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Beta Alanine Supplementation for CrossFit Athletes

Here at ICON Nutrition we think CrossFit is a cool sport, it's fast, physically demanding, powerful and requires technique and dedication. And whilst the phrase "what's your Angie time?" isn't as common as "how much do you bench" the sport is undoubtedly growing in popularity throughout the UK and Europe.

Apart from an Omega 3 or a vitamin supplement, CrossFit'ers in general tend to stay away from them. However as the kipping pull-up gains momentum, so will the usage of sports supplements amongst CrossFit enthusiasts especially after the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research recently published a study about Beta Alanine, an active ingredient featured in ICON's pre-workout Ignite.

The purpose of the double blind, placebo controlled study was to examine the effectiveness of beta alanine as an ergogenic aid in tests of anaerobic power output after 8 weeks of high-intensity interval, repeated sprint and resistance training in previously trained collegiate wrestlers and football players.

Performance improvements were seen in football players, decreasing their 300 yard shuttle time by 1.1 seconds and increasing their 90 degrees flexed arm hang time (3.0 vs. 0.39 seconds for the placebo group). Both groups of athletes supplementing with beta alanine added more lean mass over the course of the study and displayed better blood lactate profiles than the athletes that were given the placebo.

The study demonstrated that beta alanine supplementation in previously trained athletes appears to help increase performance, improve anaerobic endurance, and stimulate lean mass gain in just 8 weeks of use.

These results can easily be seen to help with those active in CrossFit. By supplementing with ICON's pre workout which contains 3.6g of beta alanine per 36g serving, you may experience faster improvements in strength, speed and overall body composition. Combine these with improvements in your power clean turnover and you're all set for being a better CrossFit athlete!

Note: Double blind study refers to a study where neither the subjects or administrators know the critical aspects of the experiment.