A History Of Essential Oils For Athletic Performance
Essential oils have a long history of use by performance athletes from a wide range of disciplines. From runners, to bodybuilders and even olympic athletes, essential oils have been a vital part of many training and recovery routines. However did you know that the history of essential oils for athletes goes back even further? In fact it’s true that even Roman Gladiators were treated with essential oil remedies to boost their performances and to recover from their injuries. While I doubt that many of you are battling to the death in colosseums, the general principle holds true. Essential oils have well established benefits that any athlete should be taking advantage of. Regardless of your sport or discipline, I’m going to teach you how you can benefit from including essential oils in your routine.
Essential Oils For Performance
Useful for:
- Team sports
- Strength athletes such as powerlifters
- Tennis and other racket sports
- Any other explosive sporting event
When I’m talking about performance in this context, I’m talking about physical performance in your sport or discipline. Believe it or not, there are essential oils that can have wildly beneficial effects on performance. Of course, I’m not suggesting that two drops of lavender oil will make you the next Lionel Messi. However it is clear that if you have already optimised your diet and training routine, these essential oils can give you the extra few percent that could be the difference between hitting a new PB and not.
The number 1 essential oil for performance: Peppermint Oil
When it comes to athletic performance, my go to recommendation is peppermint oil. Peppermint is one of the most popular essential oils available with many established benefits, but its advantages for athletes are actually less well known. However the science is clear – peppermint oil can help you to run faster, jump higher and lift more. In 2013, a pioneering study was published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition that demonstrated this. In the study, athletes were given a dose of peppermint oil mixed with water every day before training. The results were astonishing. Power output by athletes increased by an incredible 22%, while time to exhaustion increased by nearly 25%. This was achieved in only 10 days of supplementation.
With numbers like this, the benefits of peppermint oil for athletic performance – and particularly within sports – cannot be ignored. Peppermint oil can help you perform better and for longer.
I generally recommend taking peppermint oil in the same way as the athletes in the study. Mix a drop into your water bottle and consume at least half an hour before training. However, many athletes prefer the convenience of peppermint beadlets which can more easily be carried in gym bags and don’t require mixing before use. Another option is ZenGest Softgels, which include peppermint oil in a blend. One advantage of this is it also includes Anise, which is excellent for inflammation and can therefore aid recovery.
Essential Oils for Focus
Useful for:
- Individual sports
- Skill sports like golf and darts
- Gymnastics
There’s a strong case to be made that the biggest difference between high performing athletes and amateurs is the levels of focus they exhibit. Of course natural ability is important, but what really separates the best from the rest is often the drive to train and get better through deliberate practice. That’s focus. And once again, essential oils have a role to play. Using essential oils to increase levels of focus is not new – it has been a favourite technique amongst business leaders, writers and doctors for centuries. However athletes have only begun taking advantage of them seriously for the last few decades. Recently, more and more sports men and women are realising that essential oils have an important role to play. The science agrees.
Rosemary oil, and why you should be taking it
A groundbreaking 2013 study, published in Scientia Pharmaceutia, looked at the relationship between rosemary oil and mental focus. The results surprised even the scientists. Using brain scans to detect participants’ Alpha waves, they found a clear increase in activity amongst users who inhaled rosemary oil. They exhibited much higher levels of focus than the control group.
My favourite way to benefit from rosemary oil is by using a diffuser during the stretch portion of my warm up. I spend at least 10 minutes performing yoga while gently inhaling the rosemary. When I’m done I can really feel the difference. I’m ready to go. Of course, if you’re training in a gym, or performing at an event, this might not be possible. That’s why I always carry a bottle of doTERRA Motivate in my gym bag. This blend includes rosemary along with a mix of other beneficial oils to help get you in the zone. I actually use it before meetings when I don’t have time to inhale rosemary beforehand.
Essential Oils For Athletes Recovery
Perhaps the most overlooked element of successful athletes’ training regimes is their emphasis on recovery. Especially for the young where recovery is easier in general, it can often be seen as something that just ‘happens’ rather than something you ‘do’. I would argue that this is the wrong way to look at it – recovery is absolutely something you should ‘do’ and further, it is something you can optimise with supplementation.
Recovery ultimately boils down to two separate but linked elements: rest and repair. Rest is necessary to give your body the ability to repair itself. Essential oils can help us at both stages of the recovery process. Let’s look at rest first of all.
For those of you who use essential oils already, you may be aware of how lavender oil is excellent for improving sleep quality. It’s worth discussing again though – in particular to look at the science. This is one of the most studied areas of essential oil science, and the benefits are now well established. One interesting meta-analysis looking at studies between 1990 and 2012 came to the conclusion that lavender oil is beneficial in promoting sleep quality when inhaled. I’ve included it in my bedtime routine ever since.
The second element of recovery is repair. If you are getting adequate rest, you are putting your body in the best position to repair itself. In order to improve your body’s natural abilities, athletes should take steps to reduced inflammation and improve circulation. Many essential oil blends have these properties, but in my opinion there is one clear winner: black pepper oil.
Black pepper oil has been shown time and again to reduce inflammation – useful for calming sore muscles. However it is also excellent at improving circulation which is vital for the body’s repair process, both for transporting nutrients and for removing toxins and waste products. My favourite way to use black pepper oil is by gently massaging into the muscle. I tend to do this around an hour before bed just before I start my relaxation routine.
Essential oils for sports performance: the verdict
Science has shown what anecdotally top athletes have known for years. The beneficial effects of essential oils are now a part of the mainstream with many of the most well known superstars using them in one way or another. The best part is that you and I can experience these benefits too. Try them out and I’m sure you will notice a real and measurable improvement in your athletic performance.
