The Benefits of Beta-Alanine Supplements

Increase your workout capacity and endurance by supplementing with beta-alanine.

All athletes, and many recreational exercisers, have hit extreme muscular fatigue at some point during training or competition. Your body says “no more” and your thoughts are fixated on how you’ll make it through your race. Once you finally finish and consume some carbohydrates to power your brain, you muster up the determination to do whatever it takes to avoid this very unpleasant feeling in the future. And, the first step toward fixing anything is digging into the root of the problem.

For years people cursed lactic acid buildup for that “heavy” feeling they’d get by mile 20 in a marathon. You’re trudging along slowly until you hit the point where lifting each leg feels like are running through freshly laid cement. You’re beyond sore and fatigued and wondering why on earth you put your body through this torture. And while there is something going on physiologically that limits performance, lactic acid is only part of the picture and not really the direct cause.

But in order to understand what’s happening, I need to go into a brief lesson in physiology. To fuel your working muscles you rely on both carbohydrates and fat. When your body breaks down stored carbohydrates (in your muscle) to fuel exercise, lactic acid is a byproduct. A hydrogen ion escapes from each lactic acid molecule. This increase in hydrogen ions causes a drop in the pH in muscle tissue, meaning it becomes more acidic. This acidic environment interferes with muscle contraction and all the sudden your body feels like trash.

Now that you know what is going on inside your body, it’s time to take action against those pesky little hydrogen ions. And, the best thing you can do to prevent this feeling is, ironically, to start working out harder. By adjusting your training program, alternating long days of training with intense interval, HIIT, type training (regardless of your sport), you’ll build up your body’s production of a substance called carnosine that buffers the acidity in muscles. Carnosine is naturally found in various organs in the body including the brain, heart, kidney, stomach and skeletal muscle (type II, fast twitch muscle, the kind that is engaged in explosive movements such as sprinting and tackling a football player). As a buffer, carnosine helps delay acid production which then delays muscular fatigue. Less fatigue means you can train at a higher intensity and recover faster. By training harder you’ll be able to stay strong throughout your game, match or race. No more of that trudging through cement feeling!

If you’re training as hard as you can and still want a competitive edge, supplemental beta-alanine may be worth a shot. Now I know what you are thinking, “what is beta-alanine and why can’t I just take carnosine?” While taking carnosine makes sense, in theory, your body is one complicated piece of machinery. Supplemental carnosine doesn’t go straight to your muscle tissue and start working. Instead, it’s broken down once it hits your digestive tract and then reformed. And, studies show that you can boost your carnosine content to a greater extent by taking beta-alanine then carnosine.

So what on earth is beta-alanine? If you remember back to high school chemistry class, think about rate-limiting substrates. Carnosine is composed of histidine and beta-alanine, but, beta-alanine is the rate-limiting substrate meaning that carnosine production is directly dependent on how much beta-alanine is available. Think about making a pizza with a limited amount of pizza dough. You may have all the pepperoni, sauce and cheese in the world but without a base to put it on, the size of your pizza will be limited. Beta-alanine is like the dough and carnosine the pizza. And for hardcore athletes, we want a bigger pizza.

Now that I’ve gotten you all excited about a supplement, here comes the letdown: beta-alanine isn’t a magic bullet. You can’t take it one day and expect to feel like Hines Ward running down a football field. Like any supplement, there are specific guidelines on how you should take it. Beta-alanine is best in small doses taken throughout the day (800 mg 8 times a day) or in a controlled release formula. Though there are no major side effects from supplementation, you may notice a slight tingling sensation. In addition to taking beta-alanine consistently in small doses throughout the day or in a controlled release formula, this supplement takes time to work. Studies show taking 4-6 grams of beta-alanine for 28 days resulted in a 60% increase in intramuscular carnosine levels.

Once you take beta-alanine consistently for 4 weeks or more, you may start seeing some of its research-based benefits. Beta-alanine can help delay muscular fatigue so that heavy leg, “I can’t go any longer” feeling doesn’t happen at mile 20 but instead at mile 26 when you have just 0.2 miles to go. By delaying fatigue, you may be able to exercise for a longer period of time. Think about a tight football game with just a few minutes left for a comeback. Instead of putting in the second string because you are exhausted, with a month worth of beta-alanine in your system, you may be able to stay strong until the very end.

Though beta-alanine may work, there is no substitute for a well-designed training program, performance nutrition plan and incorporating periods for your body to fully recover. However, beta-alanine may give you that edge you are looking for to help you train harder and longer. If you want to put beta alanine to the test, take it daily for 2 months and keep a journal of your food intake, supplement intake, training program, sleep patterns and how you feel. You can look back through your journal and see if your training, performance and how you feel while training have improved.