MMA News Forums - Nitric oxide supplements

Probably the biggest scam in the supplement industry, cheating you and I both out of hundreds of millions of dollars every year, is…..Nitric oxide, better know as NO, found in popular supplements such as NO-Xlpode, Superpump 250, Nano Vapor, etc. But wait, how could that be? I got great results from NO-Xlpode. Let me explain.

If you were to challenge your buddy to drag race, and you both had to build your own cars, put the following in order of importance to winning the race: engine, fuel, tires, exhaust, transmission, and color of the car. I’d be willing to bet if you polled 1000 people, 999 of them would have “color of the car” at the end of the list. Then why on earth, do weightlifters continually choose an NO product over creatine, protein, BCAAs, leucine, beta alanine, or, even a multivitamin? Because they said I’d have 300% more growth… Hmmmm.

The theory behind NO supplements

I must admit. The theory behind NO makes sense, not only from common sense standpoint, but also a scientific standpoint. It’s not really a complex pathophysiological mechanism. Nitric Oxide (NO) causes vasodilation (increases the diameter of the vessel). That results in more blood being supplied to the muscle. The more blood supplied, the more nutrients, energy substrates, oxygen, etc the muscle gets. The end result: a highly anabolic environment that breeds huge muscles. It’s simple. What would you rather put a fire out with: a garden hose or a fire hose? Like I said, it makes sense. However, there’s one fatal flaw…

The Fatal Flaw

You’re being chased by a bear. What happens? Your heart rate speeds up, you’re breathing becomes rapid, and you’re instantly alert and focused. Congratulations, your flight-or-fight internal mechanism just saved your life. There’s also something else that happens that’s crucial to the NO argument that most people forget about. Blood is diverted away from your GI system, and any other organ/tissue that won’t help you. That diverted blood goes to your muscles, brain, and heart (the organs that are of utmost important to your survival.) So what happens during a weight lifting session? Is your workout more similar to a being chased by a bear or nice midday nap? Hopefully, it’s the bear scenario. Thus, your muscles are already getting a larger supply of blood, nutrients, oxygen, etc because of your body’s automatic vasodilation mechanism. But won’t increasing vasodilation even more with NO make even bigger muscles?

The Great Mistake

Good in theory. Bad in proof. That’s exactly what the manufacturers want you to think. However, I have yet to see any convincing proof. In fact, if anyone has a study that supports that notion, please post it here (please make sure it wasn’t sponsored by the manufacturer) because I’m having a hard time finding one. More importantly, even if there were studies that showed an NO product results in more blood being delivered to the muscle, does it even make a difference? If so, how big is the difference? Enough to justify spending $40 per month on it? Once again, I’m having trouble finding any clinical evidence supporting any of these assumptions. Once again, let’s go to the hose analogy. Let’s look at it from a gardener’s perspective. Would you rather water your garden with a garden hose or a fire hose? I’d hope you’d answer garden hose because you’d drown all of your plants with a fire hose. What NO products lack in science, they more than make up for in clever marketing tactics.

The Great Con

So how did I get results from NO-Xlpode, the greatest supplement ever? Let me explain. Is there any stand alone NO products on the market anymore that just contains arginine or one of its spinoffs? No. Now they all contain creatine, beta alanine, BCAAs, leucine, caffeine, or another ingredient that actually does work. The large majority contain at least 4 different ingredients. Yea, but that’s for convenience purposes. Now I don’t have to take 6 different shakes a day. Those manufacturers were just looking out for my best interest. Ha, if you believe that, I have some great swamp land for sale in Florida. They were actually looking to cover up a mediocre (at best) ingredient, and disguising it as the next best thing. Success! The results you experienced from NO Xplode: probably from the creatine or beta alanine.

So is it completely useless? Not necessarily. If you’ve already purchased protein, leucine, BCAAs, creatine, beta alanine, fish oil, and several other supplements, it probably wouldn’t hurt to add NO. You’ll probably get a slightly better pump. It’ll help your ego. But is your ego really worth $40? That’s for you to decide. Sometimes people are blinded more by subjective goals as opposed to objective goals.

Side note: If you do have an extra $40 lying around, I’ll offer you a small wager. You give me $40, and I’ll design you an 8 week arm program. If it doesn’t get you better results than NO, I’ll give you your $40 back. No questions asked. How’s that for a guarantee.

Just remember, when it comes to N.O. just say NO!

P.S. What about the increase in growth hormone production from arginine? Unless you’re taking arginine IV, forget about it.