Struggling to finish workouts as strong as you started? Fatigue getting the better of you? Endurance goes out the window 2 sets into a training session?

Then this post is for you, because we’re discussing Beta Alanine -- the ultimate supplement to improve endurance and stamina for any sport.

What is Beta Alanine?

Technically speaking, Beta Alanine is a nonessential amino acid, meaning your body creates enough on its own without needing to get it from your diet. However, as you’ll come to see, beta alanine is absolutely essential to increasing athletic performance!

It all starts with another compound in your muscles called carnosine -- an incredibly potent intracellular buffer that prevents Hydrogen (H+) ions from accumulating.[1] When you exercise, H+ levels start to increase which inevitably leads to a “burning” sensation deep in the muscle belly. As the burning sensation becomes too uncomfortable, you end your working set whether you’ve reached your rep goal or not -- resulting in gains left on the table.

Beta alanine enhances carnosine concentrations in skeletal muscle, which increases your body’s ability to buffer H+ production and offsetting the “burning” sensation. The end result is reduced fatigue and significantly greater endurance yielding superior performance and gains![11]

Beta Alanine for ALL Athletes

Too often, athletes make the mistake of assuming that beta alanine is really only beneficial for the bros out there doing nothing but high rep sets. That couldn’t be further from the truth.

One of the great things about Beta Alanine is that it is incredibly well researched and has been used across a WIDE variety of athletic, not just bodybuilders. While it does improve lifting performance in the gym, where Beta Alanine really stands out is in sports required physical exertion for extended periods of time -- somewhere between 1 to 4 minutes without resting. FYI, a normal set when lifting only spans 30-60 seconds depend on your given rep scheme and lifting tempo.

However, the majority of other sports require your muscles to be firing for much longer, and here’s where Beta Alanine finds use among such a diverse group of athletes. In fact, researchers have found Beta Alanine to be incredibly effective for just about ANY sport:

• Football players[3,4]
• Rowers[5]
• Wrestlers[6]
• Runners[7]
• Cyclists (involving men AND women)[8,9]
• Weight lifters[10]

Benefits of Beta Alanine

So what tangible results does Beta Alanine offer?

Here’s the top 5 benefits of Beta Alanine

• Greater endurance
• Increased strength
• Reduced fatigue
• Quicker recovery
• Less muscle “burn” during training

How Much?

Most research points to a daily dose of 3.2g Beta Alanine to see marked improvements in stamina. A word of warning though, taking all 3.2g in a single dose can set you up for a nasty bout of the “tingles” (a.k.a. paresthesia). To get around this, it’s best to divide your Beta Alanine into 2-3 doses throughout the day. This also has the added benefit of improving nutrient absorption.

What about Carnosine Supplements?

If carnosine is the real workhorse here, you’re probably wondering why not just supplement with carnosine directly instead of beta alanine?

Well, beta alanine has been shown to be more effective at increasing carnosine levels than directly consuming the same amount of carnosine.[10] Additionally, carnosine is less bioavailable than beta alanine, so it’s ultimately more effective and efficient supplementing with beta alanine.

Ready to see what Beta Alanine can do for you?

AML Pre Workout contains the precise amount of beta alanine needed to keep carnosine levels at optimal levels, all without giving you a nasty case of the tingles. If you’re tired of stopping early in your workouts, you owe it to yourself to give beta alanine a serious shot!

References:

1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20097752
2. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19041712
3. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21659893
4. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19083385
5. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20671038
6. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18548362
7. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20482881
8. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17136505
9. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16953366
10. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3257613/
11. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20479615