Reference : I’ll choose option (a) for my made-up athlete, an individual who competes in high-intensity sports resulting in fatigue in about 1 to 10 minutes.

Reference : I’ll choose option (a) for my made-up athlete, an individual who competes in high-intensity sports resulting in fatigue in about 1 to 10 minutes.

One supplement that my athlete might consider using to enhance their performance is creatine monohydrate. Creatine is a widely studied and well-established supplement known to improve high-intensity, short-duration performance. Its metabolic role lies in the rapid resynthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the energy source for muscle contractions. During brief, intense efforts, such as sprinting or weightlifting, the demand for ATP is substantial. Creatine supplementation helps speed up ATP regeneration, allowing athletes to sustain high-intensity efforts for slightly longer periods. Several peer-reviewed studies support creatine’s efficacy in this context. For instance, a study in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (Jagim et al., 2018) found that creatine supplementation improved power and strength performance in resistance-trained individuals, which aligns with the needs of high-intensity, short-duration sports.

Another supplement that could benefit my athlete is beta-alanine.Beta-alanine is an amino acid that elevates muscle carnosine levels. Carnosine acts as a buffer against the accumulation of lactic acid during high-intensity exercise, delaying the onset of fatigue. This is especially valuable for athletes engaged in activities like sprinting or high-intensity interval training, where lactic acid buildup can limit performance. A research article published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism (Smith et al., 2009) demonstrated that beta-alanine supplementation improved exercise performance during high-intensity, short-duration tasks, aligning with the needs of my athlete.

In summary, for athletes involved in high-intensity, short-duration competitions, supplements like creatine and beta-alanine can be beneficial. Creatine aids in rapid ATP regeneration, while beta-alanine enhances muscle buffering capacity against lactic acid, both of which are crucial for sustaining peak performance in this specific intensity range. The cited scientific articles offer evidence for the effectiveness of these supplements in such scenarios.

– Think about your athlete and what they would need to fuel their competitive performance and then recovery from it. What amount of each macronutrient (carbohydrate, protein, and/or fat) should they consume before their competition (within 3 hours), during, and after.  1 1/2 paragraph explanation per point