jkeithc82

Give credit to Omega's newest rep, HalleluYAH for first posting this.

The effects of amino acid supplementation on hormonal responses to resistance training overreaching.

Kraemer WJ, Ratamess NA, Volek JS, Hakkinen K, Rubin MR, French DN, Gomez AL, McGuigan MR, Scheett TP, Newton RU, Spiering BA, Izquierdo M, Dioguardi FS. 2006 Mar;55(3):282-91.

Department of Kinesiology, Human Performance Laboratory, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-1110, USA.

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of amino acid supplementation on muscular performance and resting hormone concentrations during resistance training overreaching. Seventeen resistance-trained men were randomly assigned to either an amino acid (AA) or a placebo (P) group and underwent 4 weeks of total-body resistance training designed to induce a state of overreaching. The protocol consisted of two 2-week phases (phase 1, 3 sets of 8 exercises performed for 8-12 repetitions; phase 2, 5 sets of 5 exercises performed for 3-5 repetitions). Muscle strength and resting blood samples were determined before (T1) and at the end of each training week (T2-T5). One-repetition maximum squat and bench press decreased at T2 in the P group but not in the AA group; both groups showed similar increases in strength at T3 to T5. Significant elevations in serum creatine kinase and uric acid were observed at T2 in the P group; the elevation in creatine kinase correlated highly to reductions in 1-repetition maximum squat (r = -0.67, r(2) = 0.45). Significant elevations in serum sex hormone-binding globulin were observed during overreaching in the P group from T2 to T5; this response was abolished in the AA group. Significant reductions in total testosterone were observed in the P group at T4 compared with T1, and total testosterone values were higher for the AA group than for the P group from T2 to T4. Serum 22-kd growth hormone concentrations were elevated at T2 to T5 in P group only. No differences were observed in resting cortisol and insulinlike growth factor 1. Hemoglobin concentrations were significantly reduced at T2 to T5 in the P group. These results indicate that the initial impact of high-volume resistance training is muscle strength reduction and hormonal/biochemical alterations. It appears that amino acid supplementation is effective for attenuating muscle strength loss during initial high-volume stress, possibly by reducing muscle damage by maintaining an anabolic environment.

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comfortable_pants

rad

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comfortable_pants

i tried to look up the full-text of this study on pubmed but it's not available. i'm really interested about how they went about this study. if they had a meal about an hour before their workout and they drank some aminos right before or during, then this is helpful. but if they went into it on a fairly empty stomach, then it's common sense that aminos (or any food for that matter) would prevent catabolism.

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chlaxman

It also would have been nice if they had a third group with a carb drink before working out...I can't access the full study here, but when I get back to school I probably can.

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