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“Introduction Various nutritional supplements have been investigated for accelerating recovery from resistance exercise. For example, carbohydrate ingestion within 1 to 2 hours following a strength training session promotes glycogen re-synthesis and decreases muscle recovery time [1, 2]. Protein supplementation stimulates protein synthesis, which may aid recovery, thus leading to enhanced strength gains with resistance training [3, 4]. Several herbal supplements with anti-inflammatory and/or anti-oxidant properties also purport to enhance recovery from resistance exercise and enhance Decitabine cell line strength gains. There is no consensus in

the literature concerning how herbal supplements impact the magnitude of their performance enhancing benefits [5]. We recently examined the effects of a dietary supplement containing a blend of herbal antioxidants/anti-inflammatory substances including the fresh water blue-green algae Aphanizomenon flos-aquae (StemSport; SS, StemTech International, Inc. San Clemente, CA) on the severity and time course of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) following 5-Fluoracil an acute bout of eccentric upper arm exercise (Rynders et al., In Review, JISSN). Our study reported that compared to a placebo, SS supplementation had no effect on muscle swelling, isometric strength, muscle pain and tenderness, and swelling measured 24 h, 48 h, 72 h, and 168 h (1 week) post-eccentric exercise (Rynders et al., In Review, JISSN). There were no differences in measures of recovery between SS and placebo Thiamet G after DOMS, yet it is possible that the amount of muscle tissue

damage elicited by the DOMS protocol negated any beneficial effect of the supplement. If a less dramatic overload were utilized such as strength training, it is possible that the supplement would enhance recovery and performance in a subsequent exercise bout. This would lead to a greater cumulative training response (i.e. greater total work completed per workout session). The present placebo-controlled study examined the effects of SS supplementation on the adaptations to strength, balance, and muscle function resulting from a 12-week resistance training program in healthy young adults. We hypothesized that SS would accelerate the rate of recovery from each training session, allowing for a greater overload in subsequent training sessions, and an enhanced training response. Methods Experimental approach to the problem This was a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group design to examine the effects of SS supplementation on training adaptations following a 12-week resistance training program. Independent variables included supplement type (SS or Placebo) and measurement period (pre- and post- 12 weeks of training).