How Beta-Alanine Boosts Endurance

Muscle carnosine content can be elevated by supplementing with beta-alanine. That’s one reason why it’s such a popular ingredient in pre-workout products. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work the same for everyone, as a study published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise suggests.
 
Researchers had 24 active men supplement with 6.4 grams of beta-alanine per day for 24 weeks. Some received a placebo. Every 4 weeks, muscle carnosine levels were measured, and carnosine content increased at every examination for supplementing subjects. They also showed an increased capacity for high-intensity cycling compared to subjects who received a placebo. But there was a lot of individual variability in muscle carnosine content, ranging from 31.79 to 63.92 mmol per kg of muscle mass.