Beta Alanine Use

no sir @BMAC615; looks good! It works!

Sample size of that study is 14 dudes. Way too small for my tastes. Still, that’s interesting.

Agree. From what I’m finding, it’s pretty conclusive that there is benefit - Just some discrepancy about how much. I can’t find anything about side effects other than the slight “itchy tingles” I experienced the first day. It’s not so bad if you consume it with a bottle of skratch or Gatorade over an hour. Just don’t chug it.

Just got some in the mail today and have taken some, let’s see where I am in 28 days!

Only really helps in highly anaerobic efforts. The study @BMAC615 posted showed that VO2 efforts may have been higher in the intervention group, it wasn’t statistically significant.

@Bioteknik I couldn’t figure out whether it was or not. It’s the referenced study that @cactusgarrett posted. What can you determine about how helpful it is aerobic efforts and the statistical significance?

@BMAC615 I think there are a few BA meta-analyses that you can refer to. One fairly recent…like a couple years ago. But I don’t think it’s going to change what has generally been the conclusion of this thread (or specifically the content of my post in this thread). BA is effective w/in the narrow scope of 1 to 5 minute efforts. Is it as effective as 10% or 15% improvements? Probably not, but give a whirl. You’ll only be out the cost of the supplement.

That’s good to hear. One of my goals is to be able to put out 400w+ for 4 mins 4x back to back after 3 hrs of riding to stay w/ the lead group through a section of climbs, so, I’ll take all the help I can get in the 1-5 min efforts :smiley:

After the loading period, sprints 3 and 4 of the 4 × 1-km sprint intervals were improved with β-alanine supplementation (4.5% ± 3.4% and 7.0% ± 4.0%; P < 0.05, respectively). After 5 wk of SIT, training intensity increased in both groups but the change was greater with β-alanine supplementation (9.9% ± 5.0% vs 4.9% ± 5.0%; P = 0.04). β-alanine supplementation also improved supramaximal cycling time to exhaustion to a greater extent than placebo (14.9% ± 9.2% vs 9.0% ± 6.9%; P = 0.04), whereas 4- and 10-km TT performance improved to a similar magnitude in both groups. After SIT, β-alanine also increased anaerobic capacity (5.5% ± 4.2%; P = 0.04), whereas V˙O2peak increased similarly in each group (3.1% ± 2.9% vs 3.5% ± 2.9%; P < 0.05)

If I’m reading this correctly, the 1km efforts #3 and #4 were improved in the BA group to a significant degree (P<.05). The time to exhaustion was better, but the standard deviation was large, in both groups, so they both overlap and are not significant. But the p-value listed is .04, so I’m not sure why the confidence was supposed to be higher in that variable compared to the 1km sprints. But 4 and 10k TT performance was not improved, since those are mainly VO2 to high threshold efforts. Looks to me like <= 1 min efforts, maybe up to 2 or 3 min efforts are improved. guessing a 4 k TT around 5-6 min??

You think that benefit would help during training and lead to improved performance long term?

Has anyone seen any research regarding timing or dosage consumption and effectiveness? I’ve been taking it in a bottle w/ Gatorade or Skratch during training rides. Does consumption during efforts reduce effectiveness?

Sorry i didn’t respond before. I’d say it depends on what you’re specifically trying to train, kind of like how creatine allows you to get a couple extra reps so over time you can increase strength and muscle mass. Having a higher work capacity could lead to greater gains, but most studies aren’t comprehensive enough to really measure.

Hello everyone,
I had bought beta alanin before covid and now i am in the build phase. (General build on first week). I dont know when is my next race but i just want to improve my fitness (ftp n vo2). So can i use beta alanin in build or should i use it?

As far as i know it helps vo2max efforst (it may be wrong), can i use it just before vo2max workouts or should i?

P.s= i have finished 12 weeks hv Sweetspot base and imrpoved my ftp about %8. So now i am in the build and really wonder to wheather i can increase ftp or not. First year in Trainerroad but not new cyclist.

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I understand how Beta Alanine helps performance during efforts, but during training doesn’t one want the body to get used to doing all the things which Beta Alanine helps with? In other words, I understand the benefits during racing/testing/efforts, but is Beta Alanine beneficial during training sessions?

I used their protocol and it seemed like I had a performance bump in repeated short efforts. Seemed.

AIS has a solid history in this department so I always check their lists to see if something I hear about is recommended by them.

Edit: the above link will give you a good overview, a practitioners sheet, and an athletes sheet.

Thanks, why do most guides recommend cycling beta alanine, e.g. 10 weeks on, 10 weeks off? It seems like it’s safe to be taken year-round, assuming one is training year-round, no?