Effect of Two Week L-Arginine Supplementation on Variables Related to Endurance and Strength Performance in Collegiate Football Players

Authors

Bobby J. White III, Southwestern UniversityFollow
Nicholas A. Mask, Southwestern UniversityFollow
Scott P. McLean, Southwestern UniversityFollow
Jimmy C. Smith, Southwestern UniversityFollow

Abstract

Background: It has been shown that a month-long supplementation period of L-arginine, coupled with exercise training, increases exercise performance more than either supplementation or exercise alone (Hambrecht et al., 2000). Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a shorter 2 wk L-arginine supplementation period on factors related to endurance and strength performance. Methods: Twelve collegiate football players volunteered to participate in this study. The control group (n = 6) and treatment group (n = 6) both participated in the same off-season training program that consisted of strength training 3 d/wk and agility training 2 d/wk. In addition, the treatment group received 1g of L-arginine twice daily, whereas the control group received a placebo twice daily. At the beginning of the study, participants performed a baseline bench press maximum repetitions test at 70% of their most recently recorded bench press 1 RM (MMR). The participants also performed a graded exercise test (GXT) on a cycle ergometer to volitional exhaustion. Following baseline testing, participants immediately began the supplementation period, and were retested in the MMR and the GXT after 2 wk of supplementation. The effect of supplementation on each dependent variable was determined using ANCOVA with pretests serving as the covariates. Results: ANCOVA did not reveal significant effects of L-arginine supplementation on MMR (F_(1,9) = 1.71, p = 0.22), VO₂max (F_(1,9) = 1.08, p = 0.33), time to exhaustion in the GXT (F_(1,9) = 0.19, p = 0.67) , or HRmax during the GXT (F_(1,9) = 4.79, p = 0.06). Conclusion: A 2 wk supplementation period coupled with training may not be of sufficient length to improve factors related to endurance and strength performance in trained college-aged men.

Recommended Citation

White, Bobby J. III; Mask, Nicholas A.; McLean, Scott P.; and Smith, Jimmy C. (2016) "Effect of Two Week L-Arginine Supplementation on Variables Related to Endurance and Strength Performance in Collegiate Football Players," International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 2: Iss. 8, Article 96.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol2/iss8/96