However, we did find that high force production

improved with betaine supplementation which reflects some similarity to the study by Hoffman and see more coworkers. While the muscle groups in the two studies were apparently different in their mediating mechanisms, both studies provide evidence for the potential positive influence of B supplementation for strength, power and local muscular endurance in the context of demanding strength/power exercise protocols. In the present study, the larger lower-body muscle group data was more varied within the subject sample and significant differences were less obvious, although patterns of B mediated increases may be suggested. AZD1480 For example, isometric squat

force was enhanced by B supplementation. The REC protocol utilized maximal vertical jumps prior to the squat exercises which might have impaired the neuromuscular performance of high power production as recently noted by Drinkwater et al. [14], indicating that order of exercises is an important element in Akt inhibitor training program design. In this case, the betaine supplement was likely not able to offset the neural effect and partially explains the lack of improved power production in the squat. However, force production may have been facilitated via a post activation potentiation effect of some type [15]. While speculative, the upper body musculature was not inhibited by such an inhibitory neuromuscular influence of high velocity power movements as was the lower body in this exercise testing sequence. Thus, it Suplatast tosilate appears that the mediating mechanisms of betaine supplementation may be more operational in the absence of high frequency neural fatigue. From the non-significant differences in body fluid related variables between the B and P trials, due to the experimental controls for hydration employed in this study, it seems that betaine’s established role as an osmoprotectant

[2, 7, 8] was not a likely candidate for any ergogenicity. This does not, however, minimize the potential role of betaine given the intensity of the REC, as organic osmolytes have been shown to accumulate in cells under varying stressful conditions to help maintain biochemical function [16–18]. Additionally, plasma glucose and lactate results in this study indicate that betaine was either 1) not acting through glucose or lactate processing, or 2) the pre-existing differences among subjects masked any betaine effects on these dependent variables. The use of the very demanding REC might have overwhelmed the ability of betaine to offer any measureable differences, which in the case of the enhanced performances would most likely be related to phosphagen metabolism.