Supplements aren’t going to turn you into an advanced athlete, but they can amplify everything you’re already doing, and when you start reaching the top levels of performance every little bit helps.
That’s why so many people are interested in what Beta-Alanine has to offer them since it can help them reach their physical goals much quicker. If you were interested in finding a way to build muscle in a healthy and quick manner,
you’d be hard-pressed to find any better options than Beta-Alanine or Creatine.
Many supplements are going to claim that they’ve got the magic touch and will help you ascend
to physical greatness, but most of them fall short of that promise.
In this very extensive post we provide you with everything you need to know as to why Beta-Alanine or Creatine are the “go-to” supplements in the fitness world.
What is Beta-Alanine
Beta-Alanine is one of the more prominent non-essential amino acids. People use Beta-Alanine
as a supplement to help with the production of “muscle carnosine”, which is proven to help with
the building of true muscle. This is done by lowering your lactic acid levels, allowing you to
recover quicker.
The more you can work out and break your muscle down (with excellent recovery), the
better. This is why top level athletes train multiple times a day and progress quickly.
Related: Compare Your BMI To Crossfit Games Athletes
What is Creatine
Creatine isn’t an amino acid, but an organic compound that can be found naturally in the human
body. Most people make use of Creatine supplements because they improve the strength and
general performance of your muscles – whenever there is a small advantage to be had in weight
lifting, you’ve always got to consider using it.
Your body will convert Creatine into energy, which will then be used to fuel all of your muscle-
busting workouts. Creatine supplement means you’ll always have enough fuel in the tank to
finish a set, regardless of how busy you’ve been throughout the week.
Benefits of Beta-Alanine
Your carnosine levels are always going to relate to your workouts, which is why so many people use Beta-Alanine. Not only will the supplement increase these levels, but it will in turn allow you to workout for longer (and recover faster) by limiting the amount of lactic muscle build-up you experience.
Workout performance is limited when you are sore – Beta-Alanine will drastically help you to wake up the next day with less soreness, and more energy.
There has been a lot of research done relating to Beta-Alanine and the benefits associated with the supplement, and most of it has to do with how your muscles create and use energy during workouts. The muscles develop and use energy like this:
- Glucose is broken down and turned into lactic acid
- Lactic acid is, in turn, going to produce hydrogen ions
- Hydrogen ions lower your pH levels, allowing lactic acid to linger
- Higher acidity levels lead to increased muscle fatigue
By limiting the amount of acid being produced by your body, you’ll have more power to put into your workouts and recovery times that you’ve never seen before.
Some additional benefits behind Beta-Alanine use would be:
- The reduction of “oxidative stress”
- Better body composition
- Increased muscle stamina/endurance
Related: 3 Benefits of The HyperIce Hypervolt
Optimal Beta-Alanine Dosage and Loading Phase
Beta-Alanine is best dosed in 3.2g spurts daily and up to 5 if needed, for at least four weeks to ensure that it’s properly loaded into your system.
When one wants to maximize their athletic prowess, we highly recommend that you supplement Beta-Alanine alongside Creatine (at a rate of 6.4g daily).
We recommend that you take any additional carnosine supplements only on days that you’re working out, and be sure to take your Beta-Alanine even on off days.
This supplement also requires a loading phase to ensure that you’re maximizing the benefits offered by Beta-Alanine. Research has been done to show that increasing your Beta-Alanine intake up to around 179 grams over a span of one month (28 days) is shown to significantly improve your muscle performance.
Benefits of Creatine
Creatine offers a plethora of benefits, all of which will allow you to progress in the gym. There are several variations of Creatine to consider taking, but the most popular option would be Creatine Monohydrate. Since it’s already being produced by your body naturally, it will absorb with ease and let your muscle reach their full potential without any major side effects.
Working out calls for “breaking down” your muscle, which is why larger people have to lift heavier weights. Creatine will allow you to go above and beyond what you would normally be capable of, which will translate into increased muscle growth as a result. Some of the other benefits associated with Creatine would be:
- Increased muscle cell energy production
- Increased muscle mass
- Increased muscle endurance
- Speeds up the rate of growth for muscles
- Helps achieve a leaner body by increasing muscle mass and minimizing fat
Optimal Creatine Dosage and Loading Phase
The optimal Creatine dosage is about 10 to 15g daily for a total of 10 days. Both Creatine and Beta-Alanine require a loading phase, meaning you’ll have to ensure that they’re “loaded” into your body before receiving all of the benefits.
Creatine supplementation will increase the level of muscle creatine and phosphocreatine within the body from anywhere between 15% to 40% – even the lower end will offer a drastic increase in your lifting power.
If you’re using “Kre-Alkalyn” Creatine you don’t have to worry about the lengthy loading phase, as they’ve developed it to offer an optimal absorption rate and something known as bioavailability.
Stacking Beta-Alanine and Creatine
We would recommend you take them both together, as combining them will give you the best possible supplement mixture to build muscle (other than using illegal supplements, of course).
It’s one thing to build muscle naturally, but there’s a reason why some of the largest people in the gym use the likes of both Creatine and Beta-Alanine – many studies have been conducted that solidify this theory.
Taking both supplements has been proven to increase power, lean muscle mass, and reduce body fat when compared to a placebo group during the research process.
When to Take Beta-Alanine and Creatine?
If you’ve got both supplements at your disposal, you can take both of them before you’re about to do your workout. There are varying opinions when it comes to timing, but 1 hour to 30 minutes before the workout seems to work best.
Some other suggestions would be to use a front-load method, which is merely using only Beta-Alanine for about two weeks before introducing Creatine into the fold. At the end of the day, you’ll likely want to speak with your physician to figure out the perfect approach for your physical goals.
Does Beta-Alanine Increase Creatine Effectiveness?
Both supplements piggyback off of each other’s effectiveness to create the most optimal situation possible for dedicated workout enthusiasts.
Whether you want to burn excess fat, build lean muscle, or just introduce more energy into your workouts, Beta-Alanine and Creatine will work together flawlessly. Beta-Alanine will help prevent lactic acid build-up and allow you to perform longer, while Creatine will naturally help your body build itself back up stronger than ever.
Should I Take Pre-Workout or Beta-Alanine?
Considering the fact that Beta-Alanine can be considered a pre-workout supplement in its own right, it’s merely a matter of personal preference.
If you feel like we’ve swayed you in one direction, follow your gut! You can’t go wrong with either one of these supplements, although we would highly suggest you give Beta-Alanine a chance – you never know how far you can go with your body until you’ve tried it all. And if you tried it and find that you don’t like it, there are a few supplements that promote themselves as beta-alanine free, you can check those out.
Closing Thoughts
The entire goal here is to get more out of your body in the gym, and that’s why both amateur and professional athletes dedicate themselves to the art of supplementation.
There’s a reason why the supplement market is booming these days, and it’s perfect for our readers – it makes building a leaner and much more powerful body a simple process.
By identifying useful supplements like Creatine and Beta-Alanine and including them in your workout routine, you’ll be getting a significant increase in performance regardless of who you are.
If you’ve ever considered taking supplements in the past or are currently looking for the “perfect fit”, Beta-Alanine and Creatine just may be the most viable option available.
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