Beta Alanine
A key supplement in any pre workout or gym rats cupboard…Beta Alanine. But why is it important and how will it benefit your workout?
Well, Beta-alanine is a non-essential amino acid. However, unlike most amino acids, your body doesn’t use it to synthesise protein. So, how is it useful then? Well, instead of synthesising proteins, it produces something called carnosine. Carnosine reduces lactic acid accumulation in your muscles during exercise(1), which can improve athletic performance. A study was conducted on 2 groups of 400m runners. Some were given a dose of Beta-Alanine over 4 weeks, and others were given a placebo. Those who had taken the Beta-Alpha supplement had a significant increase in levels of carnosine content in their body (2).
Carnosine:
I’ve thrown the word Carnosine around a lot so far, but let me explain more about what it is. As I said above, Carnosine reduces lactic acid accumulation in muscles during exercise which means you can train with a greater intensity. This allows you to maximise time under tension which leads to increased hypertrophy. A 2007 study found that through Beta Alanine supplementation, carnosine levels increased by up to 80%. This resulted in a 13% increase in TWD (total work done) on a cycling capacity test.(3).
Increased Time to Exhaustion & Improved Endurance:
Multiple studies have demonstrated that supplementing with Beta Alanine increases your time to exhaustion. Basically meaning it helps you exercise for longer periods at a time. A study was conducted which consisted of 9 gym goers supplementing with beta alanine, and 8 taking a placebo over an 8 week period. Before and After supplementation, both groups were subjected to numerous cardiovascular tests to measure their endurance before and after the 8 week period. The results showed an increase of 11.4% in those who supplemented with Beta Alanine, and only a 5% increase in those who didn't. The conclusion stated that supplementation can significantly enhance cardiovascular performance at the end of exhaustive endurance exercise bouts. Demonstrating that Beta Alanine improves muscular and cardiovascular endurance (4)
Dosage:
Alpha Nutrition’s dosage recommendation is 3.2 grams prior to working out, as supported by the science papers (5). Side effects can include a tingling sensation in the skin. Don’t worry, it’s in no way harmful, it's simply your body getting used to the increased carnosine in your system.
Every single one of our supplements has a use, but Beta Alanine is the only one with these qualities. It’s truly one of a kind, rather than being used to directly affect muscle growth, it instead increases your endurance, lengthening your time to exhaustion and reducing fatigue. This results in a high intensity workout with increased time under tension. This in turn leads to increased hypertrophy. We offer Beta Alanine on its own but also in our well rounded and properly dosed pre workout formula, which contains 3.2grams of beta alanine. If your interested you can find it here.
Written by Cameron Tarpy 2022
- Role of beta-alanine supplementation on muscle carnosine and exercise performance - PubMed (nih.gov)
- beta-Alanine supplementation augments muscle carnosine content and attenuates fatigue during repeated isokinetic contraction bouts in trained sprinters - PubMed (nih.gov)
- Influence of beta-alanine supplementation on skeletal muscle carnosine concentrations and high intensity cycling capacity - PubMed (nih.gov)
- β-Alanine Improves Sprint Performance in Endurance Cycling : Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (lww.com)
- Effect of two β-alanine dosing protocols on muscle carnosine synthesis and washout - PubMed (nih.gov)