Beta-alanine supplementation improves jumping power and affects severe-intensity performance in professional alpine skiers.

Gross, Micah; Bieri, Kathrin Susan; Hoppeler, Hans-Heinrich; Norman, Barbara; Vogt, Michael (2014). Beta-alanine supplementation improves jumping power and affects severe-intensity performance in professional alpine skiers. International journal of sport nutrition and exercise metabolism, 24(6), pp. 665-673. Human Kinetics 10.1123/ijsnem.2013-0253

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INTRODUCTION

Supplementation with beta-alanine may have positive effects on severe-intensity, intermittent, and isometric strength-endurance performance. These could be advantageous for competitive alpine skiers, whose races last 45 to 150 s, require metabolic power above the aerobic maximum, and involve isometric muscle work. Further, beta-alanine supplementation affects the muscle force-frequency relationship, which could influence explosiveness. We explored the effects of beta-alanine on explosive jump performance, severe exercise energy metabolism, and severe-intensity ski-like performance.

METHODS

Nine male elite alpine skiers consumed 4.8 g/d beta-alanine or placebo for 5 weeks in a double-blind fashion. Before and after, they performed countermovement jumps (CMJ), a 90-s cycling bout at 110% VO2max (CLT), and a maximal 90-s box jump test (BJ90).

RESULTS

Beta-alanine improved maximal (+7 ± 3%, d = 0.9) and mean CMJ power (+7 ± 2%, d = 0.7), tended to reduce oxygen deficit (-3 ± 8%, p = .06) and lactate accumulation (-12 ± 31%) and enhance aerobic energy contribution (+1.3 ± 2.9%, p = .07) in the CLT, and improved performance in the last third of BJ90 (+7 ± 4%, p = .02). These effects were not observed with placebo.

CONCLUSIONS

Beta-alanine supplementation improved explosive and repeated jump performance in elite alpine skiers. Enhanced muscle contractility could possibly explain improved explosive and repeated jump performance. Increased aerobic energy production could possibly help explain repeated jump performance as well.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	04 Faculty of Medicine > Pre-clinic Human Medicine > Institute of Anatomy 04 Faculty of Medicine > Department of Orthopaedic, Plastic and Hand Surgery (DOPH) > Clinic of Orthopaedic Surgery
UniBE Contributor:	Bieri, Kathrin, Hoppeler, Hans-Heinrich
Subjects:	600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health
ISSN:	1543-2742
Publisher:	Human Kinetics
Language:	English
Submitter:	Stefanie Zurbuchen
Date Deposited:	10 Feb 2015 15:58
Last Modified:	02 Mar 2023 23:25
Publisher DOI:	10.1123/ijsnem.2013-0253
PubMed ID:	24901210
URI:	https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/62961