Mixed
Beta-alanine supplementation significantly improves exercise capacity (time to exhaustion) and performance in high-intensity exercise lasting 60–240 seconds, but provides no benefit for exercise lasting less than 60 seconds.
If you engage in high-intensity efforts lasting 1 to 4 minutes (like a 400m run or a hard interval session), beta-alanine supplementation can improve your performance by roughly 3% on average. It will not help you in very short, explosive sprints under 60 seconds. To get benefits, you need to supplement daily for several weeks to build up muscle carnosine levels; there is no advantage to taking massive doses, so stick to standard daily regimens (e.g., 3-6g/day).
BA improved (P = 0.002) the outcome of exercise measures to a greater extent than Pla... exercise lasting 60–240 s was improved (P = 0.001) in BA compared to Pla, as was exercise of >240 s (P = 0.046). In contrast, there was no benefit of b-alanine on exercise lasting <60 s (P = 0.312).
Why this rating
Meta-analysis of 15 randomized controlled trials with 360 participants provides robust quantitative evidence, though heterogeneity in protocols exists.
Source
Effects of β-alanine supplementation on exercise performance: a meta-analysis
Ruth M. Hobson et al. · Amino Acids · 2012
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