Performance Power Amino Loader

Performance Power Amino Loader from Amino Man provides powerful proven aminos and compounds to increase strength, endurance and power.

This special loader features specialised nutrients designed to improve muscle function, blood glucose balance and capacity, and help with the uptake of performance nutrients into the cells.

Performance Power Amino Loader can be taken as a powerful, standalone muscle optimizing boost before or during exercise, or as a perfect addition to enhance your existing protein supplement regimen.

Performance Power Amino Loader contains 98% free form amino acids, b-vitamins, exercise enhancing and muscle hypertrophy enhancing nutrients in clinical level doses to support muscle protein synthesis, prevent catabolism, and increase work load capacity!

Performance Power Amino Loader is specially formulated for athletes seeking to achieve maximum performance. Special Loader supports the proper function of signaling and secondary messenger molecules that are involved in key biological processes, including insulin signal transduction, cytoskeleton assembly, nerve guidance, Intracellular calcium concentration control, cell membrane potential maintenance, breakdown of fats, and gene expression.

PROVIDING

• 5 grams of essential aminos, + BCAAs including leucine
• 5 grams of creapure creatine per serving
• 2.5 grams of beta-alanine
• 2.5g Tyrosine
• 2.0 grams citrulline malate
• 600mg of taurine
• 1.6g of oligofructose

PERFORMANCE AMINO LOADER

Creatine

Creatine is a peptide molecule found primarily in the skeletal muscle in the body, and has a role in the production of energy in the muscle cells. More specifically, phosphocreatine – which is created from creatine – regenerates ATP that is used up during the first few seconds of muscle contraction, thereby prolonging the initial burst of energy and power in short-term, high intensity exercise.

It has been shown that taking creatine supplements can increase the concentration of both free creatine and phosphocreatine in the muscle [1,2].

Because of the role of phosphocreatine in ATP production, creatine supplementation has been widely researched for its potential to improve exercise performance. Particularly good results are found for high-intensity bursts of physical activity such as sprinting and maximal-effort muscle contractions, showing improvements in power and force [3,4,5].

As well as providing an immediate or ‘acute’ increase in power, creatine supplementation has also been found to favour an increase in muscle strength and size when used regularly over the course of a strength training programme. A randomised controlled trial published in the Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise journal subjected 23 male volunteers to a 6-week arm flexor strength training programme, giving them either creatine monohydrate (5g four times a day for 5 days, then 2g a day) or a placebo. At the end of the 6 weeks, those taking the creatine had a greater improvement in their arm flexor one repetition maximum (1RM = the maximum amount lifted for one rep) than the placebo group, increasing to 54.7kg for the creatine group but to just 49.3 kg for the placebo group. Upper arm muscle area increased by a mean of 7.9cm for the creatine group but did not change for the placebo group.[6] A review in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research looked at 22 studies examining the effect of creatine combined with resistance exercise on muscle strength and weightlifting performance. Combining the results of all the studies, the authors found that the average increase in muscle strength following creatine supplementation was 8% greater than the average increase with placebo (20% vs. 12%), and the average increase in weightlifting performance was 14% greater in those taking creatine than a placebo (when all groups were doing resistance exercise).[7]

In terms of how creatine improves muscle strength and size, one of its actions may be to increase the proportion of satellite cells in the muscle. These are cells that can provide additional nuclei to the enlarging muscle fibres, hence playing an important role in the growth of adult skeletal muscle [8]. In a randomised controlled study on 32 healthy men doing strength training, it was found that creatine supplementation produced greater enhancements in satellite cell proliferation at weeks 4 and 8 compared to supplementation with protein or a placebo. The study also found that creatine supplementation resulted in an increased number of nuclei per fibre and increases of 14–17% in mean muscle fibre area throughout the study. [8]

Creatine may also support energy by improving glucose uptake into cells and muscle glycogen storage. A study on 20 adults given creatine at a loading dose of 20g for five days followed by 2g a day found that the loading dose increased muscle glycogen content by an average of 18% (although this was not maintained with the dose of 2g a day).[9] Creatine has also been found to improve glucose tolerance: a study on 22 sedentary healthy men found that those taking creatine for three months in conjunction with moderate aerobic training had a greater improvement in glucose tolerance than the group taking placebo and doing the same aerobic activity [10]. This indicates an improvement in glucose uptake into the cells.

Creatine is also thought to be essential for cognitive function, as it is needed to provide energy to the brain. Animal research has shown that creatine is important for normal brain development and function [11]; and infants born with depletion of creatine in the body and brain due to an inborn defect show mental retardation and learning disabilities, that can be corrected with creatine supplementation [12, 13]. To test its effects on cognitive function in healthy adults, one trial gave 19 adults either creatine at 5g four times a day for 7 days, or a placebo, then tested their cognitive and psychomotor performance and mood before and after 24 hours of sleep deprivation. They found that the creatine group showed less deterioration in performance after the sleep deprivation including tests of reaction time and balance, and less change in mood, concluding that ‘creatine supplementation had a positive effect on mood state and tasks that place a heavy stress on the prefrontal cortex’ [14].

Beta alanine 

Beta-alanine is another amino acid that has a role in muscle function – but not in muscle protein synthesis. Beta-alanine combines with L-histidine, another amino acid, to make a dipeptide called carnosine, which is stored in the muscle. Carnosine has various roles in muscle function, as we’ll discuss below. Beta-alanine supplementation has been found to significantly increase carnosine in the muscle – one human study found that giving 3.2g and 6.4g of beta-alanine for four weeks resulted in an increase of 42% and 64% in muscle carnosine.[15]

One of the primary effects of carnosine in muscle is that it buffers lactic acid that builds up during intensive (anaerobic) exercise, delaying the onset of muscle fatigue [16]. This can help to improve endurance. Several studies have examined the effects of beta-alanine in reducing muscle fatigue through this mechanism. One placebo-controlled trial on 15 sprinters gave the participants either beta-alanine (2.4g/day building up to 4.8g/day) or a placebo for 4–5 weeks. Before and after the supplementation period their performance on 5 x 30 bouts of knee extensions and a 400 m race was evaluated. It was found that those taking the beta-alanine had significant improvements in peak torque (force) for bouts 4 and 5 of the knee extensions, relative to their pre-supplementation performance and relative to the placebo group. (The 400-m run performance was not improved.)[17] Another notable placebo-controlled trial gave 22 women either a beta-alanine supplement or a placebo for 28 days, testing several measures of exercise performance before and at the end of the supplementation period. It was found that those taking the beta alanine had a 13.9% improvement in ventilatory threshold (the point when breathing surpasses normal ventilation rate – a measure of anaerobic capacity and lactate accumulation), 12.6% increase in ‘physical working capacity at fatigue’ (a measure of ability to resist fatigue) and a 2.5% increase in time to exhaustion. The placebo group showed no improvements.[18] These studies therefore indicate that beta-alanine can help to delay fatigue in the muscles, especially in intensive exercise.

Beta-alanine supplementation may also specifically improve explosive performance and enhance muscle contractility (capacity of the muscle to contract). A study on nine male elite alpine skiers found that supplementing with 4.8g per day of beta-alanine for five weeks improved measures of explosive and jump performance that were not seen in those taking a placebo.[19] This may happen through a different mechanism than buffering lactic acid: it’s thought that carnosine may improve muscle contractility by increasing free calcium inside the cells (calcium is needed for muscle contraction) and sensitising contractile proteins to calcium.[20]

Carnosine has also been found to have antioxidant and anti-aging activity, as well as hypoglycaemic (blood sugar-lowering) and anti-glycation activity [21, 22, 23]. As an antioxidant, its activities are thought to include scavenging reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species – types of ‘free radical’.[24] Glycation is a process in which sugar molecules bind to protein or fat molecules in an uncontrolled way, preventing the function of those molecules and causing damage to cells and tissues – for example stiffening of the arteries. Carnosine has been found to inhibit protein glycation and even reverse glycated protein, helping to prevent this damage. It has also been found to lower blood sugar in animal studies of diabetes, possibly by increasing insulin secretion to improve uptake of glucose into the cells. [23]

L-Tyrosine

L-tyrosine is an amino acid that is incorporated into proteins in the body. But tyrosine is best-known for its role in the production of the thyroid hormones thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), which are made from tyrosine and the mineral iodine. Thyroid hormones govern metabolism, including the production of energy from the food that we eat. As well as directly affecting energy levels, thyroid hormones have an influence on body weight, muscle strength, mood, cognitive function and memory, and heart rate – amongst others. Tyrosine is also a precursor to other hormones: adrenaline and noradrenaline, which are involved in the ‘fight or flight’ stress response, and have a role in energy, motivation and a drive and determination nuerotransmitter – which is involved in reward and pleasure, amongst other functions.

So the body uses tyrosine to produce hormones that govern energy and metabolism. But does supplementing tyrosine help with energy or performance? There seem to have been very few studies carried out to examine this effect. One double-blind trial published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology examined the effects of tyrosine on exercise performance in the heat. Eight healthy male volunteers performed two separate cycling trials to exhaustion in 30°C heat and 60% relative humidity, after consuming either a drink containing 150mg of tyrosine per kg body weight, or a placebo drink. The volunteers were able to cycle longer after taking the tyrosine compared to the placebo (an average of 80.3 minutes versus 69.2 minutes). Tyrosine is thought to improve exercise tolerance in heat by increasing availability of a motivation in the brain. [28] However, other similar studies found that tyrosine did not have an effect on performance, even in the heat.

Tyrosine may support growth and repair of muscles via a role in the activity of growth hormone. Although other amino acids such as arginine and ornithine are better known for their role in stimulating growth hormone secretion, tyrosine residues are present in growth hormone receptors and may be necessary for normal responses to growth hormone in the cells. In an animal study it was found that replacing tyrosine residues with another amino acid (phenylalanine) in growth hormone receptors resulted in reduced protein synthesis in the cell. The researchers concluded that tyrosine residues are required for these selected cellular responses to growth hormone.[29]

Tyrosine is also known to have antioxidant activity. A lab study found that tyrosine has scavenging activity against several free radicals, including superoxide and hydrogen peroxide radicals [30]. This may be relevant to exercise performance because one of the contributing factors to muscle fatigue and damage during exercise is the production of free radicals, which are a natural by-product of energy metabolism in cells. Therefore, antioxidants may help to reduce fatigue and muscle damage. [31]. However, there seems to be limited or no research examining this potential effect of tyrosine supplementation.

L-Taurine

L-taurine is an amino acid that is not incorporated into proteins, but is one of the most abundant amino acids in almost every tissue in the body, including in the muscle cells [32]. It has roles in many different processes in the body including detoxification, bile acid production (needed to emulsify and efficiently absorb fats and fat-soluble vitamins), and growth and development [33, 34]. Taurine is needed for the normal functioning of skeletal muscle, including calcium-dependent muscle contraction, regulating cell volume, and aiding in antioxidant defence [35].

L-taurine supplementation has been studied for its potential to improve exercise performance, with some positive results. In a 2013 double-blind study on eight male middle-distance runners, the participants took either a 1000mg taurine supplement or a placebo two hours before performing a 3-km time trial. The average time trial result was slightly improved when taking the taurine: 647 seconds compared to 659 seconds when taking the placebo – an equivalent of 1.7% improvement. However, the authors said that the mechanism behind this improvement (how taurine is improving performance) was not clear.[36] Another trial on 11 men participating in bicycle ergometer exercises until exhaustion found that seven days of taurine supplementation increased their VO₂max (maximal oxygen uptake, a measure of aerobic endurance), time to exhaustion and maximal workload. In this case, the researchers theorised that taurine may enhance exercise capacity through protecting against exercise-induced DNA damage and protecting the cells (i.e. acting as an antioxidant). [37] And an animal study found that giving rats 100mg and 500mg of taurine per kg body weight per day for two weeks improved the rats’ running time to exhaustion by 25% and 50% respectively, compared to those who were not given taurine.[38]

Taurine may also have a role in glucose regulation and insulin sensitivity. Many studies have investigated this link. A study on mice indicated that taurine may control glucose homeostasis (regulation) both by regulating the expression of genes required for glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, and by enhancing insulin sensitivity [39]. Other studies have also indicated that taurine can enhance the action of insulin, and facilitate the interaction of insulin with its receptor, amongst others effects [40]. All this means that taurine may help the cells to take up glucose for energy, as well as other nutrients including amino acids for protein synthesis.

L-Lysine

Lysine is an essential amino acid – one that the body cannot make itself and must be supplied by our diet. It is found primarily in animal proteins; plant proteins generally contain a much lower percentage of lysine, and therefore levels can become deficient in those who eat little or no animal protein.

Supplementing L-lysine has been found to support muscle strength in adult men. In an experiment on 40 men – half of whom were under-nourished and half well-nourished – it was found that increasing the lysine intake of the well-fed men up to a total of 80mg per kilo body weight (which entailed giving them about an extra 2 grams of lysine per day) increased their muscle strength by about 7.5 percent after 8 weeks. [61, 62]

It’s also been found that lysine and arginine together may reduce levels of cortisol – one of the body’s stress hormones. This is interesting for athletes or those trying to build muscle strength or size because cortisol is a catabolic hormone that increases breakdown of muscle; and so reducing cortisol levels – especially post-exercise – may support muscle growth. The study behind this theory was a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 108 Japanese adults in which supplemented group were given a combination of 2.64g each of lysine and arginine per day. It was found that the men given the supplement showed an 18% reduction in basal cortisol levels (i.e. their cortisol levels before a stressful event), and speeded up their return to normal cortisol levels after a stressful event. What’s more – although this is not as specifically relevant to strength or muscle gain – both male and female participants who took the lysine and arginine supplement showed significantly reduced anxiety levels both before and after the stressful event [63, 64].

L-Methionine

Methionine is another essential amino acid – one that the body cannot make itself and must be supplied by our diet. Methionine is used for protein synthesis, and is one of the primary amino acids that make up the contractile tissue in muscles [71].

As well as playing a role in structural proteins, methionine is one of the three amino acids that are used to make creatine (the others being arginine and methionine). Creatine, as previously discussed, is a peptide stored primarily in the skeletal muscle in the body; it has a role in the phosphocreatine system, which regenerates ATP in the muscle after the first few seconds of muscle contraction, prolonging the immediate burst of energy. Again, creatine may also have several other roles, including supporting an increase in muscle strength and size, supporting glycogen storage in muscles and also supporting cognitive function by providing energy to the brain (see our write-up on Creatine for full details).

Methionine can also be converted in the body to SAMe (s-adenosyl methionine). SAMe is a methyl donor that participates in many of our body’s essential processes, including neurotransmitter production, DNA repair, and producing the antioxidant molecule glutathione. As well as protecting cells against free radical damage, studies suggest that increasing glutathione availability in the muscles can delay muscle fatigue and improve performance during exercise by limiting oxidative stress (build-up of free radicals) and reducing the acidity that results from lactic acid production. [72, 73]

Citrulline malate

L-Citrulline is a non-essential amino acid that can be produced in the body from glutamine and ornithine. Contrary to some of the other amino acids we have discussed, it is not used directly in protein synthesis. Instead, citrulline is converted directly to arginine in the kidneys, and may then provide many of the same benefits as arginine itself in terms of supporting nitric oxide production (or even greater benefits, as we will see below).

Because of this role as an arginine precursor, citrulline has been widely studied for its potential to support exercise performance. In a 2010 randomized placebo-controlled trial on 41 men, researchers at the University of Cordoba found that men who took a single high dose of citrulline malate before training increased their number of repetitions in barbell presses at 80% of their 1-rep max (i.e. 80% of the weight at which they could only do 1 rep) compared to when taking a placebo. The more sets they did, the more the citrulline supplementation seemed to help, with the men achieving almost 53% more reps in the last set when taking citrulline versus placebo, indicating it was reducing fatigue. In this trial the participants also reported a decrease of 40% in muscle soreness at 24 and 48 hours post-exercise when taking the citrulline supplement. [78] In a similar study by US researchers, 14 resistance-trained men took either a placebo or a citrulline malate supplement and then performed three sets of chin-ups, reverse chin-ups and push-ups to failure (i.e. for as long as they could keep going). The citrulline supplement significantly increased the average number of reps they could do in each exercise – for example, 32.1 versus 26.6 in the reverse chin-ups. [79]

Citrulline has also been found in some studies to have similar benefits for women. In a 2015 placebo-controlled trial, 15 women took a single dose of citrulline malate before resistance exercise – this time both bench press and leg press to test upper and lower-body performance. The participants did more reps in both exercises when taking the citrulline supplement compared to the placebo – for example, completing an average total of 66.7 reps in leg press versus just 55.1. The women also reported significantly less ‘perception of exertion’ in the bench press exercise when taking the citrulline – i.e. they didn’t feel that they were working as hard to achieve the reps. [80]

But if the benefits of citrulline are derived from its conversion to arginine, why not just take arginine? Research indicates that while taking arginine can cause larger spikes in blood levels of arginine (i.e. the peak levels after taking the supplement), supplementation with citrulline may be more effective at maintaining higher arginine levels for longer periods of time [81]. In fact, taking the two together is sometimes found be more effective than either alone. As an example, Japanese researchers found that giving rabbits a combination of arginine and citrulline improved nitric oxide availability compared to supplementing either amino acid alone [82].

Branched-chain amino acids (L-Leucine, L-Isoleucine, L-Valine)

The branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are leucine, isoleucine and valine. They are a sub-group of the essential amino acids. They may account for only around 18% of muscle proteins, but are thought to be particularly important for muscle protein synthesis and repair, playing more than just a structural role. Supplementing BCAAs may also be helpful for supporting performance and reducing fatigue during exercise.

All three BCAAs – leucine in particular – have been found to both increase protein synthesis and decrease protein degradation in resting human muscles, i.e. have an anabolic effect [93, 94]. As well as acting as a substrate (raw material) for protein synthesis, they seem to affect the signalling pathways that control it [93, 95] – i.e. they act like a ‘switch’ to turn on protein synthesis in the muscle.

Through this mechanism, taking BCAAs before or during training may also reduce muscle damage, reduce muscle fatigue and soreness and promote recovery. In a trial on 30 young men and women, half were given a 5g (5000mg) BCAAs mixture and the other half a placebo drink before performing a squat exercise test designed to induce delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and muscle fatigue. Those who took the BCAAs reported lower levels of muscle soreness from immediately after the exercise to four days later, with the women actually experiencing a greater reduction than the men. The ratings of muscle fatigue were also lower in the BCAAs groups, from day 2 to day 5 after the exercise [96]. In another study on 12 long-distance runners taking part in a 3-day intensive training, those who took a BCAA-containing drink throughout the training reported 32% reduced muscle soreness and 24% lower muscle fatigue compared to the group taking the placebo drink (that contained the same number of calories). They also had lower levels of creatine kinase and other markers of muscle damage in their blood [97].

Taking BCAAs may reduce central fatigue during exercise, and therefore improve performance. Central fatigue occurs in the nervous system rather than the muscles, and is thought to be caused by an increase in levels of neurotransmitters such as serotonin in the brain, which tend to make us feel more relaxed, potentially causing feelings of fatigue even when the muscles should still be able to produce energy. But what’s the role of BCAAs here? As BCAAs get pulled into muscle and depleted from the blood during exercise, this allows more tryptophan to be taken into the brain (as there is less competition for uptake), which then converts to serotonin.  So supplementing BCAAs may help to maintain their levels in the blood, reducing that influx of tryptophan. [98] One trial on seven endurance cyclists found that when the participants took a BCAAs drink during exercise, they reported less perceived exertion (how hard they thought they were working) and less mental fatigue than when taking a placebo drink (7% and 15% lower, respectively). [99] Another small double-blind trial on seven participants found that those who took BCAAs at 300mg/kg body weight for three days prior to exercise showed greater resistance to fatigue (17.2%) when compared to the placebo  [100].

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