Β-Alanine Lab Report

Purpose: To examine the effects of increased muscle carnosine concentrations, achieved via chronic β-alanine (BA) supplementation, on muscle contractile properties before and after muscle specific fatigue. Methods: Twenty-three men completed a familiarisation session followed by two experimental sessions, pre- and post-28 days supplementation with 6.4 g/day of β-alanine (n=12) or placebo (n=11). During each session, force was twice recorded during a series of knee extensor contractions: resting and potentiated twitches and octet (8 pulses, 300 Hz) contractions elicited via femoral nerve stimulation, percutaneous contraction (1-100 Hz, 1 s) evoked via superficial muscle stimulation and maximum voluntary contractions, both before and after knee