Pre-workouts are one of the most popular sports supplements on the market. This is thanks to their flashy marketing campaigns and the fact that they can be effective – but at a cost.
Brands use multiple compounds to make a concoction, all with their own benefits. One of these is beta-alanine; this is what makes you feel tingly.
Beta-alanine is actually one of the more effective supplements, however, putting it in pre-workout is a marketing tactic and may actually mitigate any possible benefits. Here’s why,
Are Pre-Workouts Effective?
Key Points:
- Pre-workouts usually contain multiple ingredients
- They have been shown to be effective at improving workouts
- The primary ergogenic aid in them is caffeine
Let’s get this out of the way first.
In general, stimulant pre-workouts and energy drinks are effective. They offer several benefits including: ¹⁻²
- Providing bursts of energy
- Improving mood
- Increasing work capacity and time to exhaustion
Various brands will use their own mix of compounds, making it impossible to address each specific brand in this article. However, common compounds include;
- Caffeine
- Beta Alanine
- Citrulline Malate
- Nitric Oxide Boosters (Arginine, Nitrates)
They will also sometimes include your “basic” supplements, such as EAA and creatine.
But here’s the thing, out of all these compounds, the primary, ergogenic compound (fancy term meaning it provides benefits) is creatine.¹⁻²
Many people will say, “But I can feel it working”. They’re talking about that tingly feeling you get from many pre-workouts, which is caused by beta-alanine.
What Is Beta-Alanine?
Key Points:
- Beta-alanine is a non-proteinogenic amino acid
- It acts as a precursor to the compound carnosine
- Carnosine acts as a muscle buffer and can extend and improve workouts
- Beta-alanine does not provide acute effects – it should be taken chronically
- Beta-alanine is primarily seen as beneficial in events lasting 1-4 mins; its effect on muscle growth, strength, and endurance is nuanced.
Beta-alanine is a non-proteinogenic amino acid that acts as a precursor to another compound called carnosine. Carnosine is stored in your muscles and acts as a buffer, keeping pH levels low during high-intensity exercise.
By raising your carnosine levels, you can increase your muscular endurance and work volume.³ In short;
- Beta-Alanine supplementation increases the production of carnosine
- Carnosine levels maintain pH levels
- When you work out, metabolites can increase level of pH, causing fatigue
- Increased levels of carnosine help “buffer” the rise of pH, mitigating fatigue
This allows a trainee to work at high intensity for longer periods.
What Are Benefits Of Beta-Alanine?
Beta-Alanine primarily improves high-intensity workouts lasting 1-4 minutes. This is because it helps buffer pH levels due to the build-up of ions and metabolites.³
However, most people take it in a pre-workout before they hit the gym, which usually doesn’t contain 1-4 minute exertions.
Unfortunately, studies looking at this are limited. Those that have been performed are mixed, with most showing minimal or no improvements.³
For example, a study in 2023 found beta-alanine produced no improvements in muscle growth when compared to a placebo.⁴
With that said, it may be worth experimenting with high-rep or high-intensity workouts. For example;
- Drop sets
- Supersets
- High-volume hypertrophy training
- Metcons or CrossFit-style WODs
Do Pre-Workouts Need Beta-Alanine?
Key Points:
- Studies on beta-alanine and strength training are limited and show mixed results
- The effects of beta-alanine are chronic and not time-dependent
- Beta-alanine is not needed in pre-workouts but is now closely associated with an effective product.
As mentioned above, even though beta-alanine is in pre-workouts, its effects aren't acute.
Remember that you don’t even directly benefit from beta-alanine. You benefit from beta-alanine producing more carnosine, and it’s the increased carnosine that improves performance.
For this to occur, you need to take beta-alanine chronically, every day, to saturate the muscles. This is very similar to how you take creatine.
It’s actually believed you need 2-4 weeks of chronic use before you even see results.³
Plus, most pre-workouts only deliver 2g-3g per dose. This is on the lower end of dosing for smaller people when you are taking it daily (3-6g/day).³
This means if you only take it occasionally, you’re likely missing out on any actual benefits.
In addition, even at proper dosing, its ability to improve muscle growth and strength is questionable, as mentioned above.
Why Do Pre-Workouts Use Beta-Alanine?
There has never been an official announcement as to why companies use beta-alanine. However, we can think of three pretty good reasons (and none have to do with your performance):
1. People Think Tingly Feelings Means It’s Working. it’s very likely that companies will put beta-alanine in their product due to “paresthesia” – this is the tingly feeling you get.
You have probably heard someone say “Oh, I can feel it working”. However, that tingly feeling has zero performance benefits, it’s simply a reaction when taking higher amounts (>2g).
2. Beta-Alanine Is Synonymous With Pre-Workout. Due to its heavy use with pre-workouts, and reputation in gym culture, beta-alanine has become synonymous with an effective pre-workout.
If you don’t include it, some may assume it’s not as good as others.
3. Increase The Price. One of the downsides of pre-workouts is they use multiple ingredients. This means you have to pay for all of it, even if you don’t want it.
At the same time, these mixes can make it easier to hide costs. If you were to buy a single ingredient, you know exactly how much it costs, making it easier to know if you’re overpaying.
A Better Way To Take Beta-Alanine
Key Points:
- To get benefits, take ~40–50 mg/kg (3.2–6.4g) daily
- You can take in multiple small doses
- You can use a single ingredient beta-alanine to take on days you don’t take pre-workout or increase your overall pre-workout dose
Now, this isn’t written to dissuade you from using pre-workout – again, they can be effective.
However, if you are taking a pre-workout for the beta-alanine. Keep this in mind.
- You don’t have to buy a pre-workout with beta-alanine
- You should have some beta-alanine powder you can take on days you don’t workout
And you’ll like this, beta-alanine powder is ridiculously cheap, at around 7-10 cents per 3g/serving.
So this means that you can still take your pre-workout with beta-alanine while you take beta-alanine powder on days you don’t take pre-workouts.
Proper Dosing For Beta-Alanine
As mentioned, you should take beta-alanine every day. Dosing comes out to be;³
- ~40–50 mg/kg/day
- 3.2–6.4g/day
Further, you don’t have to take it all at once, especially if you don’t like the tingles. You can divide it into smaller does throughout the day.
Final Say On Pre-Workouts With Beta-Alanine
Now you know the reality of beta-alanine. If you like pre-workouts because they give you a boost of energy, keep on taking them. They can be very effective in improving workouts. However, if you’re taking them for the beta-alanine, or have been led to believe that if you don’t tingle, it’s not a “good” pre-workout, you should take another look at your favorite product. If you still want to experiment with beta-alanine and think it could support your style of training,
It's ridiculously cheap as a single ingredient, so you can take it daily.
References
- Martinez, N., Campbell, B., Franek, M. et al. The effect of acute pre-workout supplementation on power and strength performance. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 13, 29 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-016-0138-7
- Jagim AR, Harty PS, Tinsley GM, et al. International society of sports nutrition position stand: energy drinks and energy shots. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2023;20(1):2171314. doi:10.1080/15502783.2023.2171314 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36862943/
- Trexler ET, Smith-Ryan AE, Stout JR, et al. International society of sports nutrition position stand: Beta-Alanine. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2015;12:30. Published 2015 Jul 15. doi:10.1186/s12970-015-0090-y https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4501114
- de Camargo JBB, Brigatto FA, Zaroni RS, et al. Does beta-alanine supplementation enhance adaptations to resistance training? A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study. Biol Sport. 2023;40(1):217-224. doi:10.5114/biolsport.2023.112967 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36636181/
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