BCAA & Beta-Alanine Boost: What It Does & How Much to Take

By Erick Avila

The ability to dig deep and push for one more rep or one more sprint is something that defines elite performers. This characteristic gets developed by continuously pushing the body to its limits. Many athletes turn to supplements to help them maintain an extra edge in the gym. One supplement that has quickly become a must have for athletes that thrive on high intensity training is CarnoSyn® beta-alanine.

Find out why CarnoSyn® beta-alanine is one of the key ingredients in XTEND Elite.

How does beta-alanine work?

Beta-alanine is an amino acid that can combine with the amino acid histidine in the body to form carnosine. Carnosine is found throughout the skeletal muscle and one of its main roles is buffering pH levels in the body.

The demands of high intensity exercise can cause an accumulation of hydrogen ions, which lowers the pH in muscles contributing to their fatigue.

XTEND Elite uses CarnoSyn® beta-alanine exclusively, this form of beta-alanine is backed by years of scientific research and is the only patented beta-alanine on the market.

How does beta-alanine benefit exercise performance?

Beta-alanine supplementation is an effective way of increasing muscle carnosine levels resulting in improved intracellular buffering of pH levels.[1] Increased acidity can compromise high intensity exercise performance by impairing muscle contraction and the utilization of glucose (a fast-acting energy source) as fuel. Buffering pH can help reduce these effects and potentially prolong exercise. [2]

Beta-alanine supplementation improves performance in exercise lasting 0.5-10 minutes, with its greatest effects being observed in exercise lasting 1-4 minutes. [3,4]

In one study, the combination of 6.4g of daily beta-alanine supplementation and 5 weeks of resistance training had positive effects on power output at 1 rep maximum, average power, and total number of sets completed.[5]

Overall, beta-alanine's greatest effects on performance have been observed in exercise done at continuous supramaximal levels of intensity like 4km cycling, 2000m rowing, 100-200m swimming, combat sports, and water polo.[6]

How much beta-alanine should I take?

Research shows a daily intake of 3.2-6.4g on training and non-training days as an ideal range for supplementing beta-alanine to increase muscle carnosine levels.

1 scoop of XTEND Elite features 1.6g of CarnoSyn® beta-alanine so you’d want to consume 2 scoops a day to reach the amount shown to benefit performance in clinical studies.

When should I take beta-alanine?

The benefits of beta-alanine start to be observed in studies once saturation has been reached at about 179g. Since these benefits take place once saturation has occurred, consistent intake of sufficient amounts of beta-alanine is more important than its timing. You can take beta-alanine before, during, after a workout or at any other time of the day that you find convenient.

Beta-Alanine vs BCAAs (Branched Chain Amino Acids)

While both ingredients are amino acids, beta-alanine and BCAAs serve different functions in the body. Beta-alanine is a non-proteogenic amino acid meaning that the body can’t use it to create protein. Whereas the BCAAs make up 3 of the 9 essential amino acids and can be used to create new proteins. Athletes supplement beta-alanine to help buffer pH levels in the body to fight muscular fatigue. Athlete's supplement BCAAs to help reduce delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) following exercise.

BCAAs and beta-alanine can be combined as part of a powerful formula to support muscle recovery and endurance like in XTEND Elite.

XTEND Elite: BCAA with Beta Alanine

With patented and clinically studied ingredients like CarnoSyn® beta-alanine to take your performance to the next level. Boost muscular endurance, power output and blood flow to train at your highest intensity with XTEND Elite.*

References
[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4501114/
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4097338/
[3] https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/51/8/658#article-bottom
[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3374095/
[5] https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-018-0224-0#Sec18
[6] https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/2019/01000/Ergogenic_Effects_of___Alanine_Supplementation_on.30.aspx