This article is part of the supplement: Proceedings of the Fifth International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) Conference and Expo .

Poster presentation

Beta-alanine supplementation and high-intensity interval training augments metabolic adaptations and endurance performance in college-aged men

Abbie E Smith , Ashley A Walter, Kristina L Kendall, Jennifer L Graef, Christopher M Lockwood, Jordan R Moon, Travis W Beck, Joel T Cramer and Jeffery R Stout

FISSN Department of Health & Exercise Science, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA

author email corresponding author email

from 2008 International Society of Sports Nutrition Conference and Expo
Las Vegas, NV, USA. 9–10 June 2008

Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2008, 5(Suppl 1):P5doi:10.1186/1550-2783-5-S1-P5

The electronic version of this abstract is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.jissn.com/content/5/S1/P5

Published:

17 September 2008

© 2008 Smith et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Background

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted to evaluate the effects β-alanine supplementation and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on endurance performance.

Methods

Forty-six college-aged men (Age: 22.2 ± 3.3 yrs, VO₂peak: 42.6 ± 6.2 ml·kg·min^-1, 3.3 ± 0.6 l·min^-1) volunteered to participate. In a random fashion, all subjects were placed into one of three groups: placebo (PL – 16.5 g of flavored dextrose powder per packet; n = 18), β-alanine (BA – 1.5 g β-alanine plus 15 g of flavored dextrose powder per packet; n = 18) or control (n = 10) groups. Each treatment group ingested one packet 4 times per day (total of 6 g/day) for the first 21-day adaptation phase, followed by 2 times per day (3 g/day) for the subsequent 21 days. All participants performed a continuous VO₂peak test on a cycle ergometer (Corval Lode, Gronigen, the Netherlands) which was further used to establish ventilatory threshold (VT), and total time to exhaustion (VO_2TTE, seconds) at pre-, mid- and post-testing. Total work done (TWD) was also measured, calculated from the total time (T; seconds) completed at a workload corresponding to 110% of their maximal power output (watt, W) determined from the VO₂peak test [TWD (kJ) = (T × W)/1000]. Following initial testing, all participants in the BA and PL groups engaged in a 3 week supplementing and training adaptation phase. Each training session in the adaptation phase consisted of 5 bouts of a 2:1 minute cycling work to rest ratio, introduced in an undulating progression starting at 90% VO₂peak power output and reaching 110%. The second 3 week training phase progressed, reaching intensities up to 115% of VO₂peak. Body composition was assessed using air displacement plethysmography (Bod Pod^®) at pre- mid- and post-testing. Separate one-way analyses of covariance were used to identify and group (BA vs. PL. vs. CON) × time (Mid- vs. Post-) interactions, adjusting mean post-test values for differences in the mid-test scores, due to the supplementing and training adaptation phase.

Results

There was a significant difference among all post-test GXT variables (VO₂peak, VO_2TTE, and VT) and TWD, after adjusting for the mid-test adaptation values (p ≤ 0.000). However, there were no differences between treatment group means. Individual responses indicated a greater number of the BA participants improving in VO₂peak (83%) and VO_2TTE (72%) performance over the PL group (61% and 56%, respectively). Furthermore, bonferroni-corrected post-hoc pairwise comparisons indicated the significant increases in TWD were greater for the BA group than the CON (p = 0.029). There were no significant changes in body composition following training and supplementing.

Conclusion

Three weeks of combined β-alanine supplementation and HIIT, following a 21-day β-alanine loading and HIIT adaptation phase, significantly improves aerobic performance. The improvements in performance may be attributed to a greater reliance on aerobic metabolism due to chronic adaptations to HIIT, in combination with an improved muscle buffering capacity as a result of an increase in intramuscular carnosine levels.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank FSI Nutrition, 2132 South 156^th Circle, Omaha, NE http://www.fsinutrition.com and RunFast Promotions, 8790 Wendy Lane South, West Palm Beach FL, 33411 http://www.runfastpromotions.com for supporting and funding this research endeavor.

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