Athletes, whether casual or competitive, are always looking for ways to enhance performance and speed up recovery. The body’s ability to regenerate ATP—an essential energy carrier—plays a crucial role in muscle strength and function. When ATP production is limited, it can hinder overall athletic performance.
Supplementing with ribose, a natural sugar produced in the body that is the foundation of ATP, can increase muscle cell energy, offering you increased power output and increased exercise capacity.
Ribose for Energy
Doing intense workouts, like weightlifting and sprinting, can drain ATP reserves in muscle cells. Ribose supplements can quickly replenish these energy reserves by providing the necessary building blocks to create more ATP (an essential energy molecule in the heart and skeletal muscles.) Research shows that thanks to its ability to restore ATP, ribose can boost muscle power and strength by optimizing energy metabolism.[1]
Supplementing with ribose helps to relieve muscle soreness, improve recovery from muscle damage, and prevent oxidative stress to the muscles.[2] Ribose has also been demonstrated to improve blood flow in the muscles and cardiovascular system, and even increase exercise endurance for patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD).[3]
Ribose for Athletic Performance
A 2022 study investigated whether ribose supplementation could improve the exercise performance of young male bodybuilders.[4] Researchers separated the participants into two groups, one taking ribose and the other taking a placebo. After four weeks the ribose group demonstrated significant improvements in muscle strength and exercise capacity.
Adding Ribose to Your Routine
By rapidly replenishing ATP, ribose supplementation helps muscles operate at a higher level with more power. Whether you’re a professional athlete or just setting goals at the gym, ribose can give you an advantage. The improvements in strength and endurance can motivate you to switch to a healthier sugar option.
Dr. Johannes Coy, founder of Intelligent Sugar, has extensively researched ribose and other natural, healthy sugars. He created a unique blend of these sugars to deliver long-lasting energy without harming the body. Dr Coy’s Sweet Mix for Sports Training uses ribose to support athlete’s endurance and performance during training. This mixture provides long-lasting, sustained energy, which is crucial for performance, endurance, and muscle building/repair. Specially adapted for the needs of athletes, it’s ideal for optimizing oxidative metabolism and enabling a constant supply of energy for the entire body.
[1] Hellsten Y, Skadhauge L, Bangsbo J. Effect of ribose supplementation on resynthesis of adenine nucleotides after intense intermittent training in humans. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2004;286(1):R182-188.
[2] Cao W, Qiu J, Cai T, Yi L, Benardot D, Zou M. Effect of D-ribose supplementation on delayed onset muscle soreness induced by plyometric exercise in college students. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2020;17(1):42.
[3] Pliml W, von Arnim T, Stablein A, Erdmann E, Zimmer HG, Hofmann H. Effects of ribose on exercise-induced ischaemia in stable coronary artery disease. The Lancet. 1992;340(8818):507-510.
[4] The effects of four weeks of ribose supplementation on body composition and exercise performance in healthy, young, male recreational bodybuilders: a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Current Therapeutic Research. 2002;63(8):486-495.