Have you ever tried a new pre-workout that made your skin get all tingly, itchy, and warm? If you have, it's because it had Beta Alanine in it. Beta Alanine is the compound responsible for the tingles that people either love or hate from pre-workouts. And this phenomenon is called paraesthesia.
Paraesthesia is the medical term for the prickling, “pins-and-needles” sensation that can occur from Beta Alanine usage. It usually occurs in the extremities of the body or the face. Beta Alanine has this unique ability to cause paraesthesia because it activates sensory neurons in the skin.
Whether you have experienced this sensation or not, you will either love it or hate it whenever you do. For those who are not a fan at all of the paraesthesia sensation, it is important to find a pre-workout that does NOT include Beta Alanine at a dosage of higher than about 1.5 grams. A dosage lower than that is unlikely to cause the tingling feeling.
But for those of you who love the paraesthesia sensation, we don't blame you! It is a great way to know the pre-workout has kicked in, and you are ready to crush your workout. Plus, Beta Alanine can actually serve a purpose other than just providing some tingles before your workout. The real reason it ever became a sports supplement in the first place is that it enhances athletic performance. How?
It works by increasing carnosine levels in the body. This carnosine increase helps prevent the lactic acid build-up that contributes to muscular fatigue when training. This effect from Beta Alanine has been demonstrated in countless studies. (1,2)
But because it works by building up carnosine levels in the body, the time required to build up stores and the dosage required to build up those levels can vary. This is why there have been studies that have demonstrated its benefits anywhere from 2-6 grams per day. (3,4)
In this one study, 2 grams per day for 6 weeks improved endurance performance and VO2 max. (5) While this other study used 6 grams for 4 weeks to improve power and endurance in boxers. (6)
Therefore, it is the consistency that matters. As long as you are taking enough of it for a long enough period of time to increase those carnosine levels in the body, then the results will show in due time.
So what is the best way to have people get the benefits from Beta Alanine, but also satisfy everyone's difference needs for their paraesthesia preference from it. Well we think we have found the best solution.
We have decided to not include it in our Pinnacle Pre-Workout because we want you to be able to customize your dosage, instead of have it set for you. Therefore, we offer Beta Alanine separately for you to add to your pre-workout, or any other time of the day, at your own personalized dosage.
The scoop size is 1.2 grams because that dosage is low enough to not likely produce any tingling sensation. So for anyone who is NOT a fan of paraesthesia, you can still get the benefits from Beta Alanine by taking multiple scoops of our powder at different times of the day!
And for those of you who love the tingles, you can still customize your dosage to get exactly the amount of tingles you desire. You can determine what works best for you and easily pair that with our Pinnacle Pre-Workout. Anywhere from 2-4 scoops will probably get the job done, providing 2.4-4.8 grams.
Beta Alanine can benefit anyone, so don't let paraesthesia scare you. You just need to take the right dosage!
1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4501114/
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5548158/
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2585553/
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2649036/