{"id":1801,"date":"2019-10-05T10:37:05","date_gmt":"2019-10-05T09:37:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/helpingthebesttogetbetter.com\/?p=1801"},"modified":"2019-10-05T10:37:06","modified_gmt":"2019-10-05T09:37:06","slug":"training-adaptation-adaptogens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/helpingthebesttogetbetter.com\/?p=1801","title":{"rendered":"Training, Adaptation & Adaptogens"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Adaptation\nof the human body and mind is the foundation of the training process. The human\norganism adapts in a rather predictable and specific way to the stimuli that\ntraining presents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of the\ntime we try to modulate this external stimuli by applying different training\nloads, exercise, volumes and\/or intensities, dispersed over time, hoping that\nthis will lead to the desired adaptation We know that the adaptation processes\nare complex and not easy to understand. Many scientific books have been written\non the subject of adaptation, e.g. the works of Felix Meerson (1) and Atko Viru\n(2)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In general,\nlittle thought and effort is spent on trying to modify the way the body will\nrespond to these training loads, in other words: the internal processes.  Optimalisation of these adaptation processes is\nas important as the optimalisation of the external training loads. We have to\nrealize that every training load is a stressor of the body\u2019s physiological\nsystems. We learned from molecular biology that the adaptation to stressors can\nby modified and optimized. For a long time we have used adaptogens in order to\nbe able to do so. Adaptogens are complex substances of herbal, animal or\nmineral origin who have to fulfill three conditions in  order to be called an adaptogen. (3)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. They work non-specific and have their effects on multiple physiological systems (4)<\/li>
  2. They have a normalizing effect on physiological parameters and thus stabilize the bandwidth in which the body can operate with running into trouble.<\/li>
  3. They are of very low toxicity and can be used safely over a long period of time<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    This may sound a bit abstract but I think you are familiar with one of the most famous adaptogens known: Panax ginseng. Panax ginseng, one of Korea\u2019s most famous export products, does not cure any specific diseases, but strengthens the body in general, this is called a tonic effect, and it makes the body more resistant against a wide spectrum of stressors (5,6). Since many athletes are on the limits of adaptation, and balancing on the edge of injury, overtraining or getting sick, the role of adaptogens may become obvious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Ginseng is not the only adaptogen,\nto mention a few well-known ones:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Mummyo of Shilajit, see the post in the blog a few weeks ago (link to post)<\/li>
    2. Eleutherococcus senticosus, also called Siberian ginseng (7)<\/li>
    3. Withania somnifera, also called Indian ginseng (8)<\/li>
    4. Shisandra sinensis (9)<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      And there are many more very\ninteresting adaptogens. But that is beyond the scope of this post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The problem with these natural adaptogens is that natural products need if the grow in the wild or are cultivated, take to time grow, to collect and produced into oral preparations or supplements.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 But even more important is the fact are they subject to changing environmental conditions, like geography, climate, soil, weather, sun exposure, temperature, rain, etc. That means these adaptogens might differ in composition from time to time and so their quality and strength might differ. Just like the composition, the quality and the taste of wine differs from year to year. So if possible we use standardized products, with a stable content of active components.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Scientists have been searching for and\nproducing synthetic adaptogens which fulfill exactly the same conditions as the\nnatural ones, but can be synthesized and have a stable composition, like\ndibazol or of the adamantane group.  After more than 30 years of working with\nnatural adaptogens, I have recently been experimenting with synthetic ones and\nthe results are excellent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Some adaptogens were e.g. especially\ndeveloped for special forces operators, who\u2019s body and minds are stressed to\nthe maximum by exposure to harsh environmental conditions, like heat, altitude,\nlack of sleep, and fatigue, and stressors in (potential) and unexpected combat\nsituations. These synthetic adaptogens make a better performance possible by\nbuffering the negative effects of the various stressors, preventing depletion\nof valuable physical and mental resources, and making survival more likely.\nThese substances can also be used very well by athletes who are exposed daily\nto extreme physical and mental stressors as well. These synthetic adaptogens\nwill allow the athlete to still train smart and hard and reduce the risk of\nstress-related problems. In other words\u2026.great stuff!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      • \"\"<\/figure><\/li>
      • \"\"<\/figure><\/li>
      • \"\"<\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Literature<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        1. Meerson, F.Z: Adaptation, Stress and Prophylaxis; Springer, 1984.<\/li>
        2. Viru, A: Adaptation in Sports Training, CRC Press, 1995.<\/li>
        3. Brekhman, I,I: Man and Biologically Active Substances; Pergamon Press, 1980<\/li>
        4. Brekhman, I.I; Dardymov, I.V: New Substances of plant origin which increase nonspecific resistance; Ann. Rev. Pharmacology, Vol.9, pg.419-430, 1969.<\/li>
        5. Lee, F.C: Facts about Ginseng. The Elixer of Life; Hollym, 1994.<\/li>
        6. Fulder, S: Ginseng. The Magical Herb of the East; Thorsons, 1988.<\/li>
        7. Halstead, B.W: Eleutherococcus senticosus; Oriental Healing Arts Institute, 1984.<\/li>
        8. Kaul, S.C; Wadhwa, R: Science of Ashwagandha: Preventive and Therapeutic Potentials; Springer, 2017<\/li>
        9. Panossian, A; Wikman, G: Pharmacology of Schisandra chinensis Bail.: An overview of Russian research and uses in medicine; J Ethnopharmacology, Vol.118, pg.183\u2013212, 200<\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Adaptation of the human body and mind is the foundation of the training process. The human organism adapts in a rather predictable and specific way to the stimuli that training presents. Most of the time …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helpingthebesttogetbetter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helpingthebesttogetbetter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helpingthebesttogetbetter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helpingthebesttogetbetter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helpingthebesttogetbetter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1801"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/helpingthebesttogetbetter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1801\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1808,"href":"https:\/\/helpingthebesttogetbetter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1801\/revisions\/1808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helpingthebesttogetbetter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helpingthebesttogetbetter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helpingthebesttogetbetter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}