptophan hypothesis.
Amino acids are usually bound to proteins like globulin and albumin. If amino acids detach from these proteins they may be transported through the blood-brain barrier via amino acid specific transporter mechanisms. The fascinating thing is that BCAAs (L-Leucine, L-Isoleucine and L-Valine) compete with L-Tryptophan so that they may appear “on the other side”, the brain region.
If the BCAA:Tryptophan ratio is altered (due to physical and mechanical stress the oxidation of branched-chain amino acids is elevated), the relative concentration of L-Tryptophan increases, goes through the blood-brain barrier and in the brain region it may act as a precursor for further metabolic processes. It will be the precursor of Serotonin (Figure 2), a neurotransmitter that causes you lethargy and tiredness during physical activity. If we have a chance of increasing the concentration of BCAAs in the blood by supplementation, we may attenuate the effect of the altered amino acid ratio.
Same goes with other amino acids (e.g.: L-Tyrosine is a precursor of Dopamine-Adrenaline, Noradrenaline). If we increase the precursor amino acid concentrations of different neurotransmitters, then they could act on the central nervous system by passing the blood-brain barrier and turning into the active metabolite (Figure 3).
So what is the right thing to do in order to avoid central and peripheral fatigue? Easy: amino acids, Beta-Alanine and Citrulline-Malate intra-workout! The WOD CRUSHER brand has just come out with the new intra-workout formula CRUSH!
CRUSH your Workouts!
Crush your workouts with the new CRUSH formula designed for high intensity training (Figure 4)! It is an intra-workout formula with 19 carefully selected active ingredients in 4 different matrixes that are important for multiple long duration workouts!
Betaine is a methyl donor in the human body. Many important biochemical processes rely on methylation (e.g.: methylation of homocysteine to form L-Methionine that is the part of the well-known Creatine structure; and is the starter amino acid in protein synthesis).
We made sure to give you micronized amino acids for a faster absorption, including micronized BCAAs and micronized L-Arginine (the precursor of Nitric Oxide and Creatine). And to top it all we added pure L-Citrulline (an even better Nitric Oxide booster!) alongside Malic Acid and L-Arginine Alpha-Ketoglutarate (AAKG) that are key intermediates of important metabolic cycles.
All the extra amino acids, Beta-Alanine (precursor of the acid buffer Carnosine), vitamins and minerals will keep you on track as well during your hardcore, sweaty training!
Phosphorus and Vitamins B6, B12 contribute to normal energy-yielding metabolism. Vitamins B9 and B12 contribute to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue. Vitamin C helps to maintain the normal function of the immune system during and after intense exercise. Magnesium contributes to normal muscle function and protein synthesis. Magnesium and Phosphorus contribute to the maintenance of normal bones. Potassium contributes to normal muscle function, maintenance of normal blood pressure and to the normal functioning of the nervous system.
So now you have a chance to boost performance pre-workout with FIREWORKS, fight against fatigue with CRUSH intra-workout, regenerate post-workout with BALANCED RECOVERY and at night with PROTEIN RECOVERY! To reduce inflammation and stress you now have ULTRA CONCENTRATED & PURE OMEGA-3 fish oil and NEM FORTE!
What are you waiting for? Go get them and start hitting those PRs!