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Ergogenic Aids
Since the
dawn of athletic competition, athletes have looked for tools that they
could use to help propel them to greater lengths, faster speeds and all
around better performance coupled with quicker recovery. Nowadays,
however, illegal substances and aids are very easy to detect and for
that reason are not used as widely as it was previously thought that
they were. An alternative to illegal aids are legal aids (or Ergogenic
aids). These are mainly any tool or means that can be used to improve
the performance of an athlete without resorting to any illegal methods.
Ergogenic aids are divided into the following categories: mechanical,
pharmacological, physiological, nutritional, and psychological.
Mechanical Ergogenic Aids
Any kind of
tool that can be used to help an athlete train a specific targeted area
of their fitness can be described as a mechanical ergogenic aid. The
list below, while not exhaustive, nevertheless goes a long way towards
covering all of the more common and major mechanical aids used by
athletes in their training.
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Weighted Vests:
Walking around with an extremely heavy weight will, by its simple
nature, build up a person's strength and endurance over time. It has
the added bonus of the person not needing to do any specific
exercises on top of wearing the vest.
Pharmacological Aids
These are
any non-banned substances used by athletes in order to help them develop
physically. The most common pharmacological aid is the vitamin
supplements that many athletes use in order to get a well-rounded diet
with all of the essential nutrients being provided to them.
Physiological Aids
These are
any activities that have been designed to relax, stretch or work various
parts of an athlete's body. Some of the more common ones are listed
below.
Nutritional Aids
These are
various foods and drink substances that are legal to use and can be used
to aid an athlete in some way or form. They usually work as stimulants
or as short term replenishment of things the body goes through quickly
(such as various electrolytic ions). Three examples of nutritional aids
are: caffeine, creatine, and sports drinks such as Gatorade.
Psychological Aids
While not
particularly tangible in any respect, psychological aids nevertheless
are intended to assist the athlete by assisting them with their state of
mind. Examples of psychological aids include, but are not limited to:
cheering, hypnosis, music and relaxation activities such as T’ai Chi.
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