Background and purpose: A well designed diet is the foundation upon which optimal training and performance can be developed. However, as long as competitive sports have existed, athletes have attempted to improve their performance by ingesting a variety of substances. Super pump supplement is one of the new types of supplements used before exercise and might be effective in improving sport performance. Therefore, this study was conducted with the aim of investigating the effects of Super pump supplement on the skill-related performance of elite male futsal players.
Methodology: The current research was semi-experimental and applied. Among the elite futsal players of Hafari National Sports Club of Iran in the premier league, 16 players between the ages of 20 and 27 were selected as subjects and divided into two groups: placebo (n= 8) and Super pump supplement (n= 8). The supplement group took 12 grams of Super pump supplement 30 minutes before their training session in a double-blind manner for 7 days. Subjects in the placebo group used the same amount of starch powder during this period. In order to evaluate the skill-related performance of the subjects, standard tests for futsal players were used. These tests were measured once before and once after taking supplements and placebo.
Results: The results showed that taking the supplement caused in a significant improvement in speed (7.6% improvement), agility with the ball (8.9% improvement), agility without the ball (7.4% improvement) and dribbling time (10.2% improvement). However, it had not significant effect on their maximum oxygen uptake (0.4%).
Conclusion: In general, it seems that the use of Super pump supplement can improve the skill-related performance of elite male futsal players.