The Efficacy of SPORTTM as a Dietary Supplement on Performance and Recovery in Trained Athletes

This study investigated the efficacy of SPORT (a popular dietary supplement) in improving performance and assisting recovery in 9 trained athletes. In a double-blind, crossover experiment, subjects ran at workloads of 60 and 80% of peak oxygen uptake (Peak VO2) for 5 min each with 5 min recovery after each bout and at 100% Peak VO2 until exhaustion. Two capsules of either SPORT or a gelatin placebo were administered 1 hr prior to exercise and immediately after each workload. Heart rate (HR) and blood lactate (BLa) were measured at 1 hr prior to exercise, immediately after the 100% exercise bout and at 5, 10, 20, and 45 min during recovery. No significant differences between treatments on HR and BLa measures at any of the 6 time periods, or on subjects' time to exhaustion were found. Under the conditions of this experimental design, SPORT had no beneficial effects on performance or recovery in trained athletes.