Smelling salts are for athletes looking to reach absolute peak performance is the short answer, but in reality smelling salts are not ideal for every single sport out there. Keep reading to find out if smelling salts are right for you.
Smelling salts are used for two primary reasons, pushing performance and rousing consciousness. Smelling salts provide a powerful rush of adrenaline that allows you to push your performance to the absolute max and regain focus.
The half life of adrenaline is about 2 minutes, the total effects are noticeable for about 3-4 minutes. This means that smelling salts are not intended for long endurance sports such as long distance running, marathons and distance swimming. Smelling salts (also known as ammonia inhalants) are perfect for any sport that requires short bursts of energy or focus. The most common sports to use smelling salts are:
- Football
- Hockey
- Powerlifting
- Weight Lifting
- Boxing
- Strongman
- Crossfit
- Wrestling
- Combat Sports
The potential list is much longer and we often get emails from customers trying them in sports we've never even thought of, competitive arm wrestling and pole dancing for example!
Smelling salts are used by professionals and amateurs alike. They are not some best kept secret or only for the elite. Over 90% of professional football and hockey players either actively use, or have used smelling salts in their athletic careers. They are equally prolific at the amateur level, and used in training as well, not just on game days or meets.
Smelling salts are particularly important in training of strength sports. We get stronger by putting our bodies under new and greater stress/strain, and adapting to it. That's what gaining strength is. Smelling salts lets us push our bodies to load more weights on the bar and squeeze out more reps, forcing our bodies to get stronger! And it's in training that all of our strength is built, on meet days / game days, we show up to perform.
If you want to lift heavier, skate faster, shoot harder, sprint quicker and push yourself to a whole new level of performance, then Ward Smelling Salts should be in your gym bag.