Your Muscle-Fatigue Fighter

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TweetSusan M. Kleiner, PhD, RD

What if there was something natural you could take to improve the quality of your workouts? Something that could help you blast through those high-intensity interval training (HIIT) cardio sessions, or help you rep to failure with a heavier dumbbell? Beta-alanine, a naturally occurring non-essential amino acid, is billed as the new performance-enhancing nutritional supplement that can give you, the active woman, that edge.


What it is


Beta-alanine is found in the muscle of animal proteins (not in organ meats). It is a component of carnosine, a protein-like compound that appears to be concentrated in actively contracting muscles. Research has shown that athletes who naturally have high levels of muscle carnosine seem to be able to exercise with greater force, which can inevitably lead to muscular gains. For the average Jane, high muscle carnosine levels can be achieved with enough beta-alanine through supplementation.

Beta-alanine also appears to be a buffering agent, meaning that it prevents certain enzymatic reactions that increase lactic acid in working muscles. Excess lactic acid buildup in your muscles, as you may already know, can cause you to fatigue earlier from exercise. Beta-alanine works to dampen the “burn” in your muscles when you work out. So the more beta-alanine in your system, the better you may be able to perform.


The science behind it


Scientists became interested in beta-alanine when they discovered a naturally occurring, unusually high level of carnosine in the muscles of a significant number of championship strength and power athletes. Because carnosine controls the natural rise in lactic acid that results from high-intensity exercise, these athletes could likely perform extra reps or a greater number of sprints before muscle burn forced them to quit. To help people who aren’t able to naturally produce high levels of muscle carnosine, initial studies tried supplementing the diet with carnosine. The results? It was found that carnosine was metabolized during digestion and did not raise muscle carnosine levels. So the researchers turned to supplementation with beta-alanine, the precursor to carnosine production, and saw that it could raise muscle carnosine levels. The next step was to show that the more beta-alanine in your muscles, the better you could perform.

And science has so far supported this: Supplementation with beta-alanine has been shown to increase muscle carnosine content, with the potential to improve endurance during high-intensity exercise, particularly during multiple bouts of high-intensity exercise and in single bouts of exercise lasting more than 60 seconds. Similarly, beta-alanine supplementation has been shown to delay the onset of neuromuscular fatigue. However, for the hard-training, weightlifting gal, it must be noted that beta-alanine supplementation, on its own, does not improve maximal strength or aerobic capacity, but rather enhances anaerobic (bursts of high-intensity exercise, the kind that leaves you breathless) threshold and time to exhaustion. However, while research on beta-alanine has been primarily positive, there are factors to consider.


How to use beta-alanine

1.Purchase “time-release” beta-alanine. This formula will eliminate paresthesia, a temporary tingling or itchy feeling in the hands or feet that occurs after consumption of regular blends.
2.Loading phase: For three weeks, take three grams with your pre- and postworkout shakes. Continue with the same dose, even on your rest days, in order to load your muscles with beta-alanine.
3.After the three-week loading phase, scale down the dosage, taking 1.5 grams twice daily, again, preferably before and after your workouts.


Fast Fact


Beta-alanine is available in both capsules and powder form, and is even mixed with creatine. In fact, one study has shown that beta-alanine combined with creatine delayed the onset of muscular fatigue better than beta-alanine or creatine alone.

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TweetI use it all the time - Diet certain performance supps and even gear all work together