38 — Sunday, September 13, 1998 — North Shore News

Choose natural performance enhancers

nos

_. list. of performance enhancers

IT has been prevalent
since the sixties.

Ben Johnson was an

unfortunate guilty scapegoat

and the Chinese women
national swim team have
achieved fame and infamy
solely because of it.

The use of illegal drug
taking, or doping if you pre-
fer, has achieved new heights
of awareness amongst the
general population.

It seems we read about
athletes almost daily who
have been found guilty of
taking some form of banned
substance in order to “get
the edge” over their com-
petiters or team mates.

An interesting survey was
taken among competing ath-
letes at the Pan American
Games in the mid °70s. The
question posed was this: “If
by. raking a banned drug you
would be guaranteed an
Olympic medal but would
have decreased your lifespan
by a minimum of five yc2es,
would you still take it?”

Almost 80% replied that
they would indeed go ahead
and take the illegal substance
for the opportunity to reach

. the pinnacle of their respec:
tive sport. ,

Accepting this fact, it is
no wonder athletes every-
where are looking for a way
to get faster, stronger and
fitter, ‘and this mindset per-
mestes all the way down to
club/and Masters competi-
tors.

Creatine seems to be the
wonder drug of the day,
promising ll kinds of bene-

ts from the sublime to the
ridiculous and it is available
readily at health food stores
everywhere. Sales of this
xet have soared and
while. there is contrary opin-

~ jonas to its value many

aspiring athletes looking to
get'as fit as a butcher’s dog
are quite prepared to shell
out $50 or tnore for a bortle
of this. so called magic.

'» Well, I have prepared a

that.often get overlooked or

* undervalued.

~ These “potions” have all
:. been proven clinically tos

:-;. improve the success of ath-

letes when taken as directed

“-.and are, at least at the time

‘ In order to achieve suc-
cess in almost any venture in
life onc has to set goals, and
sport is no different.

’ You need to set a target,

A Know it to be realistic and

prepare a plan in order to
complete it. -

Don’t set an objective
-that.is above your skill level
or ability as you will be
doomed to failure, but do
commit to a level of excel-
lence you believe possible
and embrace it emotionally,
physically and mentally.

Also make sure chat you

. surround yourself with peo-

ste who support yuur belicts,
whose cups are half full (as
opposed to half empty) and
will encourage you through
some of the incvitable dithi-
cult periods you will experi-
ence.
& Diet

As you put increasing
stress On your body it
becomes more critical to
ensure the right kinds of

tood are being consumed, or,
more importantiy the right
balance of food groups. You

They played math ga

can still cat ice cream, french
fries and have a glass or wo
of your favorite beverage but
also make sure you cat plenty
of vegetabies, fruits and
complex carbohydrates
(pasta, potatoes and rice).
One of the great benefits
of hard physical exercise is
that you can enjoy larger
quantities of all foods with-
out putting on weight so go
ahead, enjoy life and all that
it represents to you — just
make sure you keep putting

“Denote =

in the good stuff along with
the junk.
@ Hydration

This is onc of the most
basic and important compo-
nents in the health equation
and is also one of the most
undervalued.

I see athletes at varying
levels of excellence ignoring

the value of being adequately

hydrated and they pay a

heavy price in their perfor-

mance —- or lack thereof.
There have been numer-

m

ous studies confirming that a
two % weight reduction
through loss of fluid (3 lbs.
for a 150-1b. person) can
impede physical performance
by up to 25%!

Adding to this is the fact
that when sweating we lose
electrolytes (primarily sodi-
um and potassium) along
with fluid. If these are not
replaced along with fluid
during long, strenuous ses-
sions then athletic ability is
diminished greatly.

If you are planning to
train or compete in anything
over 60 minutes then make
sure your drink of choice
includes the ingredienis you
necd. I use a product called
All Sport just because of the
high percentage of potassium
and sodium compared to
other so cafled sports drinks
and it docs a great job. It’s
available in most drug stores

See Steroids page 39

es with aliens,

learned about WEIALES, and spoke with

grade 3 students in the ARGTIc.

Then they didn’t want to stop for recess,

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7

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