Are you struggling to stick to your weight loss and fitness regime? You know that you have to stick with it for the sake of your wellness and wellbeing, but getting into the right mindset and finding the motivation can be incredibly difficult. Could the bark from pine trees change all that and help you to stay on track?
A scientific study into the use of the extract has shown that pine bark can be very effective when it comes to reducing the soreness of muscles and the post-workout cramps. It can also improve your endurance and performance during your workout.
The study into this extract has recently been published in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness. The clinical trial for pine bark analysed the results of 147 recreational athletes.
The group was divided in two: one half of the group supplemented their normal diet with extract of pine bark (known in the supplements world as Pycnogenol) and the other half of the group had no extra extracts. The trial lasted for eight weeks.
At the end of the eight weeks, those participants who took extract of pine bark were able to do a two-mile run two minutes faster than they were when they first started the trial. They also were able to improve their endurance by 25 percent when doing a push up test, and they increased their sit up two-minute challenge by 15 percent.
The researchers also did the same kind of study on a group of 54 male triathletes and found that those who took extract of pine bark improved their 100 minute triathlon times by around 10 minutes by the end of a four-week period.
This study seems to prove conclusively that taking pine bark extract every day helps to increase physical performance and to reduce the pain and muscular ache normally associated with the post-workout period.
