Maximize The Benefits of Optygen & OptygenHP: When, How, & Who
Introduction
We’re often asked how Optygen and OptygenHP differ, why an athlete should choose one over the other, and if all athletes even qualify for using them. Here, we’ll describe the differences between the two formulas, discuss how to use them in training, and explain why every athlete who’s pushing their own limits – from beginner to elite – can benefit.
TAKE BASED ON STRESS, NOT STRENGTH
One of the most common misconceptions we see is that these formulas aren’t for non-elite, non-professional athletes, so we’ll state clearly here that Optygen and OptygenHP are for everyone who trains hard, not just the world’s best. They’re designed to help your body adapt to the stress of training, and stress is completely relative. An athlete running their first 10k may experience much more stress while training than an experienced athlete training for the same distance – it’s all about personal exertion rather than external performance metrics.
Exercise-induced stress is less about your ability and more about how hard you’re pushing yourself. Regardless of strength, relative fitness, or how well you place in competitions, if you’re pushing your limits with a training routine that’s constantly putting you on your own subjective threshold, then you’re putting your entire body under a lot of stress. Those are the conditions Optygen and OptygenHP are formulated for.
The effects of stress go well beyond just the experience of exercising. Mood and sleep patterns are common areas of impact, and exercise-induced stress can also be compounded by non-exercise stress – remember that stress comes from all aspects of life, not just training. So, yes, if you’re pushing your limits in training – regardless of how those limits compare to IRONMAN champions or grand tour winners – then the adaptogens in Optygen and OptygenHP will help.
CORTISOL IS CRITICAL
Though they also improve VO2, aerobic capacity, and endurance, among other things, Optygen and OptygenHP are both designed first and foremost to help manage the damaging effects of stress by modulating cortisol.
Cortisol is a hormone that regulates the immune response and is controlled by the adrenal cortex. While cortisol in normal amounts is necessary for proper metabolic function, a chronically elevated cortisol level can have a negative impact on sleep, mood, sex drive, bone health, ligament health, cardiovascular health, and athletic performance, potentially causing fatigue and systemic inflammation. Endurance training, as you might imagine, tends to excite the adrenal cortex and precipitate elevated cortisol levels.
Through the use of some clinically validated key adaptogenic herbs, both Optygen and OptygenHP help control that trend, allowing athletes to train at high-to-them levels without going into an overtraining state and suffering the negative repercussions of cortisol overload. The management of cortisol also offers secondary benefits including efficient oxygen transfer, improved ATP production, and improved glucose metabolism – all of which contribute to the broader suite of body-wide benefits of Optygen and OptygenHP. (The general reduction in harm caused by constant lifestyle stress is itself a positive, even if there were no ancillary benefits.)
THE OPTYGENHP DIFFERENCE
The HP in OptygenHP stands for High Performance, and the upgraded formula takes its mission a step further by including some key nutrients – primarily beta-alanine. Beta-alanine is a non-essential beta-amino acid that increases fat burning and efficiently synthesizes and metabolizes lactate, essentially converting the lactic acid that lights up your muscles while you’re training to be reused as fuel.
Improved lactate synthesis means athletes can push their lactate thresholds to a higher level, sustaining a higher heart rate before the debilitating effects of lactic acid – signaled by, but not limited to, the exercise burn – slows them down. The result is an improvement in endurance capacity allowing you to train and race at a higher level. (Notably, beta-alanine is also the source of OptygenHP’s telltale tingle.)
WHICH PRODUCT IS RIGHT FOR ME?
Use Optygen if your primary concern is the difficulty of your training program. For best results, Optygen should be used consistently for many months – it takes around three months for the effects to peak, following which regular use as directed maintains those levels. Pick a hard training block and use Optygen during the entire time.
Use OptygenHP if you’re concerned with the difficulty of your training program and you also want to add a performance component to your supplementation. With OptygenHP, you’ll be able to push workouts further due to its ability to improve lactate threshold – ideal for finding that extra edge when you’re already operating with a strong base of fitness.
Alternatively, athletes can cycle between both products. It’s perfectly effective to use Optygen to establish the effects of the adaptogens and during base training, and then switch to OptygenHP for the final two months before a target event, taking advantage of the lactic threshold effects to push into peak fitness.
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Optygen |
OptygenHP |
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Modulates Cortisol Improves ATP Improves mood, sleep, recovery |
Modulates Cortisol Improves ATP Improves mood, sleep, recovery Improves lactate threshold Improves fat burning |
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I use Optygen during the “meat and potatoes ” of build up and race season and absolutely love it’s results, it undeniably works. I’m wondering if interested of taking full dose of it daily can I take only 2pills daily in the down month so to keep a base level of Optygen in the system making the build back to full levels in the system quicker to achieve when training loads again pick up heavier?
David,
Research on tapering off and on adaptogens is scarce, so it would be conjecture to give an opinion. However, research using a constant dose over time does show effects with adaptogens in general, and by their very nature, adaptogens should be taken at a steady level. Why? They are antistress, and with less stress, they keep your body in the best shape possible, and turn their attention to processes that need help that are not obvious (the brain, especially, always needs and can use help). You are welcome to tinker with that dosing schedule and see how it works for you.
Luke Bucci, PhD CCN CNS
Chief Scientific Officer, First Endurance
Hi. I’ve used several of your products and love them. I’m a cyclist with LoToJa as the highlight each year. I’m 62 and have started to cramp progressively worse the past few years. I used Endurance 360 last year and it seemed to help with the cramps – after doing everything else including properly fueling, hydrating, and taking first endurance electrolytes. I don’t see ingredients listed for Optygen and OptygenHP.. Sorry that this is more of a question than a comment but I’m wondering if I can take your product in conjunction with Endurance 360 or if it would replace it but with additional benefits. Thanks
Ah, good question, Mike. There are benefits for taking either year-round (it does help our bodies respond to everyday stress, not just training stress), but you can absolutely cycle it based on season and training load. So, yes, you’re right: you can stop taking it during the offseason and then just cycle back on for competition season–just remember that it may take as long as three months to hit peak effect, so it’s not a bad idea to start in February or so to ensure a peak for summer target events.
Thanks for the article. Good right to the point info.
Is there any benefit from cycling on and off Optygen and OptygenHP for long time users? I might assume after peak season you could stop until the next high stress block begins. Or is it better to continually take even during off peak season.