Nitric oxide?

On its own or in supplement such as BSN No Explode?

Personally I do not take these supplements. I don't see much of a use for them.

Benefits people claim are:

Bigger pump
More alert
Opening of veins to increase blood flow
And as a result bigger muscle growth

I would argue an espresso shot will give you the same benefit (maybe not the muscle growth though)
Here is a part summary of one of the board topics that discuss the product:


• Arginine blood flow stimulators ("nitric-oxide" or "NO2" supplements) have been shown to increase vasodilation, but only in unfed people receiving enormous doses through an IV.

• Oral arginine supplementation doesn't affect blood flow.

• A dose as low as 10 grams has been associated with gastric upset when consumed orally. This dose has no significant effect on glycogen storage, even if it didn't cause diarrhea.

• Time release arginine is supposed to lead to a "perpetual pump" effect. New studies have shown this not to be the case.

• NO2 was shown to have no effect compared to a placebo on body composition or muscle strength.

• It's not possible for us to consume high enough levels of arginine to effectively increase nitric oxide levels.

• Copycat NO2 products are no better than the original supplement. In fact, those that contain glycocyamine should be avoided because of potential health concerns.

• If you think these products work for you, then you'd better look into the placebo effect.

• Arginine might temporarily elevate growth hormone levels, but only if you're able to take unrealistic doses. There's little evidence to support that this short term increase in GH would do anything for your physique anyway.

• In one study, arginine aspartate was shown to increase prolactin by an average of 75%. Prolactin is associated with decreased Testosterone levels.

• Five grams of arginine consumed during resistance exercise was shown to decrease normal exercise-induced GH output.

• The positive benefits of oral arginine supplementation can only be achieved through doses higher than the human body can handle. And most (but not all) of this effect is mediated by insulin. So if you want to have blood flow increases equivalent to a huge IV arginine infusion, just manipulate insulin through other means (which will be discussed in the next article.)

1. As we become more trained we become less sensitive to the effects of arginine, but more sensitive to the effects of insulin.

2. Blood flow becomes more limiting to nutrient uptake as our training status improves, making it important to focus on insulin induced hemodilation.

3. Protein and carbohydrate combinations have been shown to enhance glycogen resynthesis better than an arginine/carbohydrate mixture.

4. Blood flow is enhanced by the consumption of pre- and post-workout drinks.

5. Protein and carbohydrate drinks have been shown to stimulate muscle protein synthesis.

6. Quantity of leucine was positively correlated with muscle protein synthesis in a post-workout drink.


----EDIT----

I should add that the summary will be biased because it comes from the view that NO is a scam. You can find other threads saying it is the greatest thing in the world. I honestly do think that the quantity of NO you will be taking is so small in supps that it will make no noticeable difference to your workout.

But if it does, the change will likely wear off as you become accustomed to it.

More importantly it may affect people in different ways.

I've used NO Explode 3 times after long (10+ hour shifts at work), because I was told it would provide me with a buzz and I can get the workout done. I found no change or difference in terms of alertness / pump / buzz. Having said this I was able of going through 4 cans of Red Bull and a couple of coffees a day with no impairment on sleep, or alertness....so maybe I'm not the best test subject.

My training buddy uses NO variants all the time and says they help him train like never before, but he stresses that it is simply from a buzz/alertness perspective and not a muscle building perspective.

And a third guy has swapped his NO supp for espresso shots because the supps didn't agree with him and says he feels the exact same thing on the supp and on coffee.


Hope this gives you a few things to think about. If you want, give them a go, but try drinking a couple of samples at your gym before buying a tub of the stuff if possible.