Soccer players, as well as other professional athletes, are known to take supplements for a number of reasons. Taking supplements and additional vitamins can assist a healthy diet in increasing the productivity of training as well as boost your body’s natural performance. By investing in supplements, soccer players can also combat the risk of injury by working to be the healthiest they can be. There are many different types of supplements that a pro soccer player can take and all of them tackling different aspects of training and playing
Pre-Workout Powder
A supplement that is becoming more and more popular with hobbyists, pre workout powder is a combination of vitamins and chemicals intended to increase your energy and make your workout more effective by optimizing your performance. Every company has its own specific blend so it is important to research what is in it to find the best pre workout.
Caffeine
Used in reasonable amounts, usually the amount found in a cup of coffee, caffeine offers a number of benefits for professional athletes. Caffeine has been shown to decrease muscle pain, increase focus, and increase performance by elongating peak play.
Beta-Alanine
An amino acid that the human body uses to create carnosine, Beta-Alanine can combat the acidity produced by your muscles when training. It is also known to delay fatigue in the muscles, lower your fatigue levels overall, improve muscular strength, and increase endurance. Beta-alanine’s benefits don’t stop there. Soccer players find that it also increases muscle mass and work capacity. Working quite quickly, many see improvement within 2 weeks of continued use.
Beetroot Juice
Beetroot juice is extremely high in nitrates which are converted to nitric oxide in the body. This chemical opens your blood vessels, increasing blood flow. Nitric oxide is used within the body to increase the delivery of nutrients to your muscles, delay fatigue, and, of course, increase oxygen delivery because of the dilation of blood vessels
Sodium Bicarbonate
Regular household baking soda is a natural alkaline salt that a soccer player’s body would produce. You may be wondering why it would be important for soccer players to add sodium bicarbonate to their usual combination of supplements. It is important because bicarbonate actually helps regulate the balance between acidity in the human body. This means that it helps prevent fatigue and the build-up of lactic acid within the body that can lead to sore muscles.
CBD
CBD has become more widely used across sports over the last several years. It has been proved that supplements such as cbd oil are helping players recover quicker, prevent injury, and relax more when they are needing to rest.
Creatine
A naturally occurring chemical, soccer players take additional amounts to build on what their body already produces. But why? Well, creatine phosphate is known to be an easily accessible source of energy for the muscles while simultaneously giving the same quick hit of energy to the brain. Taking creatine supplements actually can help increase the amount that the body naturally stores within its muscles. By doing this, soccer players are increasing their longevity on the field as well as making themselves quicker when making split-second decisions, both mentally and physically.
Fish Oil
Despite popular belief, fat is extremely important for the function of the human body and fish oil is a fantastic way for athletes to utilize the positive aspects of fat without worrying about the potential negative repercussions of overindulging. Fish oil can actually provide fatty acids that the body does not produce itself and help reduce inflammation and muscle soreness in the process. It can also increase muscle synthesis as well as improve aerobic metabolism
Branched Chain Amino Acids
BCAAs are also amino acids. BCAAs contain three essential amino acids called valine, isoleucine, and leucine and are all considered the building blocks of protein. Soccer players can take these in combination with their usual protein shakes. But typically a healthy diet and protein shake proves to be enough for the body. That being said, when choosing protein powders, it can be important to make sure that it contains BCAAs.
Conclusion
While soccer players prioritize a healthy diet and consistent training schedule, utilizing supplements can increase their effectiveness and longevity on the field.
