When More isn't Better
In the newest episode of Max-Out Radio (just published today) I talk about one of the popular studies regarding the new supplement beta-alanine. Beta-Alanine is an interesting beast because like creatine it allows you to do more work. Some would say that is a similar mechanism to anabolic steroids as they too allow you to train more often. However a main difference between anabolics and creatine or beta-alanine (and there are tons so don't think I'm saying creatine or beta-alanine are "like steroids" because they are not.) is that anabolics will help you recover faster by several mechanisms one of which is increased protein synthesis. More recovery means you can workout more and more often thus building more muscle.
Beta-alaine will allow you to do more work BUT it won't necessarily allow you to recover faster. Herein lies the problem. If your nutrition isn't sufficient to start out with and you are not maximally recovering from your workouts what would happen if you all of a sudden give your body the ability to lift more weight and do more work in any given session? Over the long term I think this is a recipe for disaster. This is when more ISN'T better. Because if you are nutritionally lacking, more work is just going to contribute to a greater chance of overtraining and not more muscle.
Proper nutrition is such a powerful weapon that when wielded properly yields incredible results. Couple that with a supplement that seems to have the ability to increase your work capacity and you have set the stage for a level of physique development most people dream about.
-MR
