What Is Beta-Alanine? How It Helps Improve Your Power Training Performance
If you are looking to improve your strength and want to be able to train harder, beta-alanine is one amino acid that can absolutely help you.
Beta-alanine is an integral part of most of the modern supplements, including the BLOW Pre-workout as a way to keep you energized for long.
So, what beta-alanine actually is and how it works. Is it really helpful in improving your body’s work capacity? Let’s find out.
Many research studies suggest that beta-alanine has a visible effect on the body’s ability to work harder and become more powerful over time. In other words, when consumed regularly, it can help you train harder and longer. Whether you are involved in athletic activities or want to increase the number of reps you do each day, beta-alanine can help.
Here’s everything you need to know about beta-alanine to figure out whether it’s the right supplement for you.
What is Beta-Alanine?
Before we talk about beta-alanine, let’s first get a brief idea of how your muscles work during training.
So, when you are muscle training or engaged in intense physical activity, your muscles start building lactic acid as a byproduct of fuel generation from carbs. Hydrogen ions in lactic acid are responsible for your muscles to start to ache or ultimately shut, especially when you work out for long. This can keep you from doing hard work and reduce performance over time.
Beta-alanine is a source of carnosine amino acid that helps protect the muscles from the side-effects of hydrogen ions and reduce the extent of muscle burn/ache during a workout. By blocking lactic acid, beta-alanine (carnosine) helps boost workout performance.
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Benefits of Beta-Alanine
When taken consistently, beta-alanine can help improve exercise performance. Some other benefits of this muscle supplements are as follows:
Increases work capacity
A study [1] on college football players showed that the consumption of beta-alanine on a daily basis can enable you to work harder and for longer, as their reps across all workouts increased significantly as a result of beta-alanine supplementation. In addition, almost all athletes reported lower rates of fatigue.
Gives you more power
A study [2] on judo competitors who were supplemented with beta-alanine for four weeks showed that the fighting performance definitely improved in the consecutive sessions and so did their power in the fatigued state.
Helps you gain lean muscle mass
Another less known benefit of beta-alanine is the ability to help you gain more lean muscle mass and endurance, as suggested by research [3].
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Why do I need supplements when I can get Beta-Alanine from foods?
It’s true that you can get the daily requirements of beta-alanine from regular foods like meat, fish, and poultry. Animals that are more physically active like elk and bison could have an even better level of carnosine.
However, the amount of carnosine (beta-alanine) you can get from food is limited and certainly not enough if you are strength training or engaged in similar physical activities. In that case, you should consider taking a concentrated supplement with a good amount of beta-alanine.
Note: BLOW Pre-Workout has 1750 mg of beta-alanine per serving (7.7 grams).
How much beta-alanine should I take per day?
Depending on the kind of physical activities you’re involved in, the amount of beta-alanine required by your body may vary. Athletes and bodybuilders can take about 2-5 grams of it daily. Consult with your physician for help.
What’s the best time to take beta-alanine?
Beta-alanine can be consumed as a part of any pre-workout supplement, preferably before a workout session, for the maximum results.
If you want to maximize your workout performance and get the boost in energy/stamina level for a workout, Limitless Pharma’s BLOW is a perfect pre-workout supplement for you. It comes packed with beta-alanine along with many other healthful nutrients.
REFERENCE:
[1] PubMed (e.d) Short-duration Beta-Alanine Supplementation Increases Training Volume and Reduces Subjective Feelings of Fatigue in College Football Players. From https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19083385/
[2] PMC (e.d) Additive effects of beta-alanine and sodium bicarbonate on upper-body intermittent performance. From https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3714561/
[3] PMC (e.d) Effects of β-alanine supplementation and high-intensity interval training on endurance performance and body composition in men; a double-blind trial. From https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2649036/