Improve your Cardiovascular Swimming Performance: The Benefits of Beets and Nitric Oxide

Improve your Cardiovascular Swimming Performance: The Benefits of Beets and Nitric Oxide

Beetroot has gained popularity as a potential natural performance-enhancing food due to its high nitrate content, which can improve athletic performance, especially in endurance activities. Nitrate is converted to nitric oxide in the body, which helps dilate blood vessels, reduce the oxygen cost of exercise, and improve overall cardiovascular function. Studies report improved time to exhaustion running, increased economy and lower Vo2 for cycling time trials, better rowing times, as well as benefits to athletes training, acclimating, and performing at altitude. Studies have indicated that these effects can benefit endurance athletes, including swimmers, in the following ways:

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Swimming Fast and Loose

Swimming Fast and Loose

Have you ever noticed swimmers compulsively shaking their muscles and fidgeting behind the blocks before a race? From Michael Phelps iconic arm swings to the, “dancing queen,” Sierra Schmidt, at last summers Olympic Trials, it turns out there is more to moving and staying loose, than just nervous energy.

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Stable Endurance Training

Stable Endurance Training

The Bunkie test is a functional endurance test to help identify functional stability, endurance, and control through some of the common fascial lines. It’s a series of 5 exercises, performed bilaterally (both sides). Its a simple test for identifying weak links in your ability to efficiency coordinate multiple muscles linked in a kinetic chain associated with particular movement patterns, and can help you identify weak links and patterns to program more specifically for your needs.

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