Performance Research for March - Ergogenics: Beta Alanine

Some more science for ya on Beta Alanine. See this post below from some background on how it may work.

Effects of Sodium Bicarbonate Ingestion on Performance-Ergogenic?

Effects of beta-alanine supplementation and high-intensity interval training on endurance performance and body composition in men; a double-blind trial.

Smith AE, Walter AA, Graef JL, Kendall KL, Moon JR, Lockwood CM, Fakuda DH, Beck TW, Cramer JT, Stout JR.


ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND: Intermittent bouts of high-intensity exercise result in diminished stores of energy substrates, followed by an accumulation of metabolites, promoting chronic physiological adaptations. In addition, beta-alanine has been accepted has an effective physiological hydrogen ion (H+) buffer. Concurrent high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and beta-alanine supplementation may result in greater adaptations than HIIT alone. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate 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.

Methods. Forty-six men (Age: 22.2 +/- 2.7 yrs; Ht: 178.1 +/- 7.4 cm; Wt: 78.7 +/- 11.9; VO2peak: 3.3 +/- 0.59 l * min-1) were assessed for peak O2 utilization (VO2peak), time to fatigue (VO2TTE), ventilatory threshold (VT), and total work done at 110% of pre-training VO2peak (TWD).

In a double-blind fashion, all subjects were randomly assigned into one either a placebo (PL - 16.5g dextrose powder per packet; n=18) or beta-alanine (BA - 1.5 g beta-alanine plus 15 g dextrose powder per packet; n=18) group. All subjects supplemented four times per day (total of 6g/day) for the first 21-days, followed by two times per day (3g/day) for the subsequent 21 days, and engaged in a total of six weeks of HIIT training consisting of 5-6 bouts of a 2:1 minute cycling work to rest ratio.

Results. Significant improvements in VO2peak, VO2TTE, and TWD after three weeks of training were displayed (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION. The use of high-intensity interval training to induce significant aerobic improvements is effective and efficient. Chronic BA supplementation may further enhance high-intensity interval training, improving endurance performance and lean body mass.

My Notes: Ok, I admit it is late and my eyes are kind of buggy so perhaps I missed the numbers, but I will have to look up the actual changes in times/improvements. It looks like they are significant (P<0.05) but that still may mean a small difference.

Appears like a loading phase at 6g/day may still be needed. Past numbers I saw for loading were around 6-9g/day.

See a previous study link below

Performance Research for November: Beta Alanine and Exercise Peformance

Metabolomic investigation into variation of endogenous metabolites in professional athletes subject to strength-endurance training.
Yan B, A J, Wang G, Lu H, Huang X, Liu Y, Zha W, Hao H, Zhang Y, Liu L, Gu S, Huang Q, Zheng Y, Sun J. Key Laboratory of Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, People's Republic of China.


Strength-endurance type of sport can lead to modification of human beings' physiological status. The present study aimed to investigate the alteration of metabolic phenotype or biochemical compositions in professional athletes induced by long-term training by means of a novel systematic tool, metabolomics. Resting venous blood samples of junior and senior male rowers were obtained before and after 1-wk and 2-wk training. Venous blood from healthy male volunteers as control was also sampled at rest. Endogenous metabolites in serum were profiled by GC/TOF-MS and multivariate statistical technique, i.e., principal component analysis (PCA), and partial least squares projection to latent structures and discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) were used to process the data. Significant metabolomic difference was observed between the professional athletes and control subjects.


Long-term strength and endurance training induced distinct separation between athletes of different exercise seniority, and training stage-related trajectory of the two groups of athletes was clearly shown along with training time. However, most of these variations were not observed by common biochemical parameters, such as hemoglobin, testosterone, and creatine kinase. The identified metabolites contributing to the classification included alanine, lactate, beta-d-methylglucopyranoside, pyroglutamic acid, cysteine, glutamic acid, citric acid, free fatty acids, valine, glutamine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, and so on, which were involved in glucose metabolism, oxidative stress, energy metabolism, lipid metabolism, amino acid metabolism.


CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that metabolomics is a promising and potential tool to profile serum of professional athletes, make a deep insight into physiological states, and clarify the disorders induced by strength-endurance physical exercise.

My Notes: Anyone have any further information/experience on this one? If so, let me know.

Performance Research for November: Beta Alanine and Exercise Peformance

Some brand spanking new research on beta alanine once again! Dr Stout's lab has done lots of work on beta alanine to date.

Be sure to see all the other blog posts I've done on beta alanine HERE.

There is also a review study at the bottom about the growing area of "functional foods"

Thoughts?
Mike N


The effects of beta-alanine supplementation and high-intensity interval training on neuromuscular fatigue and muscle function.

Smith AE, Moon JR, Kendall KL, Graef JL, Lockwood CM, Walter AA, Beck TW, Cramer JT, Stout JR.


Metabolic and Body Composition Laboratory, Department of Health and Exercise Science, University of Oklahoma, 1401 Asp Ave HHC 104, Norman, OK, 73019, USA. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of beta-alanine supplementation and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on electromyographic fatigue threshold (EMG(FT)) and efficiency of electrical activity (EEA). A total of 46 men completed four, 2-min work bouts on a cycle ergometer.


Using bipolar surface electrodes, the EMG amplitude was averaged and plotted over the 2-min. The resulting slopes were used to calculate EMG(FT) and EEA. Following initial testing, all participants were randomly assigned to either placebo (PL; n = 18), beta-alanine (BA; n = 18) or control groups (CON; n = 10). Following randomization, participants engaged in 6 weeks of HIIT training. Significant improvements in EMG(FT) and EEA resulted for both training groups.


Conclusion: In conclusion, high-intensity interval training appeared to be the primary stimulus effecting electromyographic fatigue threshold or efficiency of electrical activity, suggesting adaptations from high-intensity interval training may be more influential than increasing skeletal muscle carnosine levels on delaying fatigue in recreationally active men.

The effect of beta-alanine supplementation on neuromuscular fatigue in elderly (55-92 Years): a double-blind randomized study.


Stout JR, Graves BS, Smith AE, Hartman MJ, Cramer JT, Beck TW, Harris RC. Department of Health and Exercise Science,


University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA. jrstout@ou.edu. ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Ageing is associated with a significant reduction in skeletal muscle carnosine which has been linked with a reduction in the buffering capacity of muscle and in theory, may increase the rate of fatigue during exercise. Supplementing beta-alanine has been shown to significantly increase skeletal muscle carnosine. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to examine the effects of ninety days of beta-alanine supplementation on the physical working capacity at the fatigue threshold (PWCFT) in elderly men and women.


METHODS: Using a double-blind placebo controlled design, twenty-six men (n = 9) and women (n = 17) (age +/- SD = 72.8 +/- 11.1 yrs) were randomly assigned to either beta-alanine (BA: 800 mg x 3 per day; n = 12; CarnoSyntrade mark) or Placebo (PL; n = 14) group. Before (pre) and after (post) the supplementation period, participants performed a discontinuous cycle ergometry test to determine the PWCFT.

RESULTS: Significant increases in PWCFT (28.6%) from pre- to post-supplementation were found for the BA treatment group (p < style="font-weight: bold;">

CONCLUSION: We suggest that BA supplementation, by improving intracellular pH control, improves muscle endurance in the elderly. This, we believe, could have importance in the prevention of falls, and the maintenance of health and independent living in elderly men and women.

Functional food for exercise performance: fact or foe?


Deldicque L, Francaux M.

Université catholique de Louvain, Institut d'éducation physique et de réadaptation, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To present food components showing evidence for improved sport performance in the light of the scientific literature from the past 2 years. RECENT FINDINGS: Appropriate nutrition is essential for sport performance. Nutritional products containing carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, and minerals have been widely used by athletes to provide something extra to the daily allowance.


Currently, the field of interest is shifting from macronutrients and fluids to physiologically active isolated food components. Several of them have been demonstrated to improve sport performance at a higher level than expected with a well balanced diet. In the present review, we will focus on the benefits of creatine, caffeine, branched-chain amino acids, and more particularly leucine, beta-alanine, bicarbonate, and glycerol ingestion on exercise performance.


Conclusion: A bulk of products are sold on the market labeled with various performance benefit statements without any scientific evidence. These food components are often used without a full understanding or evaluation of the potential benefits and risks associated with their use. There is thus a real need to classify food components on the basis of their evidence-based effectiveness.

Effects of Sodium Bicarbonate Ingestion on Performance-Ergogenic?

Can something that you have in your fridge help your athletic performance? No, I am not talking about that fungus growing on the mystery meat in the back. I am talking about baking soda (aka sodium bicarbonate).

The short answer is that it may serve to help decrease that burning sensation from high levels of muscle work (see an older blog post on it and beta-alanine HERE on it) . The downside is that an effective dose may cause stomach issues in some, so be sure to do a trial before your next big event. It it hard to win the big race with your head in a trash can!

This study in the lab, did not show any performance changes though. Where else can you get studies they literally just came out days ago, so stay tuned here for more cutting edge performance tips!

Effectsof Sodium Bicarbonate Ingestion on Performance and Perceptual Response in a Lab Simulated BMX Cycling Qualification Series .[J Strength Cond Res. Sept 22 2008]

Zabala M, Requena B, Sánchez-Muñoz C, González-Badillo JJ, García I, Oöpik V, Pääsuke M.

1Department of Physical Education and Sport, University of Granada, Granada, Spain; 2Faculty of Sport, Pablo de Olavide University, Sevilla, Spain; 3Institute of Exercise Biology and Physiotherapy, University of Tartu, Estonia; and 4Spanish Cycling Federation, Madrid, Spain.

Zabala, M, Requena, B, Sánchez-Muñoz, C, González-Badillo, JJ, García, I, Oöpik, V, and Pääsuke, M. Effects of sodium bicarbonate ingestion on performance and perceptual responses in a laboratory-simulated BMX cycling qualification series. J Strength Cond Res 22(5): 1645-1653, 2008-

The objective of this study was to examine the effect of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3-) ingestion on performance and perceptual responses in a laboratory-simulated bicycle motocross (BMX) qualification series. Nine elite BMX riders volunteered to participate in this study. After familiarization, subjects undertook two trials involving repeated sprints (3 x Wingate tests [WTs] separated by 30 minutes of recovery; WT1, WT2, WT3). Ninety minutes before each trial, subjects ingested either NaHCO3- or placebo in a counterbalanced, randomly assigned, double-blind manner. Each trial was separated by 4 days.

Performance variables of peak power, mean power, time to peak power, and fatigue index were calculated for each sprint. Ratings of perceived exertion were obtained after each sprint, and ratings of perceived readiness were obtained before each sprint.

No significant differences were observed in performance variables between successive sprints or between trials. For the NaHCO3- trial, peak blood lactate during recovery was greater after WT2 (p < p =" 0.07),">

Performance Research for July: Ergogenic exercise

Ergogenic effects of sodium bicarbonate.

McNaughton LR, Siegler J, Midgley A. University of Hull, Department of Sport, Health and Exercise Science, Hull, England. l.mcnaughton@hull.ac.uk

Athletes use many different strategies to enhance their performance, including clothing and footwear, training regimes, diets, and ergogenic aids. The use of ergogenic aids is believed to be widespread, with a variety of legal as well as illegal substances being used previously and currently. Among the more popular ergogenic aids is the use of sodium bicarbonate or sodium citrate, collectively recognized as "buffers." These substances potentially provide the body with added resistance against fatigue caused by deleterious changes in acid-base balance brought about by a variety of exercise modes and durations. The popularity of buffering has generated a plethora of research dating back to the 1930s, which continues to date.

Conclusion: The issues surrounding buffering revolve around the dosage size, timing of ingestion, and the type of exercise to benefit from the use of buffers. We hope this review addresses these pertinent issues.

My Notes: One of the newest on the market is Beta Alanine. Some cool info from Dr. John Berardi is that since bicarbonate and Beta Alanine work by 2 different mechanisms, you may be able to combine them for an increased effect. As always, try one at a time and assess your results before adding in anything else. See this link HERE for a previous blog post on beta-alanine

The latest on carbohydrate loading: a practical approach.

Sedlock DA. Wastl Human Performance Laboratory, Purdue University, Department of Health and Kinesiology, W. Lafayette, Indiana 47907-2046, USA. sedlock@purdue.edu

High dietary carbohydrate (CHO) intake for several days before competition (CHO loading) is known to increase muscle glycogen stores, with subsequent ergogenic performance benefits often seen in events longer than 90 min in duration. CHO-loading strategies vary in characteristics such as type and duration of dietary manipulation and the accompanying exercise/training activities. Additionally, glycogen concentration may remain elevated for up to 5 d. This versatility in CHO-loading strategies allows the athlete greater flexibility in tailoring pre-event preparation. Women who attempt to CHO load should be particularly attentive to both total energy intake and relative CHO intake; dietary CHO should exceed 8 g x kg body mass(-1) x d(-1) or 10 g x kg lean body mass(-1) x d(-1).

Conclusion: As long as the amount ingested is adequate for loading, the type of CHO is less important, with the exception of 1-d loading protocols where the glycemic index may be an important consideration.

My Notes: If you do this, be sure to try it in practice FIRST and NOT on the day of competition or right before!

Performance Research for June:Beta Alanine

Brand new research on beta-alanine. Lots of talk lately about it, so I will have a few more studies on it coming up soon. In short, beta-alanine is able to combine with histidine to form carnosine. Carnosine is a powerful buffer in the muscle to help quench those pesky H ions (not really lactic acid as commonly believed).

What the heck does this mean? Translation please?
So in English, it means that Beta Alanine can decrease that burning sensation you get with intense exercise (that is the theory).

Testing
I would be interested if any KBs have used Beta-Alanine and their thoughts? Good,bad, performance change and dose used.

More literature to come. Special shout out to Dave Barr for first introducing me to beta-alanine going back a few years now. Check out his 2 latest books on the Anabolic Index. I bought both with my own hard earned money and highly recommend them (I get paid nothing to plug his product either). Click HERE.

beta-Alanine and the Hormonal Response to Exercise.

Hoffman J, Ratamess NA, Ross R, Kang J, Magrelli J, Neese K, Faigenbaum AD, Wise JA.Health and Exercise Science, The College of New Jersey, Ewing, New Jersey, United State

The effect of 30 days of beta-alanine supplementation (4.8 g per day) on resistance exercise performance and endocrine changes was examined in eight experienced resistance-trained men. An acute resistance exercise protocol consisting of 6 sets of 12 repetitions of the squat exercise at 70 % of one-repetition maximum (1-RM) with 1.5 minutes of rest between sets was performed before and after each supplemental period. Blood draws occurred at baseline (BL), immediate (IP), 15-minutes (15P) and 30-minutes (30P) post exercise for growth hormone, testosterone and cortisol concentrations. A 22 % (p <>Conclusion: Results indicate that four weeks of beta-alanine supplementation can significantly improve muscular endurance during resistance training in experienced resistance-trained athletes. However, these performance gains did not affect the acute endocrine response to the exercise stimulus.