Time for O-Ringen!

O-Ringen in Åre is right around the corner, the world's largest orienteering festival takes over the mountain world where elites mingle with amateurs for 5 tough stages! 

Once again this year, Umara is the sports drink supplier for the event. You will also have the opportunity to buy our products on-site through Bagheera. If you want to optimize your chances in advance, here are a few tips on good supplements to consider for making O-Ringen week the best of the summer. 

No doubt about it, caffeine has a performance-enhancing effect (as long as you don't have a specific genetic makeup and are a non-responder), which very few of us are.

The positive effects occur because when caffeine enters the bloodstream and gets transported further, it affects our adenosine receptors in our central nervous system (CNS).

Adenosine is a neurotransmitter that binds to these receptors and suppresses effects in our nervous system. It ensures that we wind down, our blood pressure drops, and we become tired. The level of adenosine increases in the blood throughout the day, and by evening, levels are higher; adenosine binds to many receptors and signals fatigue, and guess what... we become tired. The amount of adenosine even increases even faster if the oxygen level in the blood is low. This is a safety mechanism that kicks in to prevent the brain and body from running on high revs if, for example, you faint or during high exertion when the oxygen doesn't suffice. Adenosine acts as the brain's rev limiter, we could say, ensuring that we get tired.

What is cool about caffeine is that the caffeine molecule looks almost identical to the adenosine molecule and can therefore bind to the same receptors. In this way, adenosine is prevented from binding to the receptors, and we do not feel tired. We have simply disconnected the rev limiter and don’t get tired as quickly.

3-6mg caffeine/kg body weight 1 hour before activity is what is recommended. If you are used to caffeine from, for example, coffee, you may need to go up to 6mg/kg, while someone who is less tolerant can manage well on 3mg/kg and may even experience negative effects at doses up to 6mg/kg. Caffeine has an effect on everything from shorter intense sprints to longer workouts.

The effects of Nitrate are reduced oxygen consumption at a given workload, which leads to increased performance. The effects are attributed to the nitrate in, for example, beetroot juice (or nitrate in pure form) that is converted to nitric oxide, which dilates blood vessels and increases blood flow and oxygen transport to working muscles.

Most studies note an effect with an intake of 6-8mmol, but well-trained athletes with an oxygen uptake of +60ml/kg/min seem to require higher doses acutely and/or buffer with intake over 3 days prior to competition. Studies measuring performance-enhancing effects on these well-trained individuals have used 12.5-19.5mmol as an acute intake or a 3-7 day buffering. This is not unreasonable at all since well-trained individuals already have a “better” developed network of blood vessels with dilated vessels and good oxygen transport. This is one of the many positive effects of actually training. Therefore, if a well-trained individual is to gain additional effects, even more nitric oxide is required to signal the dilation of blood vessels. And yes, this implies that a higher dose of nitrate needs to be consumed to be converted into nitric oxide and provide vasodilating and performance-enhancing effects.

Intake should occur 2-3 hours before activity for acute intake. And for the really well-trained, buffering applies where the intake can occur at any time during the day for 3-7 days prior to + intake 2-3 hours before the start.

Just as important as supplements before your race is to think about recovery, especially when there are multiple races in a row. Make sure to provide carbohydrates immediately after each completed stage. At this point, glycogen storage is super efficient as the enzyme that controls storage, as well as the transport protein that pulls carbohydrates into the muscles, are fully activated. Providing carbohydrates at a rate of at least 70g/hour immediately after the finish line leads to a 45% faster glycogen storage over the next 2 hours, which in turn means that you are well recovered just 4 hours after finishing, and the body can start focusing more on repair and rebuilding. 

Read more about optimizing your recovery here.