Is Citrulline Malate the Best Pre-workout Ingredient for Increased Endurance?

Citrulline Malate has gained a solid reputation as a powerful fatigue fighter, leading many to consider it a crucial pre-workout compound. Formulated in the body during the urea cycle expressly to dispose of nitrogenous waste (nitrogen-containing metabolic waste), the heralded workout intensifier does much more than increase physical endurance, especially when combined with malic acid, which gives it greater stability and bioavailability.

THE NON-ESSENTIAL ALPHA-AMINO-ACID CITRULLINE MALATE (CM) IS PRODUCED WHEN THE AMINO ACID ORNITHINE IS COMBINED WITH CARBAMOYL PHOSPHATE (A METABOLITE INTEGRAL TO NITROGEN DISPOSAL).

In addition to greatly extending muscular performance, Citrulline Malate increases intracellular Nitric Oxide (NO) production to enhance vasodilation and blood flow to the working muscles (thus producing the much coveted muscle pump);

• Increases growth hormone;
• Optimizes BCAA utilization during workouts;
• Elevates muscle protein and creatine synthesis;
• Improves recovery.¹⁴

In light of its many performance benefits, Citrulline Malate has become a key pre-workout intensifier for all athletes, particularly those for whom repeated bouts of heavy lifting take precedence. In fact, Citrulline Malate 2:1 has proven to be so effective that it has become an essential, alongside ingredients like Agmatine and Beta-Alanine for top Pre-Workout formulas. Keep reading to discover how this heavily-researched compound may enable you to enjoy the greatest workouts of your life.

 

Why Choose Citrulline Malate 2:1?

The fact is that most of the research on performance enhancement has been done on Citrulline Malate not just Citrulline on its own. Together with Malate, Citrulline has enhanced stability as a molecule and Malate has been shown in research to have the ability to play a role in Nitric Oxide production. Malate plays a key role in the TCA (or Tricyclic Acid) cycle (also known as the Krebs Cycle) that produces energy in the body. While it is true that Citrulline is the true “driver” of the two and that Malate is more prevalent in the body, so Citrulline Malate 2:1 provides the best of both worlds, stability and effectiveness. 

Extending Intensity

Of all its performance-enhancing benefits, Citrulline Malate is perhaps best known for its fatigue fighting properties.^{4, 7, 8, 10, 16} As mentioned, Citrulline is produced during the urea cycle in which nitrogenous waste is excreted from the body. During this process, Citrulline, when produced naturally, sucks up and expedites the removal of excess metabolic waste. Citrulline supplementation supercharges the urea cycle. Ammonia (comprised of three nitrogen molecules) is thus removed from the working muscles at a much faster rate, before it can produce the much-dreaded muscle fatigue.

CITRULLINE MALATE HAS BECOME A KEY PRE-WORKOUT INTENSIFIER FOR ALL ATHLETES, PARTICULARLY THOSE FOR WHOM REPEATED BOUTS OF HEAVY LIFTING TAKE PRECEDENCE.

By accelerating ammonia clearance from the blood, Citrulline helps postpone the inevitable decrease in muscle pH that accompanies continued training intensity. When blood pH drops, muscle tissue becomes more acidic, fatigue rapidly ensues and the muscles stop short of applying maximum effort. ¹⁴ In addition, Citrulline Malate has been shown to increase oxidative ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) production by up to 34% and is therefore particularly effective when engaging with the iron. ¹² The primary fuel source for anaerobic glycolysis, ATP ultimately dictates the amount of work a lifter can perform. When increased via Citrulline supplementation, ATP is more efficiently synthesized to provide a decided edge in muscle endurance. One study highlighted Citrulline Malate’s effectiveness by demonstrating a 53% repetition increase and a 100% response on the last set among Citrulline Malate subjects.^{3, 12, 14} In this study, Citrulline Malate was shown to negate the training-induced fatigue that would normally signal the end of a grueling set. In a trial held across six gyms in which several parameters of muscular performance were assessed, a group of male strength athletes received 8g of Citrulline Malate prior to being tested on the bench press. Another group received a placebo.

…CITRULLINE MALATE HELPS POSTPONE THE INEVITABLE DECREASE IN MUSCLE PH THAT ACCOMPANIES CONTINUED TRAINING INTENSITY.

Each group was assessed on repetitions completed on the flat bench press at 80% of 1RM (One Repetition Maximum) before to stopping due to exhaustion. The Citrulline Malate subjects performed 19% more repetitions than the placebo group and a staggering 53% more on the last set. ¹² Muscle fatigue was significantly reduced in the Citrulline group, showing what smart lifters have known all along: that Citrulline Malate keeps you training harder, for longer. It was concluded that more anaerobically-produced ATP was made available via Citrulline Malate intake, which in turn enabled a significant improvement in the oxidative processes vital to extending workout performance.³ In a similar study, conducted in two-parts ^{18, 19} similar outcomes were experienced among a population of advanced level resistance-trained men. Each performed upper and lower body resistance exercises at 60% of 1RM. Results showed Citrulline Malate ingestion to have significantly increased repetitions performed for each exercise.¹⁸    

 

    Research also shows that Citrulline Malate ingestion can promote faster post-training phosphocreatine replenishment.³ A phosphorylated creatine molecule used by the body as a rapidly mobilizable reserve of high-energy phosphates, phosphocreatine is rapidly depleted during resistance training. Its replenishment and adequate supply is thus vital when seeking to optimize training performance. Citrulline Malate supplementation has also been shown to

enhance insulin sensitivity to improve nutrient partitioning thereby ensuring greater training energy resources and less fat storage.^{9, 14} Citrulline Malate may also increase growth hormone (GH) levels beyond those experienced when training without CM.¹⁴ Citrulline increases blood levels of the amino acid arginine to enhance Nitric Oxide (NO) production. Among its many functions, arginine inhibits the release of growth hormone inhibiting hormone (GHIH), or somatostatin, which normally inhibits GH production. By doing so, arginine increases GH output from the anterior pituitary gland which in turn leads to higher blood levels of GH.

CITRULLINE MALATE MAY ALSO INCREASE GROWTH HORMONE (GH) LEVELS BEYOND THOSE EXPERIENCED WHEN TRAINING WITHOUT CM.¹⁴

The muscle-building benefits of GH are widely known as is the fact that GH is released in large quantities during sleep. Less well known is the fact that GH may also be released in abundance during workouts, thus promoting even greater gains in muscle size and strength.⁶ GH can also, due to increased lipolysis, increase fat burning when working out. This means that more GH may encourage more fat to be released from fat cells to be utilized as another energy source. Citrulline Malate greatly enhances the fat-burning/muscle-building benefits of intra-workout GH production.¹⁹ 

Faster Recovery

While some people use muscle soreness to gauge workout progress, and indeed DOMS can signal training effectiveness, it’s important to note that post-workout pain is by no means a mandatory muscle growth determiner and may even be a limiting factor. In fact, sore muscles may impair strength for days and may even compromise athletic performance (in part by decreasing muscle recruitment patterns and range of motion at the joint). Muscle soreness may also increase the likelihood of injury while decreasing one’s motivation to hit the weights hard.¹³ Among Citrulline Malate’s many performance benefits is its ability to attenuate post-workout muscle soreness.¹² Citrulline may also aid in recovery by optimizing the post-workout healing process. In one study, researchers gave Citrulline Malate to a group of professional male cyclists (compromised immunity and illnesses such as upper respiratory infections are common among this demographic in light of the intensive training methods used to achieve faster race times).¹⁵

AMONG CITRULLINE MALATE’S MANY PERFORMANCE BENEFITS IS ITS ABILITY TO ATTENUATE POST-WORKOUT MUSCLE SORENESS.¹²

It was found that those who took the Citrulline Malate experienced reduced and delayed onset of the immunosuppressive mechanisms that are usually noted following intense training. The researchers concluded that Citrulline Malate may help the body to heal faster from intense training while enabling hard training athletes to avoid symptoms that are generally associated with overtraining.