SuppVersity - Nutrition and Exercise Science for Everyone

The VO2-max boosting effects of l-carnitine tartrate can be beneficial for almost every athlete. After being the hype supplement in the 1990s, carnitine eventually sank into obscurity; and while the revelation that l-carnitine tartrate may increase the androgen receptor density is the main reason it can still be found in various T-boosters and pre-workout supplements, people appear to have forgotten that the original idea of carnitine supplementation was to increase the effectivity of the carnitine shuttle and thus to increase the oxidation of fatty acids. As a recent study from the Shahid Chamran University in Iran shows, this could be a mistake. After all, Mostafa Dehghani and his colleagues were able to show that "supplementation of L-carnitine improved effectively the performance by increasing in [sic!] lipid metabolism" (Dehgani. 2015). Want to become stronger, bigger, faster and leaner? Periodize appropriately! 30% More on the Big Three: Squat, DL, BP! B...

Vegetarian athletes do lack carnitine in their diets and muscle, but whether this has significant effects on their performance appears to be questionable based on the results of the study at hand. In a recent study, researchers from the University Hospital Basel investigated whether the previously observed low carnitine levels of vegetarians could be compensated for by longterm oral treatment with 2g of l-carnitine to replenish the body carnitine pool. Furthermore, the scientists wanted to know whether this would have significant effects on (a) fuel metabolism and (b) physical performance of vegetarians and omnivores. Novakova et al. hypothesized that "treatment with carnitine would increase plasma and possibly also skeletal muscle carnitine concentrations in vegetarians and would thereby improve skeletal muscle energy metabolism and physical performance" (Novakova. 2015). Getting enough protein is still a problem for some vegetarians Protein Timing DOES Matter...

Image 1: Jacek Spychala - I must admit, I don't know if he was one of the subjects, but 38 of his colleagues from the Polish National Powerlifting Team were (powerlifting.pl) As an athlete and even as a regular fitness enthusiast, you got to chose your training and supplementation modalities according to your professional or personal goals (in fact, the failure to do so is, in my mind, one of the main causes why so many trainees do not get the desired results at the gym). A very recent study from the Department of Combat Sports and Weightlifting at the Józef Pilsudski University School of Physical Education (I wish every University had such a department ;-) in Warsaw, Poland, sheds some light onto combinations which work, and combinations which don't... and trust me you will be surprised by the results of Dr. Marek Kruszewski's controlled intervention study ( Kruszewski. 2011 ). Kruszewski recruited recruited a total of 170 (! that alone is noteworthy !) subjects wh...

Initially, carnitine was considered the super-supplement for both, the athlete seeking the ergogenic edge, as well as for the obese trying to shed unhealthy body fat. Surprisingly, however, study after study showed no to little effect on exercise performance and/or fat loss. Ultimately, it became clear that, even at very high doses, only very little of the orally delivered l-carnitine actually makes it to the muscle. Consequently, its effects on performance and body composition where negligible. Now, a very recent study by Wall et. al. ( Wall. 2011 ) found that adding a transporter, in this case l-tartrate , to the molecule does not only help to increase muscle carnitine levels, it eventually produces exactly those effects on exercise performance and substrate metabolism one would have expected from l-carnitine supplementation in the first place. The scientists had their 14 healthy male volunteers ingest either 80 g of CHO (Control) or 2 g of L-carnitine L-tartrate and ...