Six Weeks of High-Intensity Interval Training With and Without β-Alanine Supplementation for Improving Cardiovascular Fitness in Women

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effects of cycle ergometry high-intensity interval training (HIIT) with and without beta-alanine supplementation on maximal oxygen consumption rate (VO2 peak), cycle ergometer workload at the ventilatory threshold (VT W), and body composition. Forty-four women (mean +/- SD age = 21.8 +/- 3.7 years; height = 166.5 +/- 6.6 cm; body mass (BM) = 65.9 +/- 10.8 kg; VO2 peak = 31.5 +/- 6.2 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1)) were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: beta-alanine (BA, n = 14) 1.5 g + 15 g dextrose powder; placebo (PL, n = 19) 16.5 g dextrose powder; or control (CON, n = 11). Testing was conducted at baseline (week 0), after 3 weeks (week 4), and after 6 weeks (week 8). VO2 peak (ml x kg(-1) x min(-1)) and VT W were measured with a metabolic cart during graded exercise tests on a corival cycle ergometer, and body composition (percent fat = % fat and fat-free mass = FFM) were determined by air displacement plethysmography. High-intensity interval training was performed on a corival cycle ergometer 3 times per week with 5 2-minute work intervals and 1-minute passive recovery with undulating intensities (90-110% of the workload recorded at VO2 peak) during each training session. VO2 peak increased (p <or= 0.05) in the BA and PL groups at weeks 4 and 8, but did not change (p > 0.05) for the CON group. VT W increased (p <or= 0.05) for all groups at weeks 4 and 8. Body mass increased (p <or= 0.05) only for the BA group at weeks 4 and 8, whereas %fat decreased (p <or= 0.05) and FFM increased (p <or= 0.05) at weeks 4 and 8 for all groups (BA, PL, and CON). Although it is unclear why beta-alanine supplementation increased BM, there was no additive effects for increasing VO2 peak beyond the PL. Overall, these results suggested that HIIT may be an effective and time-efficient method of training to improve maximal oxygen uptake.

The effects of beta‐alanine supplementation on physical working capacity at heart rate threshold

“…Previous research has also shown BA to be effective at increasing anaerobic thresholds measured by short bouts of intense exercise (Derave et al, 2007;Artioli et al, 2010). Despite previous reports of BA improving anaerobic thresholds, the effects on VT have been mixed with a few studies showing benefit Walter et al, 2010), while other studies have demonstrated no effect (Smith et al, 2009a(Smith et al, ,b, 2012Jordan et al, 2010), which is consistent with the current study. This may be a result of the graded exercise progression not dependent upon buffering capacity, as well as a result of using indirect calorimetry software to calculate VT, which has not shown to be highly reliable.…”

“…Previous studies have used various methods for quantifying a 'threshold' of fatigue to evaluate the effects of BA supplementation (Stout et al, 2006(Stout et al, , 2008Zoeller et al, 2007;McCormack et al, 2013), and the combination of BA + exercise (Kendrick et al, 2008;Smith et al, 2009a,b;Walter et al, 2010;Kern & Robinson, 2011). If BA can delay this threshold of fatigue, as demonstrated by McCormack et al, (2013), Stout et al, (2007)) and Stout et al, (2008), it may have functional outcomes in various clinical populations by improving the efficiency of activities of daily living and quality of life.…”

Exercise-induced oxidative stress: the effects of β-alanine supplementation in women

“…However, as a result of the greater concentration of carnosine than either bicarbonate or inorganic phosphate in the initial stages of muscle contraction, its buffering contribution may be quantitatively more important (Robergs et al 2004). In support, numerous studies have demonstrated the ergogenicity of b-alanine supplementation in anaerobic performance (Derave et al 2007;Hoffman et al 2007Hoffman et al , 2008Kendrick et al 2009;Stout et al 2007;Van Thienen et al 2009;Zoeller et al 2007), with less support in aerobic activities (Derave et al 2007;Kendrick et al 2008;Smith et al 2009;Stout et al 2007;Zoeller et al 2007) and only two previous studies evaluating the effects in women Walter et al 2010). The present results suggest a slight antioxidant potential, with a reduction in lipid peroxidation, which falls in line with the functional role related to the imidazole structure and further supports the role as a pH buffer.…”

The Effects of Beta-Alanine Supplementation on Performance: A Systematic Review of the Literature

“…All studies reported mean ages ranging from 18.4 to 85.3 and participants were overwhelmingly male. There were two studies which exclusively included female participants Walter et al, 2010), three studies that included 17-20 female subjects (Chung et al, 2012;Smith-Ryan et al, 2012;Stout et al, 2008) and another study which included one female participant (Baguet et al, 2010a). The participants ranged from elite level athletics to recreational level and the elderly.…”