| I like
glutamine, because it works. When I take glutamine with HMB,
My recovery time from squats is less than half of what it is
when I am not taking either one. This is true, regardless of
what else I am taking!
Following an intense workout your body
needs to replenish glutamine stores to aid in recovery.
L-Glutamine can help increase muscle cell hydration and aid in
protein synthesis. These and more functions of L-Glutamine can
benefit athletes and bodybuilders by improving recovery and
performance.
L-Glutamine is a tasteless, odorless
powder that dissolves quickly in water. It can also be added
to your favorite protein-containing drink to help enhance
dietary intake of this conditionally essential nutrient.
Supplementing with L-Glutamine may just
be the most effective way of assisting new muscle growth!
Glutamine has become more prominent as
new studies reveal its outstanding contribution to protein
synthesis (muscle growth), anti-proteolytic (prevents muscle
tissue breakdown) functions and growth hormone elevating
effects. Glutamine provides a critical link in muscle
metabolism--a link not shared by any other single amino acid.
Glutamine is the most abundant single
amino acid in the blood and in the intracellular free amino
acid pool (most abundant amino acid in muscle tissue). It
comprises 61% of the amino acid pool in skeletal muscle.
Glutamine's unique structure, containing
two nitrogen side chains, consists of 19% nitrogen. This makes
it the primary transporter of nitrogen into the muscle cell.
In fact, glutamine alone is responsible for 35% of the
nitrogen that gets into the muscle cell. Glutamine literally
drives muscle- building nitrogen into the muscle cell where it
is synthesized for growth.
So, why supplement with glutamine?
Because glutamine concentrations fall markedly after training
and remain low until complete recovery.
What this means: the very rigors of
weight training "leak" nitrogen-carrying glutamine
from muscle tissue. This drop in glutamine is catabolic
to muscle tissue--that is, it causes muscle tissue loss.
Supplementing with glutamine spares free glutamine in muscle
tissue. This counteracts the drop in muscle protein synthesis,
and improves nitrogen balance. Now you know why it works so
well for my squats.
Glutamine overcomes "The Training
Paradox." You train with weights to build muscle. The
more intensely you train, and the heavier the overload you
subject your muscles to, the greater the growth response will
be. Glutamine is a key factor in muscle growth, and
controlling the "skeletal muscle/whole body glutamine
gradient" is critical in maintaining and building muscle
tissue. The higher the muscle glutamine levels you can
maintain, the less chance you have of falling into catabolism
and the faster muscle will grow. But now there is more.
We all know growth hormone is an
important anabolic hormone. The most important anabolic
hormone! It regulates the metabolic processes (including
protein synthesis) in almost all tissues throughout the human
lifespan. Growth hormone provokes several anabolic actions on
skeletal muscle: the uptake of glucose and amino acids,
activation of muscle protein synthesis, suppression of muscle
protein catabolism, and the utilization of body fat for
energy.
In a recent release of the prestigious American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the results of a study on
glutamine revealed that a single 2 gram oral dose of glutamine
elevated circulating growth hormone levels by over 430%!
For years athletes and bodybuilders have
been looking for a product to help them recover faster from
workouts and competition, keep their muscles well hydrated for
maximum growth and provide numerous other benefits in the
muscle building process. In recent years most athletes have
come to understand the benefits of L-Glutamine. Now further
research into this topic reveals, the benefits may be greater
than we had first thought.
L-Glutamine is the most abundant amino
acid in the body and makes up more than 60% of the
intramuscular amino acid pool. L-Glutamine plays an important
role in many body functions such as proper immune system
function, the transfer of nitrogen between organs, precursor
to DNA and regulation of protein synthesis and degradation.
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