Beta-alanine helps diminish muscle fatigue so you can max out your workouts and grow like crazy.

Hear ye, hear ye, the time has come. The wait is finally over. No, the British aren’t coming again (I think they learned their lesson the first time). This is something more exciting.

I am routinely asked what is the latest and greatest supplement available today. Another question frequently put to me is: “Besides creatine and arginine, are there any other supplements that can help me?”

Well, I have an answer to both of those questions. It’s called beta-alanine, and it will soon become a regular part of your nutritional supplement regimen. If you want results, that is.

Boosting Muscle Power In The Gym
Beta-alanine is a special form (so special it is the only one found in a beta form) of an amino acid used by the body along with other factors to support normal physiological function. Beta-alanine is a nonessential amino acid, meaning that the body can produce it naturally from other substances we eat.

How does ingesting beta-alanine help improve exercise performance if the body already manufactures it? As with creatine, the body produces a certain amount of beta-alanine in muscle cells to maintain normal function. However, intense training is not part of the body’s normal physiological function. That’s why athletes and bodybuilders need supplements. Researchers have found that by adding a slight increase in the amount of certain nutrients — like creatine and beta-alanine — the body is better able to support the increased work intense exercise demands.

Let’s face it: If all we did was go to work and engage in low to moderate exercise, nutritional supplements would never be needed. However, for those who engage in intense exercise training, a normal diet almost never supplies all the nutrients you need — at least without eating a huge amount of food. But all that would do is end up resulting in extreme and unwanted increases in body fat.

Buffers To Get You Buff
So how does beta-alanine work? Recent research has shown that 5 g of beta-alanine taken for 30 days can actually help individuals handle a bigger workload. It is important to keep in mind that it is not actually the beta-alanine that is causing the increase in work capacity, it’s the carnosine that is being made from the ingested beta-alanine. Once the carnosine is formed by combining beta-alanine and histidine (another of the 20 amino acids), it serves as a buffer to regulate acid/base balance. The majority of research has shown that buffers decrease or offset muscle fatigue, which allows you to train longer and harder.

Why not just take carnosine? Simple. When you take carnosine by itself, very little of it actually gets absorbed across the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, and even less actually finds it way into the muscle where it is used. Carnosine contains only about 40% beta-alanine, and it is really not a major source when compared to the amount actually needed by those engaged in intense training. However, when individuals supplement with beta-alanine, it passes through the GI tract and is absorbed in the muscle cells, where it combines with histidine and does its work.

The buffering created by beta-alanine ingestion helps you in a variety of ways. Buffers effectively allow you to push yourself harder because you feel less fatigue. First off, you’ll notice that you can pump out 1 or 2 or even 3 more reps on each exercise. But the long-term benefits are even better. Your ability to do more work in the gym leads to increases in muscular strength, endurance and growth, as well as increases in both anaerobic and aerobic power.

By now, you’re probably wondering how acid/base buffering helps you do more exercise. Well, exercise creates hydrogen ions that negatively affect pH (a measure of the acid/base balance). If the pH of the muscle falls too far, the acidic environment will interfere with normal muscle function by inhibiting the actions of certain enzymes needed to make energy. By increasing carnosine levels, you buffer these hydrogen ions and slow the production of lactic acid. Ingesting beta-alanine provides the missing key to increasing the muscle’s carnosine levels, creating the ability to buffer the hydrogen ions produced in great quantity during high-intensity exercise.

Beta-Alanine: An Action Plan
Most research has used 3–6 g of beta-alanine per day. Some evidence exists showing that an optimal dosing protocol would involve supplementing with 6 g per day for a two-week loading phase, followed by a maintenance dose of 4 g per day. It is probably unwise to jump right into ingesting 6 g per day at one time. It’s therefore suggested to break the 6 g up and ingest it throughout the day with meals or with your pre- and/or post-workout protein shakes.

Some people report a tingling or burning sensation after using beta-alanine. If you do experience this, relax. It’s completely normal. In fact, the tingling sensation indicates that it’s working. Besides, it’s a temporary feeling that disappears most often within 60–90 minutes of ingestion.