Beta Alanine Part II – Making Creatine more Effective
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As the research rolls in the case for beta alanine as a performance enhancer gets better and better. Read the excerpt below from a recent study conducted on beta alanine.
Researches assembled a highly trained group of 33 college football players and split them into three groups: a creatine group that took 5g twice daily; a creatine and beta-alanine group that took the same amount of creatine but with 1.6g of beta-alanine twice daily; and a placebo group, who took nothing.
Prior to and following the 10-week study, the researchers measured the athletes’ body composition, body weight, one-repetition maximum in the bench press and squat, and had them keep a log of their dietary intake.
All were placed on a weight training program that included all the usual suspects: bench press, squat, dead lift, power clean, incline press and fly, row, etc.
Here’s what they found:
• When you combine creatine and beta-alanine, your training volume goes up and you get stronger. The athletes were able to knock out more reps with the same weights, and although this was the case with the other groups, it happened to a greater and more significant extent in the creatine plus beta-alanine group.
• One-rep max, the strength measure, climbed significantly higher in both the supplemented groups. In the bench press, the athletes taking only creatine increased their one-rep max by an average of over 30 pounds while the creatine plus beta-alanine group saw it rise by roughly 25 pounds. The placebo group experienced an insignificant 12 pound bump.
• Increases in one-rep squat max were similar. Both supplemented groups experienced significant gains: roughly 50 pounds for the creatine plus beta-alanine group and just under 50 pounds for the creatine group. For comparison, the placebo group pushed up their max a meager 10 pounds.
The most impressive results of beta-alanine, at least in this study, were its effects on lean mass gains and fat loss, effects not seen in either of the two other groups.
Only in the creatine plus beta-alanine group did the investigators record a significant increase in muscle mass, with percentage of fat dropping roughly 1.2%. This adds promise to a supplement that, until this study, could only be viewed as a performance enhancer. Fat loss is also a benefit you don’t get from creatine alone.
