Written by Mark Glazier
27 June 2018

18betalanine-nutrabio

Change Your Training Forever

Beta-alanine: Powerful Tool to Make Gains

 

We all yearn for improvement in the gym, and most of us realize that pushing out that one extra rep is often the difference between making gains and getting stuck on the plateau of mediocrity. “Go strong or go home” is the mantra of the hardcore, and we’ll down stims and supps by the shakerful if they give us even the slightest hope of getting a little extra push. There’s a supplement on the market that promises to give us that edge. Most of you are already using it. The problem is that 95 percent of you are getting absolutely no gains from it, but with a slight tweak in dosing, that can change.

 

The ingredient is beta-alanine, and it’s considered by many to be one of the greatest ergogenic discoveries since creatine. Here’s how it works: During moderate training, lactic acid is produced in muscle tissue, which breaks down into lactate and hydrogen ions. A buildup of these hydrogen ions causes a drop in intramuscular pH, which leads to premature muscle fatigue and failure. Basically, the harder you train, the more acidic your muscle becomes, which ultimately shuts down performance. Beta-alanine to the rescue! It reacts with the amino acid histidine to form carnosine, which works to buffer the acidity in your muscle cells. Higher intramuscular carnosine levels prevent the drop in pH, delaying the onset of fatigue and helping you push out that elusive extra rep.

           

More than 50 studies show that beta-alanine works, but as I stated upfront, the majority of you are not getting any benefit from it. It’s not that beta-alanine itself doesn’t live up to its promise— it’s just that most of you are dosing it incorrectly. The research shows muscular performance improves when beta-alanine is taken at a dose of 3.2 grams daily for a minimum of 28 days. Both proper dosing and continual use are required to adequately saturate intramuscular carnosine levels and feel any noticeable benefit.

           

Beta-alanine is currently one of the most popular ingredients in pre-workout supplements, so many of you rely on these to get your daily dose. The problem is that most PWOs on the market don’t have the required 3.2-gram dose, and even if they do, most of you don’t train seven days a week, so you’re missing doses and therefore not reaching the intramuscular saturation levels of carnosine required to buffer acidity and increase performance.

           

If you want the performance gains, you must ensure you are getting the full daily dose, every day. Beta-alanine is relatively inexpensive, so purchase a tub of it. If your pre-workout supplement contains less than 3.2 grams per dose, then supplement the difference on training days and take a full dose on non-training days. If your favorite PWO has the full 3.2 grams, then you only need to supplement the difference on non-training days. If the amount of beta-alanine is not disclosed on the PWO label, then the safest way to guarantee results is to take the full dose daily.

 

3 Myths About Beta-Alanine

           

• Beta-alanine needs to be taken pre-workout to give you the benefit. Not true. Beta-alanine can be taken any time of the day.

           

• All 3.2 grams must be taken in one dose. Not true. The research showed the same results were achieved whether beta-alanine was administered in a single 3.2-gram dose, two 1.6-gram doses or four 800-mg doses.

 

• If you don’t feel the beta-alanine tingling, it’s not working. Not true. If you have ever taken beta-alanine, you probably know that strange pins-and-needles sensation. It’s called acute paresthesia, and it also manifests as an itchy feeling, especially around the lips. Some people feel it, while others don’t, and it will usually go away with continuous use. Regardless of whether you feel it, the beta-alanine is still working.

           

The bottom line is this: Beta-alanine can be one of the most powerful tools in your supplement arsenal, but like with any weapon, you have to know how to use it to hit the target. You can take it on its own or get it from your PWO, just make sure you’re getting the full 3.2-gram dose daily if you want to make the gains. Above all, let’s use this as a cautionary reminder that it’s important to use supplements in the way that they were researched to be effective.

 

Mark Glazier is a supplement guru who has dedicated the last 25 years to studying and developing sports supplements as a formulator, manufacturer and brand owner. As CEO and founder of NutraBio Labs, Glazier has been at the forefront of honest supplementation and started the full label transparency movement 18 years ago. He has built a reputation as a consumer advocate exposing supplement scams and outright lies that have plagued the industry for decades. Glazier takes a no-bull approach to supplements, revealing how to really get the most out of every ingredient that you put into your body to ensure that you are making real muscle gains and cutting out the crap that doesn’t work.

 

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