How to quickly increase VO2max, vitamins needed by athletes and does B – Blonyx

How to quickly increase VO2max, vitamins needed by athletes and does Betaine improve CrossFit performance

November 09, 2023By Rowan at Blonyx

Welcome to our weekly summary of the latest research updates from the world of sports nutrition.

Train hard!

Want to increase your VO2max? Do interval training

A recent meta-analysis of nine studies involving 176 elite athletes found that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) significantly improved VO2max compared to conventional training methods, particularly when the HIIT recovery period was 2 minutes or longer and the recovery phase intensity was 40% or less. This suggests that HIIT is superior for enhancing aerobic capacity in elite athletes involved in national-level competition.

Our thoughts: Interval training is not only effective, it's also efficient. We suggest adding at least a day of all out intervals to your endurance training. (10 rounds of 1 min all out with 2 mins rest is a good starting point). For more ways to improve your VO2 max, check out our article that discusses how to improve your aerobic performance for endurance sports. You can also try adding products like Beet It Sport, HMB Sport and Beta Alanine to your sports nutrition plan.

Australian Scientists Identify the Most Important Vitamins and Minerals For Athletes

This research group from Australia suggest that athletes should ensure they get enough vitamin B, D, iron and calcium in their diets - with the addition of folate in female athletes.

Our thoughts: This is highly dependent on the athlete's overall diet, but all of these macronutrients play a vital role in athletic adaptation such as bone strength and blood oxygen carrying capacity.

Betaine Improves CrossFit Performance

This study aimed to assess the impact of three weeks of betaine (BET) supplementation on CrossFit (CF) performance, muscle power, body composition, and hormone levels. The results showed that BET supplementation improved CF performance and increased testosterone concentration, with no significant differences observed between different BET dosages or MTHFR genotypes.

Our thoughts: The Betaine research is still young, but looking promising.

Rowan at Blonyx

Rowan is a scientist/athlete turned entrepreneur. After playing soccer at universities in the UK and the US for far too long, he was given a masters degree in exercise physiology. He then worked as a research scientist, having some of his work on sports supplements and sleep medicine published as a result.

Rowan, having far too short an attention span to remain a scientist, founded Blonyx Biosciences in 2011 to make good use of his understanding of the science behind supplements. Outside work, Rowan spends most of his time training at CrossFit 604 in Vancouver, BC, on his mountain bike or snowboard.

How to quickly increase VO2max, vitamins needed by athletes and does Betaine improve CrossFit performance

Want to increase your VO2max? Do interval training

Australian Scientists Identify the Most Important Vitamins and Minerals For Athletes

Betaine Improves CrossFit Performance

Rowan at Blonyx

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