Once ingested, it combines with histidine within skeletal muscle and other organs to form carnosine. When β-alanine combines with histidine, the pKa of the imidazole ring of the histidine residue is increased to 6. β-Alanine is considered to be the rate-limiting step in muscle carnosine synthesis.

Thus, the primary goal of β-alanine supplementation is to increase carnosine content in skeletal muscle thereby enhancing intracellular buffering capacity, enabling a greater tolerance of sustained anaerobic activity.

The science of what occurs at the cellular and organ levels is important because, when you apply supplementation to training, competition, and recovery, the details matter.

From the summary of noted researchers at Central Florida, Beta-Alanine is an amino acid that triggers higher carnosine formation in muscle. Research on aging populations has shown it provides an acute neuroprotective benefit, but we need to wait to see if future studies will support this finding.

Know your science. Coaches should not act as translators of sport science by speaking bro science to athletes. I also recommend hiring a good nutritionist or sport scientist to understand this supplement better.

Coaches and athletes want supplements to work because they can offer an immediate benefit or a way to win, but I tend to be more skeptical and careful. Grabbing a meta-analysis and reading the conclusions is intellectually lazy and dangerous.

One cloudy issue with this supplement is that much of the research is tied to a company that sells a Beta-Alanine product. Independence beyond the available research is a perfect and transparent solution that coaches can do. For now, the studies support that using Beta-Alanine for intense training is promising.

Many studies are open access and well written, so do your homework. Table 1. With elite performance, supplementation may show up in winning. Beta-Alanine can work for athletes when they use it properly, and I recommend working with a nutritionist first or reading up on the product.

Increases in work rate during 4k cycling tests but for some reason not for kayak and rowing indicate Beta-Alanine is viable for athletes. I find Beta-Alanine helps CrossFit and some periods of high-density training for team and Olympic sport. Team sports engaged in repeated bouts of work may have a chance of reaping benefits.

We also can use it to improve field testing and some forms of extended power , though these are not prized training methods. Beta-Alanine is a training supplement , not an aide for a maximal effort or a quick fix.

Image 1. When and for whom are the right questions to ask when supplementing during a season. Often athletes periodize supplementation to ensure each phase works in harmony with their sports nutrition and recovery needs.

Workouts are tricky since old research summaries pointed out an arbitrary minutes of activity, which is a little vague and dated. Fortunately, another meta-analysis review expanded their finding to 0. To help understand, think about lactate accumulation periods—Beta-Alanine can mitigate the burn.

Although for the most part, endurance athletes appear not to be good candidates unless they believe their sprint at the end of the race will determine the outcome, I am cautiously optimistic. Team sport and Olympic sport athletes may use it year round or during specific phases of their training.

Extreme strength and power athletes may see a slight development phase support from Beta-Alanine, but powerlifters and Olympic lifters are not ideal candidates because they perform the most extreme training that has different fatigue roots. But this is only my experience.

One of the biggest discussion points concerns dosing with sustained-release tablets or pure free form powder. It reminds me of the misleading information about the absorption of creatine and whey protein, where micronization promised big but delivered nothing special.

This is important for managing side effects discussed above and when considering the concept of uptake versus intake. Update versus intake concerns how much of the supplement converts after swallowing either the pill or the powder, not the amount listed on the product label.

If the research requires six grams, we need to take roughly six grams to avoid impaired results. The research is still embryonic, so optimal dose patterns have yet to be vetted fully. Most of us need about a month to see any results, and some research recommends ramping up slowly in the beginning.

I find that taking it a few times a day is just as effective as a sustained released pill. Simplifying the supplementation demands, however, will improve the likelihood an athlete will adhere to the protocol, so perhaps the added cost is worthwhile. Regardless, when a dedicated athlete takes a higher dose in smaller amounts to offset the conversion loss and the price is less, they can save money.

Table 2. Timed release supplements help more with administration versus product efficacy. Experimenting with dose protocols could lead to positive results and adherence.

Since the powder products are mainly flavorless, getting enough with power shots is reasonable. Bulk powders are generally common with amateur athletes, but the cost of NSF-approved and similar products means you likely need to use a sustained-release product to get the benefits from low dose administration.

A few words of caution: if you skipped to this part and failed to read the earlier parts of the article, you may be disappointed or misdirected. My recommendations here are very loose and limited. I have far more experience with simple nutrient-based supplements like protein powders and iron supplementation.

After I gave it another try. Based on the science and some real-world considerations, this outlines my current suggestions for speed and power athletes.

Before adding Beta-Alanine to other supplements , consider my recommendations for when to use it below. You can take the product without cycling, as water weight has not shown up as a side effect, but I still recommend not taking it during the off-season.

Athletes should take Studies looking at whether Beta-Alanine helps acutely are not showing anything exciting, although other studies have shown an acute benefit.

Anaerobic conditioning and extended power or strength sessions are most likely affected by Beta-Alanine supplementation.

Most coaches, though, will observe some changes with heavy sessions that go longer, denser, or further reps. Circuit style training and hypertrophy sessions may be good options for some athletes. Most team sport studies look at the training, but some researchers are attempting to find a connection to estimates of the pace of play or output.

One of the most promising supplements to help get you more swole is Beta-Alanine. The power of CarnoSyn Beta-Alanine is unrivaled in the sports supplement world. Let's turn to the research and see what science has to say about the power and benefits of Beta-Alanine. Beta-Alanine is a nonessential, beta-amino acid meaning that your body can produce it from other amino acids, and does not need to obtain it from food, like other essential amino acids.

Imagine if you were able to delay muscle fatigue, by buffering lactic acid build-up and maintain a high-level of performance even at the point of exhaustion? You could increase training volume, which means increased strength and muscle mass which results in better athletic performance.

Numerous clinical studies have proven that CarnoSyn Beta-Alanine improves muscle endurance by counteracting the development of lactic acid. During high-intensity training, lactic acid produces a burning sensation and causes increased fatigue, resulting in a loss of power and eventually muscle fatigue.

Beta-alanine mixes within the bloodstream with another amino acid L-Histidine, creating a synergistic combination, which boosts the synthesis of a naturally occurring di-peptide Carnosine.

Carnosine is found in both type 1 and type 2 muscle fibers, yet more prevalent in type 2 fibers which are primarily used in high-intensity strength training. During high-intensity training, when hydrogen ions are released lactic acid starts to build within muscle fibers, Carnosine acts as a hydrogen-ion buffer, which delays or counteracts lactic acid buildup and the onset of muscle fatigue, increasing your exercise performance, by allowing you more time to exhaustion.

Studies show that supplementing with beta-alanine increases muscle carnosine levels, which will help delay muscle fatigue [ R , R ]. Hydrogen ion build-up is what causes lactic acid burn during strength training.

And one of the most potent buffers against that lactic acid buildup is carnosine — a dipeptide that is in part composed from beta-alanine. The more carnosine that your body contains, the better the defense it has against fighting muscle fatigue.

A study published in the Journal Nutrients found that supplementing beta-alanine at a clinical dose of 5g per day, has been shown to increase muscle carnosine concentrations by up to 58 percent in just four weeks, and 80 percent in 10 weeks.

Higher carnosine levels mean a delay in muscle fatigue resulting in more training and harder workouts. If carnosine helps delay muscle fatigue, then that also means you have more time to exhaustion.

In fact, a research study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology conducted in Ghent, Belgium investigated beta-alanine supplementation on the performance of highly trained elite rowers.

The study showed that after 7 weeks of beta-alanine supplementation at 5g per day, beta-alanine improved rowing performance and speed. A study found in the journal Exercise Physiology also investigated the effects of beta-alanine supplementation on a 10km running time trial.

Sixteen subjects were randomized into a double-blind placebo-controlled trial. For 23 days, the subjects ingested 5g of beta-alanine or a placebo. The running protocol was performed three times per week. If you want to improve your running times, beta-alanine at 5g per day, can definitely help.

RELATED ARTICLE Beta-Alanine: The Best Supplement For Muscle Endurance. VO2 max is defined as the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use, during exercise. Researchers from the University of Oklahoma, conducted a double-blind controlled trial that evaluated the effects of combining beta-alanine supplementation with high-intensity interval training HIIT on endurance performance and aerobic metabolism in recreationally active college-aged men.

Creatine is yet another powerful supplement that has been extensively researched and proven to help increase power and strength. But, research shows that creatine combined with beta-alanine improves strength, body composition, and significantly improves greater gains in strength than compared to supplementing creatine alone.

RELATED ARTICLE Kre-Alkalyn Vs Creatine: Which One Is Better? A study published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine administered 5g of beta-alanine to 12 fit male individuals over the course of 4 weeks.

Beta-Alanine is a bit different than most other supplements. Beta-alanine requires a loading phase. S tudies show that athletes with a larger saturation or accumulation of muscle carnosine content who loaded at least 90 grams of beta-alanine over 28 days saw marked improvement in performance.

Those with a greater intake of grams over the same period significantly amplified their results. The research shows, that you need at least 5g per day for up to four weeks before you start seeing an improvement in exercise performance.

Beta-alanine, however, does not need to be cycled. Supplementing with a higher dose of CarnoSyn Beta-Alanine , however, will increase carnosine content at a faster rate. Elevated levels of muscle carnosine can extend endurance, speed recovery, build muscle strength, sharpen focus and enhance peak performance capabilities.

Studies have shown that a larger dose will enhance results over the same period of time, and amplify athletic performance. When choosing a Beta-Alanine supplement, it's extremely important that you choose a product that uses CarnoSyn®.

CarnoSyn® beta-alanine is a patented ingredient and the only beta-alanine that has successfully obtained New Dietary Ingredient NDI status with the FDA. CarnoSyn® beta-alanine is one of the most rigorously studied dietary supplements, backed by over 55 clinical studies, with over 20 published in peer-reviewed journals.

When comparing CarnoSyn with other beta-alanine products, CarnoSyn is the only beta-alanine with more than 20 published scientific studies, supported claims, proven performance, and patent protection around the world.

It's the most trusted brand when it comes to quality, purity, and effectiveness. So before you buy Beta-Alanine look at the supplement facts, and make sure the key ingredient is CarnoSyn®.

RELATED ARTICLE Carnosyn Vs. These ten studies prove the power of Beta-Alanine and that is has become an irreplaceable ingredient to help optimize athletic performance. In fact, the International Olympic Committee, in its consensus statement on dietary supplements and high-performance athletes, listed beta-alanine as one of the supplements that can directly improve sports performance.

If you want to improve your performance, then Beta-Alanine can help you get there. We believe that everyone can optimize not only their athletic performance but their human potential. The way we believe we can optimize performance is through transparency, clinically effective doses, and clinically proven ingredients with evidence-based outcomes.

We provide the nutrients you need to power your active lifestyle. Culbertson, Julie Y et al. Baguet A, Bourgois J, Vanhee L, Achten E, Derave W.

Important role of muscle carnosine in rowing performance. J Appl Physiol.

The hydrogen ion lowers the pH of the tissue, making it more acidic, and hindering chemical reactions. This will also result in fatigue and slowing of exercise performance.

Elevations in muscle carnosine, resulting from beta-alanine ingestion, can buffer the elevation in hydrogen ions, allowing intense exercise to be maintained for a longer period of time.

This is how fatigue is reduced in athletes supplementing with beta-alanine. The boost in carnosine levels allows high intense workouts to be prolonged resulting in greater athletic performance gains. Most athletes look forward to increasing lean tissue after regimented exercising and strength training.

Scientists have found that beta-alanine aids in the increase in lean tissue gains in competitive athletes. From NFL players to Olympians to the top sports nutrition brands, CarnoSyn ® beta-alanine is the only choice for those who want better results and a competitive edge.

CarnoSyn ® beta-alanine is the highest quality beta-alanine available on the market. The quality of the beta-alanine and the quantity of its intake impact the caliber of benefits that you achieve from the supplement. Over 55 clinical studies support the athletic performance benefits of CarnoSyn ® beta-alanine.

β-alanine supplementation appears to be most effective for exercise tasks that rely heavily on ATP synthesis from anaerobic glycolysis. However, research investigating its efficacy as an ergogenic aid remains equivocal, making it difficult to draw conclusions as to its effectiveness for training and competition.

The aim of this review was to update, summarize, and critically evaluate the findings associated with β-alanine supplementation and exercise performance with the most recent research available to allow the development of practical recommendations for coaches and athletes.

A critical review of the literature reveals that when significant ergogenic effects have been found, they have been generally shown in untrained individuals performing exercise bouts under laboratory conditions. Every coach and athlete who are supplement fans pray for benefits from stacking, also known as multi-ingredient supplements.

The wishful thinking of creating synergy by stacking two supplements to add up to more than the sum of the parts is just that, fantasy. So far no research is compelling nor shows a potent mixture that turns two good individual results into an explosive combination.

Theoretically, the products should all compete a bit , even though they involve separate mechanisms. Thus, stacking potentially could create diminishing returns, decreasing the return on supplement investment.

And sometimes it only one works under specific conditions. Perhaps only so much physiological change is possible with similar supplements in the same category. My only recommendation is to experiment with less first, and when an athlete advances—in their training, for example—save stacking for the elites.

A high school football player should be worried about stacking his books more than his supplements. Image 2. Beta-Alanine is not a pre-workout supplement, so it takes time like creatine to work. Cycling and stacking supplements work best when we take care of the macros and micros of regular food.

Chronic Use. Any permanent benefits or negative implications you ask? Nutrients and recovery methods have been researched to discover any interferences with internal adaptations, and so far no research has hinted that using Beta-Alanine is a problem; otherwise, week studies would show a blunting effect.

Beta-Alanine appears safe, and some theoretical growth and health benefits are under study now. A research study of high-dose double or 12 grams and short duration with the military found some notable inflammation data, and I recommend reading the paper.

When budgeting and tailoring a nutritional program, I recommend a hierarchy of macro, micro, and nano. If all your priorities are in line and you want to experiment with Beta-Alanine, I recommend starting slow and ramping up your use during training when you have the flexibility to see the effects.

Some of my athletes have responded very well and experienced no tingling. In time, the science will show more evidence of its effectiveness and how to apply it, but for now the science seems strong enough to say something is there.

Time will tell with Beta-Alanine in sport. More people are reading SimpliFaster than ever, and each week we bring you compelling content from coaches, sport scientists, and physiotherapists who are devoted to building better athletes.

Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage the authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics. Carl Valle has coached for twenty years and has expertise in the speed and power events, along with experience in endurance monitoring.

He is a freelance consultant for human performance companies interested in innovation and design. In addition to sport, he is a supporter of environmental protection as well as the arts.

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What Is Beta-Alanine? Click To Tweet The science of what occurs at the cellular and organ levels is important because, when you apply supplementation to training, competition, and recovery, the details matter.

Does Beta-Alanine Really Work? Who Benefits from Beta-Alanine the Most? BetaAlanine may help bust through a plateau for those looking to make a breakthrough later, says spikesonly.

Click To Tweet Although for the most part, endurance athletes appear not to be good candidates unless they believe their sprint at the end of the race will determine the outcome, I am cautiously optimistic.

What about Beta-Alanine Tingling or Flush? Time Released Products: Are they Worth It? Taking Beta-Alanine few times a day is just as effective as a sustained released pill, says spikesonly. Click To Tweet I find that taking it a few times a day is just as effective as a sustained released pill.