In addition, the latest position stand on β-alanine reported that more research is necessary to determine the effects of β-alanine on endurance performance beyond 25 min in duration Trexler et al.

Furthermore, the majority of investigations of β-alanine in the literature used a cycle ergometer; however, few studies have analyzed the influence of β-alanine supplementation on long-distance running performance. Ducker et al.

On the other hand, Smith et al. Hoffman et al. Therefore, whether β-alanine supplementation influences km running performance is currently unknown.

Although long-distance running relies mainly on aerobic energy metabolism, higher lactate concentrations have been associated with lower speed in prolonged running Sjodin and Jacobs, ; Fohrenbach et al.

Previous studies have demonstrated that β-alanine supplementation can reduce blood lactate accumulation during an incremental running test Jordan et al. Glenn et al. Thus, improvements in prolonged running performance with β-alanine may be plausible, mainly due to the effects of β-alanine on lowering lactate accumulation during exercise.

Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of β-alanine supplementation on a 10 km running time trial and lactate concentration in physically active adults. This study used a randomized, double-blind, crossover design Figure 1.

The participants were divided randomly into: β-alanine group and placebo group. All subjects performed the same running training protocol during the study. The subjects completed km running tests and blood lactate concentration was measured after the km tests before and after 23 days of supplementation.

Sixteen healthy men Table 1 were recruited for this study. As inclusion criteria were defined: i at least 6 months of running experience, ii personal best time in km between 55 and 65 min; and iii performing at least two to three training sessions per week.

Subjects were instructed not to use any supplements or ergogenic substance during the experimental protocol. Subjects with pre-existing illnesses that would impair training or those without a medical approval form were also excluded. All experimental procedures were approved by the University Ethical Committee under protocol number CAAE: Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

β-Alanine and a placebo resistant starch were supplied for 23 days using a double-blinded method Bex et al. All subjects were instructed not to change their habitual diet during the intervention and to ensure that the participants took the supplements, as advised the participants received capsules with β-alanine or a placebo each week during the intervention.

All tests were conducted during the weekend on the same day and at the same hour. The km running test was performed at baseline and after 23 days. Subjects performed a 5 min warm up and 5-min stretch and were informed about the running course and procedures. Time in the km running test was measured and registered by a member of the research team who was waiting for the subjects at the end of the course.

Subjects were instructed to wear the same kind of clothing light shorts, light t-shirt, and running shoes in every test. Tests were executed at the same time of the day, temperature, and humidity conditions, according to the CGE official local weather forecast information.

Blood lactate concentration was measured through the collection of a drop of blood from the fingertip on a reagent strip using a Roche portable lactate analyzer. The analyses were collected immediately after the km running tests. All groups received a standard training program with duration of 23 days, three running sessions per week on non-consecutive days.

On the first day of each week, subjects were instructed to run a moderate volume 7 km. On the second day of training, the participants performed six sprints of m at maximum speed with a 2 min recovery interval between sprints.

On the third of training, the volunteers ran a long distance 12 km. To ensure that the running training protocol was appropriate, all routine were supervised by researchers.

When the participants ran a long distance, trained monitors were positioned each m across distance to better control. A 2 × 2 group × moment repeated measures analysis of variance RMANOVA with the Bonferroni adjustment for multiple comparisons was used to compare lactate concentration and performance.

The partial eta-squared η 2 was calculated for moment. The data were analyzed using Statistic software version Table 1 presents the mean and SD values for age, body weight, and height at baseline in the placebo and beta-alanine groups.

There were no statistically significant differences between groups at baseline for any variable investigated. Figure 2 shows the differences in performance and delta for time between the placebo and β-alanine groups. FIGURE 2. Comparison between placebo and beta-alanine group according to km running performance.

Effect sizes were moderate for β-alanine group 0. Figure 3 presents the differences in the lactate concentration between the placebo and β-alanine groups.

FIGURE 3. Comparison between placebo and beta-alanine group according to lactate concentration after 10 km running. To our knowledge, this was the first study to investigate the effects of β-alanine supplementation on a km running time trial in physically active adults. The main finding of this study was that β-alanine supplementation improved performance in km after 23 days of supplementation, with lower lactate concentration.

A meta-analysis conducted by Hobson et al. They found that β-alanine supplementation was most effective in high-intensity exercise with a duration between 1 and 4 min, showing no effect of β-alanine supplementation in exercises shorter than 60 s. Another meta-analysis found similar results, in which β-alanine supplementation had greater impact in exercises with a duration between 0.

Furthermore, the majority of investigations of β-alanine in the literature used a cycle ergometer, but few studies have analyzed the influence of β-alanine supplementation on running performance.

Smith et al. On the other hand, Ducker et al. In accordance with Ducker et al. The ergogenic effect of β-alanine supplementation is widely due to the increase in intramuscular carnosine content, which improves skeletal muscle buffering capacity Culbertson et al.

Although long-distance running relies mainly on aerobic energy metabolism, some studies have demonstrated that mean running speed in prolonged running is dependent on lactate concentration, showing an association between lower lactate accumulations and higher running speed and anaerobic threshold Sjodin and Jacobs, ; Fohrenbach et al.

Our findings showed that β-alanine supplementation decreased lactate concentration after a km running trial, suggesting that the improvement in performance was due in part to lower blood lactate accumulation.

Previous studies have investigated the influence of β-alanine on lactate accumulation during exercise. These findings corroborate with others Jordan et al. We hypothesize that the increase in km running performance after β-alanine supplementation observed in the present study may be in part due to the increased muscular buffering capacity, mainly through lower demand on anaerobic glycolysis, generating lower lactate accumulation.

Furthermore, long running duration induced physiological and neuromuscular alterations that impair running speed Davies and Thompson, ; Giandolini et al. Lower muscular excitability induced by prolonged running may be associated with the reduction in muscle glycogen and higher production of reactive oxygen species ROS Duhamel et al.

In addition, carnosine has also been reported to decrease ROS production, with an anti-oxidant activity Kohen et al. We hypothesize that the improvement in km running performance induced by β-alanine supplementation in this study could also be explained by the effect of carnosine on intramuscular calcium influx and anti-oxidant activity, delaying neuromuscular fatigue.

However, more studies are needed to better understand this mechanism. Despite the importance of this study, some limitations need to be mentioned, such a lack of intramuscular analysis, muscle carnosine concentration, and muscle buffering capacity. Therefore, we suggest further research to analyze the effects of β-alanine supplementation on running time trials over different distances and investigate muscular adaptations in different populations, such as athletes.

Tim Podlogar provides an in-depth overview of the nutritional fundamentals for endurance athletes. Metabolism Fundamentals Prof.

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Similar to sodium bicarbonate, beta alanine is one of the few supplements that are actually proven to improve athletic performance.

However, you can still enhance your performance by adding more beta alanine into the body as a supplement How does it work? Sam Laidlow's Nutrition Strategy at Ironman World Championship What does it take to achieve second place in the toughest triathlon race?

Reading time: 4 min. Sodium Bicarbonate in Sports - Explained by Dr. 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. A promising Water Polo study hints to its potential, but personal experimentation is important. I find you can go two ways with supplementation.

One helps assist the building phases of training, such as the GPP general preparation phase and SPP specific preparation phase.

The second tackles supplementation as a boost for competition. Now comes the next step, how to stack Beta-Alanine with other supplements. 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.

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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.