ergo-log.com

Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "

about us

/

contact

/

19.07.2010


Sprint a tiny bit faster and do a few more reps with beta-alanine

The effects of the amino acid beta-alanine [structure below] are not statistically significant in this study by American sports scientists. Nevertheless, according to the researchers, they are interesting. At a slightly higher dose, or if used for slightly longer, the results would have been significant.

Let's refresh our memories. In the muscle cells, the enzyme carnosine synthetase attaches beta-alanine to histidine, another amino acid. The result is the dipeptide carnosine. Carnosine is a performance enhancer in high-intensity physical exertion. Histidine is present in fairly large quantities in muscle cells, as is the enzyme. So the limiting factor in the production of carnosine is beta-alanine.

Beta-Alanine
The researchers gave two dozen trained strength athletes a placebo or 4.5 g beta-alanine in three 1.5 g portions each day, in between meals.

After thirty days the researchers got their subjects to sprint 200 yards three times in succession on a sports field. The subjects rested for two minutes between the sprints. The beta-alanine group [BA in the figure below] ran a tiny bit faster than the placebo group [P in the figure below]. The difference was not significant, however.


Sprint a tiny bit faster and do a few more reps with beta-alanine


The researchers also got their subjects to do squats and bench presses. The subjects had to do four sets, each consisting of six to eight reps – working to failure. The total number of reps that the subjects made was higher in the beta-alanine group than in the other group. The figure below shows the training volume for the bench-press sets during three training sessions.


Sprint a tiny bit faster and do a few more reps with beta-alanine


The higher training volume in the first training session was the only statistically significant effect that the researchers found. Nevertheless they have a feeling that the amino acid works: all trends point in the same direction.

The athletes took a daily 43 mg beta-alanine per kg bodyweight. In an experiment with endurance athletes that showed more successful results, the dose was between 50 and 80 mg per kg per day. [Amino Acids. 2007;32(3):381-6.]

In another successful experiment, in which football players were given creatine with beta-alanine, a daily dose of 34 mg per kg bodyweight was sufficient. [Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2006 Aug;16(4):430-46.] But in that experiment the athletes took the supplement not for 30 but for 70 days on the trot.

"Results of this study raised questions regarding a need for supplement dose to be prescribed relative to body mass", the researchers conclude, "suggesting that further research is warranted concerning dose-response effects of beta-alanine supplementation in trained vs untrained subjects."

The research was partially financed by Natural Alternatives International, a manufacturer of nutritional supplements. Natural Alternatives also provided the beta-alanine that the researchers used in their experiment.

Source:
Nutr Res. 2008 Jan;28(1):31-5.

More:
Beta-Alanine makes interval training more effective 11.07.2010
Beta-Alanine boosts aging muscles 20.05.2009
Beta-Alanine for a faster final sprint 29.03.2009