Beta-alanine and resistance training -
Beta-alanine could earn a permanent place in your nutritional war-chest. I'm here to provide you the science-based intel you need to decide if it's right for you. Beta-alanine claims to raise muscle carnosine levels and increase the amount of work you can perform at high intensities.
Beta-alanine, or 3-aminopropionic acid is a naturally-occurring beta-amino acid and a component of the histidine dipeptides carnosine and anserine, as well as vitamin B5 , or pantothenic acid. Structurally, beta-alanine is a hybrid between the potent neurotransmitters L-glycine and GABA , which may explain why consumers often claim to experience a caffeine-like response from it.
Beta-alanine is even gaining support within the scientific community for being secondarily classified as a neurotransmitter. Your body can produce beta-alanine in at least three ways. It can be released during the breakdown of histidine dipeptides, such as carnosine or anserine, or it can be formed as a secondary byproduct of a reaction that converts L-alanine to pyruvate.
Additionally, beta-alanine can be formed during digestion, when intestinal microbes remove a carbon atom from L-aspartate, releasing both beta-alanine and CO2. But don't tell Al Gore that, or he'll try to argue that you should be charged for increasing your carbon footprint. When consumed as a dietary supplement, beta-alanine passes from the bloodstream into skeletal muscle via a beta-alanine and taurine transporter that's dependent upon both sodium and chloride availability.
Once it enters a skeletal muscle cell, it binds with the essential amino acid L-histidine to form the dipeptide carnosine.
That's where the fun really begins. The sports benefit of supplementing with beta-alanine lies mostly in its ability to raise muscle carnosine concentrations.
In fact, beta-alanine is the limiting amino acid in carnosine synthesis, meaning that its presence in the bloodstream is directly tied to muscle carnosine levels.
To date, every study in which beta-alanine has been supplemented to human subjects has resulted in a significant increase in muscle carnosine. This stands in contrast to other iconic supplements like creatine , for which distinct responders and non-responders have been observed.
But beta-alanine doesn't just work broadly; it also works well. Supplementation with beta-alanine has been shown to increase muscle carnosine concentrations by up to 58 percent in just four weeks, and 80 percent in 10 weeks.
What's so special about carnosine, you ask? Put simply, a drop in muscle pH is a major contributor to muscle fatigue. Muscle carnosine concentration is also linked with having a high percentage of Type II fast-twitch muscle fibers. For this reason, you'll find higher levels of muscle carnosine among sprinters and natural muscle freaks.
Men also generally have higher muscle carnosine concentrations than women, most likely because the enzyme that breaks down carnosine is more active in women. You derive little free-form beta-alanine from the foods you consume.
Most comes in the form of the dipeptides carnosine, anserine or balenine, each of which contribute to raising beta-alanine availability when broken down during digestion.
Unless you are vegetarian, you derive these from the animal proteins in your diet. Specifically, pork and beef are good sources of carnosine, whereas tuna and venison are high food sources of anserine. Just how tied is carnosine to being a carnivore?
Well, carnosine synthase the enzyme that produces carnosine expression has been shown to be significantly reduced in response to just five weeks of a vegetarian diet.
As you might expect from that, muscle carnosine concentrations are significantly lower in vegetarians than in the muscles of their carnivorous or omnivorous counterparts.
Beta-alanine is also a standard ingredient in many pre-workout supplements, in addition to being available on its own. When purchasing a beta-alanine supplement, however, look for the brand name CarnoSyn® on the label.
Natural Alternatives International, Inc. is the patent-holder on the manufacturing process by which beta-alanine is made, and its product is the only one protected by use patents and is the one that has been suggested to be effective in repeated research trials.
Buyer, be wary if you don't see CarnoSyn® on the label! You may instead just be consuming regular L-alanine or something altogether different. If you're looking for a boost in short-to-medium duration high-intensity muscle performance, few supplements to date have fit the bill as consistently as beta-alanine.
Specifically, beta-alanine seems most effective for supporting exercise lasting longer than 60 seconds. It has not been shown to be significantly or consistently effective in shorter duration bouts of exercise, where the ATP-phosphocreatine energy system is in highest demand.
For example, in one of the first published studies on beta-alanine and human athletic performance, subjects received either a placebo, 20 g per day of creatine monohydrate , mg of beta-alanine four times per day, or the same dose of beta-alanine plus 20 g of creatine monohydrate.
Maximal power output in a four-minute all-out cycling test was significantly increased in the two groups receiving beta-alanine, versus those receiving the placebo or only creatine. The most significant improvement was noted in the first and fourth minutes of cycling. Four weeks of six grams per day of bata-alanine increased the punch force of amateur boxers by an amazing 20 times.
Since that early trial, beta-alanine has been consistently suggested to increase muscle power output, strength, training volume, high-intensity exercise performance and peak oxygen uptake aerobic capacity. Most recently, when players consumed 3. In fact, when all subject responses were analyzed, those consuming beta-alanine improved by a range of 0 to Similarly, researchers out of the U.
presented evidence that just four weeks of six grams per day of beta-alanine 1. However, when long rest periods minutes were provided between sets of a high-intensity strength training session, the effects of beta-alanine were insignificant.
Therefore, for the effects of beta-alanine to be most noticeable, I would recommend a high-intensity bodybuilding-style training program, HIIT or interval training, CrossFit, or all-out minute bouts to exhaustion, with short rest periods of less than 2 minutes.
Beta-alanine can provide an acute stimulant response and is therefore a good candidate for being consumed pre-workout.
If you take a pre-workout supplement, you might already be taking it this way. However, the performance benefits from beta-alanine are based upon raising muscle carnosine concentrations over time. Thus, the time of day you consume beta-alanine isn't nearly as important as consistently consuming beta-alanine each day.
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Authors Kassiana de Araujo Pessoa , Federal University of Maranhao Follow Jason Michael Cholewa , University of Lynchburg Follow Rayssa Sousa-Silva , Department of Physical Education, Federal University of Maranhão, São Luís - MA, Brazil.
Other Subject Area Sport supplementation and Performance. Abstract International Journal of Exercise Science 16 2 : , However, the TRAD-trained arm showed a significantly increased 1RM and total weight lifted compared to the BFR arm p.
Recommended Citation Pessoa, Kassiana de Araujo; Cholewa, Jason Michael; Sousa-Silva, Rayssa; Zhi, Xia; Zagatto, Alessandro M. DOWNLOADS Since August 03, Included in Exercise Physiology Commons , Kinesiology Commons.
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If you take a pre-workout Beta-alanine and resistance training Natural liver health, you will Beta-slanine feel anf tingling sensation throughout your arms and legs. Beeta-alanine tingling effect resistanxe called Beta-alanine and resistance training — a side effect of beta-alanine doing its job. Beta-alanine is a non-essential amino acid and one of the most common ingredients in pre-workout formulas. The effects of beta-alanine supplementation range from increased strength gains, improved physical performanceand increased endurance which we'll dive into below. But how does beta-alanine work? And can beta-alanine benefit your athletic performance?Beta-alanine and resistance training -
Kassiana de Araujo Pessoa , Federal University of Maranhao Follow Jason Michael Cholewa , University of Lynchburg Follow Rayssa Sousa-Silva , Department of Physical Education, Federal University of Maranhão, São Luís - MA, Brazil.
Follow Xia Zhi , Exercise Physiology and Biochemistry Laboratory, College of Physical Education, Jinggangshan University, Ji'an, China Follow Alessandro M. Zagatto , São Paulo State University UNESP , Department of Physical Education, Bauru, Brazil.
Follow Antonio Herbert Lancha-Jr , Laboratory of Skeletal Muscle Biology and Human Strength Performance LABFORCEH , Federal University of Maranhão UFMA , São Luís - MA, Brazil. Follow Jakob D. Lauver , Coastal Carolina University Follow Fabricio Eduardo Rossi , São Paulo State University UNESP Follow NELO ZANCHI Follow.
International Journal of Exercise Science 16 2 : , We aimed to compare the effects of beta-alanine on Traditional Resistance Training TRAD or Blood Flow Restriction Training BFR.
Subjects from both groups were trained unilaterally unilateral arm curl for six weeks, and each arm was trained using a different paradigm BFR or TRAD. One repetition maximum 1RM test measurements were performed before and after the strength training program.
Work output was accessed as the total weight lifted repetitions × weight lifted × sets for the entire strength training program. Results: 1RM or total weight lifted was not increased by beta-alanine supplementation. However, the TRAD-trained arm showed a significantly increased 1RM and total weight lifted compared to the BFR arm p Pessoa, Kassiana de Araujo; Cholewa, Jason Michael; Sousa-Silva, Rayssa; Zhi, Xia; Zagatto, Alessandro M.
Exercise Physiology Commons , Kinesiology Commons. But how does Beta-Alanine work at the molecular level? The buffering effect is actually an indirect consequence of the activity of this amino acid. In fact, Beta-Alanine combines organically with Histidine , forming a dipeptide known as Carnosine.
Carnosine is a non-protein nitrogenous compound, which is deposited in our body mostly in the muscles, where it performs its function as a muscle buffer , balancing the pH of the muscle under stress and prolonging its work capacity.
But if Carnosine is the real muscle buffer, why take Beta-Alanine? The answer is to be found in the bioavailability of Beta-Alanine, decidedly greater than that of Carnosine, which when integrated easily undergoes degradation and therefore remains "less usable". It is not possible to find Beta-Alanine as a free molecule in foods, but it is possible to obtain it in the form of a dipeptide Carnosine above all by consuming meat and fish , therefore foods of animal origin.
Those who follow a vegetarian and vegan diet will therefore have a lower amount of Carnosine in their muscles than those who follow an omnivorous diet.
In order to achieve the necessary requirements for improving resistance parameters, athletes often resort to dietary supplementation of Beta-Alanine, as a single molecule or as a component of pre-workout supplements. However, the effects of this molecule are appreciable in the chronic long-term way: in fact, at least 4 weeks of intake are necessary to saturate the stocks of Carnosine inside the muscle, taking from 2 to 6g of Beta-Alanine per day even when not training.
The efficacy of Beta-Alanine has been demonstrated for efforts of at least 30 seconds , a relatively short time frame when compared to endurance activities. In this sense, Beta-Alanine can also prove to be really useful for those who practice strength training in the weight room, especially if the activity involves performance of resistant strength and muscle endurance the muscle's ability to resist under load over time.
It is therefore easy to deduce for which type of sportsmen Beta-Alanine is truly indispensable: we are talking about all those athletes called to carry out intense efforts , prolonged and which can generate high levels of catabolites the "waste products" such as lactic acid or hydrogen ion.
Cyclists, runners, calisthenics athletes or even team sports such as Calcium, basketball or volleyball. In fact, by enhancing anaerobic resistance, it delays the onset of tiredness and fatigue , allowing the athlete to perform more work and more repetitions.
Despite the proven efficacy and safety of this supplement, a " side " effect linked to the intake of Beta-Alanine is the sensation of tingling or itching which occurs a few minutes after ingestion. Known as paresthesia , this sensation is fully reversible and reduces with continued use of the amino acid.
Per some it can be annoying: one way to reduce or avoid it is to divide the overall intake into daily intakes, preferably after meals. Beta-Alanine has been shown to effectively support performance during high-intensity exercise by buffering skeletal muscle pH and consequently delaying lactic acid-induced muscular acidosis.
This translates into better strength and sprint performance , with greater contrast to the onset of fatigue and more endurance.
It is therefore useful in cycling, athletics, cross-training, but also in many team and outdoor sports. In conclusion, we can without fear define it as a supplement in the service of resistance.
Saunders B et al. β-alanine supplementation to improve exercise capacity and performance: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med.
Hobson RM et al. Effects of β-alanine supplementation on exercise performance: a meta-analysis. Amino Acids. Dankel SJ et al. Do metabolites that are produced during resistance exercise enhance muscle hypertrophy? Eur J Appl Physiol. Iraki J et al.
Nutrition recommendations for bodybuilders in the off-season: A narrative review.
Brta-alanine de Znd Pessoa Glucose metabolism disorders, Beta-alanine and resistance training University of Maranhao Follow Jason Michael Cholewa resistande, University of Lynchburg Follow Resistqnce Sousa-SilvaDepartment of Physical Education, Federal University of Maranhão, São Beta-alanine and resistance training - MA, Brazil. Follow Xia ZhiExercise Oral health benefits and Biochemistry Laboratory, College of Physical Education, Jinggangshan University, Ji'an, China Follow Alessandro M. ZagattoSão Paulo State University UNESPDepartment of Physical Education, Bauru, Brazil. Follow Antonio Herbert Lancha-JrLaboratory of Skeletal Muscle Biology and Human Strength Performance LABFORCEHFederal University of Maranhão UFMASão Luís - MA, Brazil. Follow Jakob D. LauverCoastal Carolina University Follow Fabricio Eduardo RossiSão Paulo State University UNESP Follow NELO ZANCHI Follow.
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