Double up to boost your endurance with citrulline malate and beta-alanine

According to research, citrulline malate may help promote more efficient energy production and protect muscles from fatigue during resistance and high-intensity exercise, with additional recovery benefits, with beta-alanine adding fatigue-fighting benefits to boost endurance.

Citrulline malate – a combination of the amino acid citrulline and the organic salt malate – is a non-essential amino acid that may help to fight fatigue, sustain energy, improve strength and aid recovery.

Citrulline malate is primarily a nitric oxide (NO) enhancer¹ through its role in L-arginine production, an amino acid needed to produce NO to support vasodilation.

Increasing the diameter of blood vessels improves blood flow, allowing more nutrient and oxygen-rich blood to reach working muscles while supporting lactic acid and exercise metabolite removal (including ammonia). It is also a key factor in achieving intense muscle pumps during workouts.

By speeding up the removal of lactic acid and ammonia from working muscles, coupled with its ability to synergistically complement L-arginine’s role in promoting NO production, citrulline malate may improve physical performance during intense exercise by potentially delaying fatigue to help you sustain harder efforts for longer, which is the essence of endurance.

Research also suggests that citrulline malate plays a role in energy production, specifically the substance that fuels intense, short-duration muscle contractions known as adenosine triphosphate, or ATP.

One study² found that citrulline malate resulted in a “34% increase in the rate of oxidative ATP production during exercise, and a 20% increase in the rate of phosphocreatine recovery after exercise, indicating a larger contribution of oxidative ATP synthesis to energy production.”

By increasing the rate of phosphocreatine production, you can essentially increase the number of reps you can perform during weight training sessions and enhance overall power output to boost your training volume and total load. In addition to the direct performance benefit, the increase in training load can also support muscle growth.

Moreover, the enhanced blood flow to muscles supported by citrulline malate can improve recovery through increased nutrient delivery and the removal of waste products, both between sets or intense efforts and between sessions.

Biogen Pure L-Citrulline is a quality source of this amino acid. This product, available in a 2:1 L-Citrulline-DL-Malate ratio for optimal absorption, may increase athletic performance during high-intensity anaerobic exercise with short rest periods.

Beta-alanine (β-alanine) is a non-essential amino acid that serves as a building block of carnosine, a protein peptide that helps to buffer the effect of exercise metabolites like lactic acid that build up in muscles during intense or prolonged exercise and can limit performance. 

Research shows that beta-alanine boosts muscle carnosine levels, with results from a 2010 study³ finding that 800mg of beta-alanine taken multiple times a day elevated muscle carnosine levels by as much as 66% – it can delay muscular fatigue and thereby improve workout or sporting performance.

Another study⁴ affirms beta-alanine’s potential to boost performance, with research published in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism finding that recreational club runners who supplemented with the product considerably improved their times over 800m, with a few study participants taking a staggering 3.6 seconds off their personal bests.

Biogen Pure ß-Alanine offers an ideal option for anyone looking to potentially improve physical performance and exercise capacity as it may help to delay muscle fatigue during physical activity.

While the research backing citrulline malate and beta-alanine supplements supports their effectiveness, these products should form part of a broader approach aimed at performance enhancement that optimises training, diet, and rest and recovery.

Always consult a healthcare professional before taking any new supplement, especially if you have underlying health conditions as some pre-workout products contain stimulants.

1. Gough LA, Sparks SA, McNaughton LR, Higgins MF, Newbury JW, Trexler E, Faghy MA, Bridge CA. A critical review of citrulline malate supplementation and exercise performance. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2021 Dec;121(12):3283-3295. doi: 10.1007/s00421-021-04774-6. Epub 2021 Aug 21. PMID: 34417881; PMCID: PMC8571142.
2. Bendahan D, Mattei JP, Ghattas B, Confort-Gouny S, Le Guern ME, Cozzone PJ. Citrulline/malate promotes aerobic energy production in human exercising muscle. Br J Sports Med. 2002 Aug;36(4):282-9. doi: 10.1136/bjsm.36.4.282. PMID: 12145119; PMCID: PMC1724533.
3. Culbertson JY, Kreider RB, Greenwood M, Cooke M. Effects of beta-alanine on muscle carnosine and exercise performance: a review of the current literature. Nutrients. 2010 Jan;2(1):75-98. doi: 10.3390/nu2010075. Epub 2010 Jan 25. PMID: 22253993; PMCID: PMC3257613.
4. Ducker KJ, Dawson B, Wallman KE. Effect of beta-alanine supplementation on 800-m running performance. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2013 Dec;23(6):554-61. doi: 10.1123/ijsnem.23.6.554. Epub 2013 Apr 18. PMID: 23630039.