Issue 095

December 2012

The science behind how you can beat the burn with your mouth

Daniel Pierce

Nutrition Expert 

Dan is VP of brand strategy and product development at Gaspari Nutrition. He also studies BJJ at Codella Academy, Team Renzo Gracie. 

You’ve all heard it before. That painful burn you feel during intense training is from ‘lactic acid’ build-up. Believe it or not, hydrogen ions (H+) are the true culprit and the result of a few processes causing your muscular pH to drop. When burning glucose for energy, your body produces lactic acid and, at a certain pH range, it, in turn, produces H+. It is the released H+ during exercise that causes muscle failure due to the pH dropping rapidly. Also, breakdown of the high-energy compound ATP also produces H+ during intense exercise. It’s this combination that overloads the muscle with H+ causing a sharp drop in pH and the ‘burning’ sensation when you exercise. So you lose the ability to generate force within working muscles, ultimately causing fatigue and eventual failure.

BETA ALANINE AS A FATIGUE BUFFER

A common misconception is that beta alanine itself buffers that H+ build-up when you’re training. Or that there is an immediate benefit when you take it before training. The reality is, beta alanine must be converted to a dipeptide called carnosine (beta-alanyl histidine) that does all the buffering. It also takes a few weeks of consistent use to build up in your system – which we’ll discuss later.

In order for this conversion, beta alanine to carnosine, to take place it takes a pool of key minerals and enzymes. Based on the work of chemists Kalyankar and then later on by Winnick, carnosine can be formed under ideal conditions in about 60 minutes. In a real athlete it’s likely the conversion is less efficient time-wise, which supports the notion it should be taken multiple times per day over a few weeks to begin to elevate carnosine production. So how exactly do you take beta-alanine to get ramped up carnosine levels for increased endurance levels?

CORRECT DOSING AND TIMING FOR SUCCESS 

One of the biggest proponents of beta-alanine in MMA today is ‘All American’ Brian Stann. If you ask him how much beta alanine he takes in a day he’ll probably tell you 3.2g exactly. The reason being, Brian knows full well that he needs a certain dose of beta alanine to maintain carnosine levels throughout his training camps and regimented ‘off season’ gym time. 

Research has suggested that in order for healthy men to maintain their high carnosine levels they need approximately 1.6g to 3.2g of beta-alanine per day taken for at least a month to build up the proper carnosine levels. The lighter you are, the lower range will suffice and when heavier, the higher end. That may seem simple, but if you take in your dose all at once, you might experience something called parathesia. This can be a mild ‘pins and needles’ sensation on certain extremities like your ears or nose. However, this can be avoided with a well-planned dosing strategy.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Many research protocols have suggested ingesting over a few doses per day to get the accurate dose while limiting the potential for parathesia. A few high-quality products that have this optimal dosing range but also recommend multiple doses per day are Prolab Beta-Alanine Extreme, Optimum Nutrition’s Beta Alanine powder and Gaspari Nutrition’s Anavite which also includes 100% RDA of bioavailable magnesium. Each has its own unique formulas but offers the educated MMA practitioner the effective dose they need for success. 

If you’ve made the commitment to combat sports then consider making training a bit easier and battle fatigue-inducing hydrogen ions with an accurately dosed beta alanine supplement. Think about it. You’re an elite athlete and only need to a 1% or 2% advantage of greater endurance over an equally sized and skilled opponent to be victorious. Why wouldn’t you try to add an edge from something perfectly legal to help you get there?