An ergogenic aid is anything that acutely improves performance — taken before or during, with effect measured in the same session, not next month. Some are as close to settled science as sports nutrition gets. Most are not.
Group A: the evidence is in
The Australian Institute of Sport framework grades supplements A, B and C by evidence quality and safety. The Group-A list is short and each entry has a job.
- Caffeine (3–6 mg/kg, 45–60 min pre) lowers perceived exertion and boosts endurance and high-intensity output — the single most reliable performance booster (Goldstein 2010).
- Creatine monohydrate (3–5 g/day) improves strength, repeat-sprint and recovery; a smaller but real endurance benefit exists.
- Beta-alanine (3.2–6.4 g/day) buffers muscle acidity for 1–4 min efforts — swim surges, Hyrox stations, the 800m.
- Nitrate / beetroot (6–13 mmol, 2–3 h pre) improves efficiency and lowers oxygen cost, strongest in recreational athletes (Jones 2018).
- Sodium bicarbonate (0.2–0.3 g/kg) buffers sprint and threshold efforts, but carries GI risk — test in training, never first on race day.
The 'skip' list
BCAAs add nothing if total protein is adequate. Testosterone boosters and fat burners show no strong evidence in healthy athletes. Your money is better spent on food, sleep and a coach.
Timing is half the dose
A caffeine + nitrate protocol, a pre-race bicarb load, a creatine habit — each has a window and a ceiling. Taking the right thing at the wrong time (caffeine at 6pm, bicarb first time on race morning) turns a booster into a liability.
How the app applies this
The daily check-in matches ergogenic picks to today's actual session (sport, type, duration) and respects your liked/opted-out list — then de-duplicates caffeine so you're never told to take it twice.
Evidence
- › AIS Sports Supplement Framework 2021
- › Goldstein et al. 2010 — Caffeine (J Int Soc Sports Nutr 7:5)
- › Jones 2018 — Nitrate & endurance
- › Trexler 2015 — Beta-alanine