glutamine
- Thread starter freddy1
- Start date
I used glutamine when it was "all the craze"....honestly I did't notice anything from using it. I have read that the benefits of extra aminos are not as great as previously thought. I just take a multi-vitamin and that seems to help more than any amino I have ever taken. I know others who swear by aminos, again I've never noticed any advantage of taking them.
cut and paste job
Although high doses (40-50 grams daily) of glutamine have been recommended as an effective way to increase muscle growth, it wasn't until recently that these claims have been tested.
A group of 31 subjects supplemented their diet with either glutamine, or a "dummy" supplement for six weeks [2]. The amounts of glutamine used were extremely high — 0.9 grams of glutamine per kilogram of lean muscle. Just to give you an idea of what these figures mean, someone weighing 180 pounds (82 kilograms), with 10% body fat, would have been consuming roughly 66 grams of glutamine each day.
Contrary to popular claims, results showed little difference in strength between the two groups. Moreover, gains in lean muscle were similar in the group using the placebo (+ 1.7%) and glutamine (+ 2%) supplements.
Although high doses of glutamine appear to have little effect on muscle growth, a New York research team has shown that a combination of whey protein, branched-chain amino acids, and glutamine can increase muscle size and exercise performance [4].
A group of men with at least six months of weight training experience took part in the study. After being split into two groups, the men were given either 40 grams of whey protein each day, or a combination of 40 grams of whey protein, 5 grams of glutamine, and 3 grams of branched-chain amino acids. The whey protein consisted of 10 grams of whey protein isolate and 30 grams of whey protein concentrate.
For the duration of the 10-week study, the men took part in a resistance-training program designed to increase muscle size. The results show greater gains in lean muscle in the group consuming the whey with glutamine and BCAA (+3.5 pounds) compared to the whey-only group (+1.1 pound).
So, it does appear that lower (and more affordable) doses of glutamine, when combined with whey protein and branched-chain amino acids stimulates greater gains in muscle size and strength than whey protein alone.
Glutamine has also been shown to enhance the rate of glycogen resynthesis following exercise [1]. Glycogen (pronounced gly-ka-jun) is the name given to carbohydrate stored in your body.
When you train hard, your glycogen stores are used for energy. If you train hard on a regular basis without replacing the glycogen that you use, your exercise performance is likely to get worse rather than better.
After completing an exercise session designed to deplete their body of glycogen, subjects were given drinks containing glucose only, glucose and glutamine (eight grams), or glutamine only (eight grams). The combination of glutamine and glucose polymers led to a higher rate of glycogen resynthesis than glucose polymers alone. This is likely due to the stimulatory effect of glutamine on glycogen synthase, one of the enzymes that promotes glycogen storage in the muscles and liver.
There's very little evidence to show that very large amounts of glutamine (40-60 grams daily) has any significant impact on muscle size and strength. However, smaller amounts (8-10 grams) taken after exercise can aid glycogen resynthesis and, when combined with whey protein and BCAA, accelerate gains in muscle size and strength.
Although high doses (40-50 grams daily) of glutamine have been recommended as an effective way to increase muscle growth, it wasn't until recently that these claims have been tested.
A group of 31 subjects supplemented their diet with either glutamine, or a "dummy" supplement for six weeks [2]. The amounts of glutamine used were extremely high — 0.9 grams of glutamine per kilogram of lean muscle. Just to give you an idea of what these figures mean, someone weighing 180 pounds (82 kilograms), with 10% body fat, would have been consuming roughly 66 grams of glutamine each day.
Contrary to popular claims, results showed little difference in strength between the two groups. Moreover, gains in lean muscle were similar in the group using the placebo (+ 1.7%) and glutamine (+ 2%) supplements.
Although high doses of glutamine appear to have little effect on muscle growth, a New York research team has shown that a combination of whey protein, branched-chain amino acids, and glutamine can increase muscle size and exercise performance [4].
A group of men with at least six months of weight training experience took part in the study. After being split into two groups, the men were given either 40 grams of whey protein each day, or a combination of 40 grams of whey protein, 5 grams of glutamine, and 3 grams of branched-chain amino acids. The whey protein consisted of 10 grams of whey protein isolate and 30 grams of whey protein concentrate.
For the duration of the 10-week study, the men took part in a resistance-training program designed to increase muscle size. The results show greater gains in lean muscle in the group consuming the whey with glutamine and BCAA (+3.5 pounds) compared to the whey-only group (+1.1 pound).
So, it does appear that lower (and more affordable) doses of glutamine, when combined with whey protein and branched-chain amino acids stimulates greater gains in muscle size and strength than whey protein alone.
Glutamine has also been shown to enhance the rate of glycogen resynthesis following exercise [1]. Glycogen (pronounced gly-ka-jun) is the name given to carbohydrate stored in your body.
When you train hard, your glycogen stores are used for energy. If you train hard on a regular basis without replacing the glycogen that you use, your exercise performance is likely to get worse rather than better.
After completing an exercise session designed to deplete their body of glycogen, subjects were given drinks containing glucose only, glucose and glutamine (eight grams), or glutamine only (eight grams). The combination of glutamine and glucose polymers led to a higher rate of glycogen resynthesis than glucose polymers alone. This is likely due to the stimulatory effect of glutamine on glycogen synthase, one of the enzymes that promotes glycogen storage in the muscles and liver.
There's very little evidence to show that very large amounts of glutamine (40-60 grams daily) has any significant impact on muscle size and strength. However, smaller amounts (8-10 grams) taken after exercise can aid glycogen resynthesis and, when combined with whey protein and BCAA, accelerate gains in muscle size and strength.
Thanks for that info, abear. That corresponds exactly with what I've been told,and what I've been doing. That's a change! Heh heh heh. 
I just want to say,put me down for a vote YES to glutamine. Glutamine's effects aren't as noticeable,but it's good stuff. Combined with high quality proteins, particularly whey as mentioned above, and some other supplements like vitamins brached aminos, i also take creatine, it's good stuff. The results are often subtle,but they're there. And it doesn't hurt to take supplements..even if they're not doing anything physically.
Just knowing you're done your all nutritionally is good for you psychologically. No doubt, just hit the weights hard and eat right, and you're doing all you can. That's a comfort.
I just want to say,put me down for a vote YES to glutamine. Glutamine's effects aren't as noticeable,but it's good stuff. Combined with high quality proteins, particularly whey as mentioned above, and some other supplements like vitamins brached aminos, i also take creatine, it's good stuff. The results are often subtle,but they're there. And it doesn't hurt to take supplements..even if they're not doing anything physically.Just knowing you're done your all nutritionally is good for you psychologically. No doubt, just hit the weights hard and eat right, and you're doing all you can. That's a comfort.