Does ribose improve performance?
Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 6:02 pm
Does ribose improve performance?
The breakdown of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) is the primary — and immediate — source of energy that’s
used to perform muscular work. Since a limited amount of ATP can be stored,it must be resynthesized (or rebuilt)
over and over. In the body, ribose isa sugar that helps to resynthesize ATP.
In theory, then, ribose supplements could increase the levels of ATP and improve performance.One study involved 11 subjects
(cyclists and strength-trained individuals; age not reported) who were randomly assigned to receive either riboseor a placebo (wheat flour) 30 minutes prior to a bout of exercise. Each session consisted of three Wingate tests (30 seconds of all-out sprinting) on a stationary cycle, with two minutes of recoverybetween each test.
One week later, the subjects switched to the other pill and repeated the same protocol.There was no significant difference
between ribose and the placebo in any measure, including peak power, average power and percent decrease in power.
In fact, the majority of research hasn’t found any significant enhancement of performance from ribose.
The breakdown of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) is the primary — and immediate — source of energy that’s
used to perform muscular work. Since a limited amount of ATP can be stored,it must be resynthesized (or rebuilt)
over and over. In the body, ribose isa sugar that helps to resynthesize ATP.
In theory, then, ribose supplements could increase the levels of ATP and improve performance.One study involved 11 subjects
(cyclists and strength-trained individuals; age not reported) who were randomly assigned to receive either riboseor a placebo (wheat flour) 30 minutes prior to a bout of exercise. Each session consisted of three Wingate tests (30 seconds of all-out sprinting) on a stationary cycle, with two minutes of recoverybetween each test.
One week later, the subjects switched to the other pill and repeated the same protocol.There was no significant difference
between ribose and the placebo in any measure, including peak power, average power and percent decrease in power.
In fact, the majority of research hasn’t found any significant enhancement of performance from ribose.