Hormonal
Ephedrine ingestion (1 mg/kg) significantly increases early-phase power output (first 10 seconds) during high-intensity anaerobic exercise (Wingate test) by stimulating the central nervous system rather than skeletal muscle metabolism.
If you take 1 mg of ephedrine per kg of body weight 90 minutes before a short, maximal effort (like a 30-second sprint), you may generate slightly more power in the first 10 seconds. This benefit comes from nervous system stimulation, not muscle fuel. However, the effect vanishes after 15 seconds, and the safety risks (cardiovascular and cognitive) likely outweigh this marginal, short-lived gain for most non-elite users.
Ephedrine increased power output during the early phase of the Wingate test... The observation that ephedrine ingestion did not cause changes in the blood chemistry variables... suggests that the resulting performance improvement may not originate within the muscle. This would be consistent with earlier speculations (6,7) that E may stimulate the CNS rather than muscle metabolism.
Why this rating
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with clear statistical significance (P < 0.05) and mechanistic blood analysis.
Source
Effect of caffeine and ephedrine ingestion on anaerobic exercise performance
Douglas G. Bell et al. · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · 2001
DOI 10.1097/00005768-200108000-00024
More from this paper
- Caffeine ingestion (5 mg/kg) significantly increases time to exhaustion and oxygen deficit during supramaximal anaerobic exercise (MAOD test) by enhancing skeletal muscle metabolism and epinephrine release, rather than just CNS arousal.Good
- Combining Caffeine (5 mg/kg) and Ephedrine (1 mg/kg) does not produce an additive or synergistic effect on anaerobic performance compared to taking either substance alone.Good
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