It’s the heart of fall regatta season.

Here’s why rowers should consider Freak Shake Endurance Fuel for their pre & post workout nutrition program.

Rowing is a full-body exercise that demands contributions from nearly all major muscle groups. In fact, rowing engages 86% of our muscles and is one of the most comprehensive exercises known to Freaks of Nature. High-intensity rowing in particular, challenges the body’s anaerobic and aerobic systems, pushing muscles to their limits.

Here’s an exploration of high intensity rowing’s positive and negative impacts:

THE GOOD…

1. Muscle Hypertrophy:

High-intensity rowing can lead to muscle hypertrophy, the process by which muscle fibers grow in size. As rowing provides both resistance (via the rowing machine’s settings) and aerobic endurance training, it promotes the growth of both type I (slow-twitch) and type II (fast-twitch) muscle fibers.

2. Increased Muscle Endurance:

Over time, consistent high-intensity rowing can improve muscle endurance. This is the ability of muscles to sustain repeated contractions against resistance over an extended period.

3. Enhanced Cardiovascular Health:

Rowing isn’t just about muscles; it’s also cardio-centric. This means that while muscles are getting a workout, the cardiovascular system is also being strengthened, supporting better oxygen delivery to muscle tissues.

Rowers reading this are registering a universal, “No duh!” But wait, there is more.

THE BAD

1. Muscle Fatigue:

Engaging in high-intensity rowing without adequate recovery can lead to muscle fatigue. This is because of the depletion of muscle glycogen stores and the accumulation of lactic acid.

2. Risk of Injury:

The repetitive nature of rowing, when combined with high intensity, can increase the risk of overuse injuries, especially if proper technique isn’t maintained.

3. Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS):

After an intense rowing session, it’s not uncommon to experience DOMS, which is muscle soreness that typically sets in 24-48 hours post-exercise. While not necessarily harmful, it can be uncomfortable and impact subsequent training sessions.

Yeah yeah - we’ve sat on an erg for more than 10 minutes at a time… What does this have to do with the nutrition I’m supplying my workouts and recovery with?

THE FREAKY…

Freak Shake Endurance Fuel was designed for freaks of nature who enjoy doing unordinary things. And rowers are one of the freakier flavors of endurance athletes. If you are a rower or use a rowing machine to cross train at high intensity, Freak Shake may provide something you’ve been missing in other sports nutrition solutions.

In addition to providing nutrient fuel in the form of high carbs, high electrolytes, and modest protein protein ideal for endurance training and recovery, every Freak Shake product is fortified with antioxidant flavonoids. Flavonoids, a naturally occurring subclass of polyphenols found in foods like dark chocolate and berries, have attracted attention for their potential endurance-boosting properties.

Flavonoids in Muscle Metabolism and Muscle Renewal

1. Anti-inflammatory Properties:

One of the significant benefits of flavonoids is their anti-inflammatory effects. After an intense workout, muscles undergo micro-tears, leading to inflammation. By reducing this inflammation, flavonoids can potentially expedite recovery, reduce soreness, and help limit or prevent chronic muscle damage. The takeaway is that these micronutrients contribute to increased resilience for endurance athletes like rowers who frequently train to exhaustion.

2. Improved Blood Flow:

Flavonoids can stimulate the production of nitric oxide (NO), a molecule that promotes vasodilation or the expansion of blood vessels to help increase the flow of resources to muscles. Increased blood flow ensures that muscles receive a higher amount of oxygen and nutrients essential for repair and growth. It also aids in the efficient removal of waste products like lactic acid, potentially reducing muscle fatigue and soreness

Flavonoids and Muscle Growth

1. Protein Synthesis:

While flavonoids themselves aren’t directly involved in muscle protein synthesis, their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties can create an optimal environment for muscle repair and growth. By reducing oxidative stress associated with high intensity or long duration exercise, they can ensure the muscle protein synthesis process isn’t hampered by excessive free radicals.

2. Enhanced Nutrient Uptake:

Increased blood flow, thanks to flavonoids, might also optimize the delivery of essential nutrients like amino acids to muscle tissues, supporting muscle protein synthesis.

Flavonoids and Muscle Mitochondria Synthesis

The mitochondria in muscle cells play a critical role in muscle function. These cellular power plants produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the primary energy currency of the cell. Your endurance, particularly in aerobic training zones, is a function of how efficiently your mitochondria produce ATP, and how many of them populate your muscle cells.

1. Enhanced Mitochondrial Efficiency:

Flavonoids have been shown to improve mitochondrial efficiency, particularly in skeletal muscles. By optimizing the way muscles use oxygen to produce ATP, flavonoids can support better muscle function and endurance.

2. Promotion of Mitochondrial Biogenesis:

There’s evidence to suggest that flavonoids might stimulate the production of new mitochondria in skeletal muscles. More mitochondria can mean enhanced energy production capacity, supporting high-intensity activities like rowing.

Row harder, recover faster with Freak Shake Endurance Fuel.

High-intensity rowing offers a plethora of benefits for muscle growth, endurance, and overall cardiovascular health. However, like any intense activity, it poses challenges, including muscle fatigue, risk of injury, and delayed onset muscle soreness. Integrating flavonoids into one’s diet can be a game-changer for rowers.. Their potential to improve blood flow, support muscle protein synthesis, reduce inflammation, and enhance mitochondrial function makes them a valuable ally in optimizing muscle metabolism and renewal.

Freak Shake endurance fuel offers an all-in-one nutrition solution to fuel your best endurance training efforts, and speed recovery afterward. Every Freak Shake product is fortified with antioxidant flavonoids to provide extra cellular support to the Freaks who are regularly training to exhaustion. In fact you would need to ingest about a quarter of a canister of natural cocoa powder (8 oz) just to get the same amount of flavonoids available in one serving of Freak Shake. While an entire pan of homemade brownies sounds like a good time, we don’t recommend this before and after every workout…

How about trying Freak Shake Endurance Fuel instead?

OTHER COMPONENTS OF FUEL AND RECOVERY

Maybe you’ve gotten off the water after a 20K row, or an hour of seat racing, or an erg test and felt the scarecrow wobbles with mental fog… Congratulations you’ve earned the respect of your teammates. You’ve also exhausted the supply of available energy resources in your tissue. You’ve bonked.

3:1 Carb to Protein Ratio: Simple carbohydrates (sugar) are rapidly accessible fuel for your muscles, but they also deplete quickly during high intensity rowing. Freak Shake uses a high carbohydrate formula with a modest amount of protein to support muscle regeneration in a 3-to-1 ratio which is in the range clinically shown to be most beneficial for endurance exercise & recovery.

Electrolytes: Remember using 86% of muscles with each stroke? Heat is the predominant byproduct of muscle contractions. So high intensity rowing generates A LOT of heat & A LOT of sweat! And we lose electrolytes in sweat which are vital to maintaining fluid balance in cells, muscle & cognitive function. Freak Shake supplies more than 3x the electrolytes in mainstream sports drinks, making it a convenient way to load up and replenish them.

Ready Rowers? Try some Freak Shake Endurance Fuel and let us know how you feel… “on this one!”

Byron Fergerson, M.D. & David Stuart, Ph.D. are scientific advisors to Freak Shake and regularly share their expertise