Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. In this study of 9 elite male wrestlers, those who supplemented with arginine were able to cycle 5.9% longer than the placebo group. (23.1 minutes versus 21.8 minutes).
In a 2014 study (1), 9 elite male wrestlers completed an exercise bike test and were given either a single dose of arginine (1.5 grams of arginine for every 10 kilograms of bodyweight) or placebo for 2 weeks. Before the final exercise test, each subject underwent a 12-hour fast and was allowed water but no food between the arginine supplementation and the exercise test. Each subject then completed a bike exercise test where they started pedaling at 60-70 repetitions per minute with no resistance for 3 minutes after which then pedaled at 60 rpms but at a load of 90 watts. Resistance was then increased by 30 watts every 3 minutes until the subjects could no longer maintain the 60-70 rpm pace.
The researchers observed that those supplemented arginine were able to cycle 5.9% longer compared to the placebo group (23.1 versus 21.8 minutes, p < 0.01). No significant differences were seen regarding lactic acid levels, heart rate, or oxygen consumption between the two groups (p > 0.05).
Although the 5.5% improved exercise performance may seem trivial, it can be very significant at the elite competitive levels, with “even a relatively small change in time to exhaustion is likely to be meaningful for athletic performance”. In addition to the very small sample size of 9 subjects, the researchers stated another limitation to be that nitric oxide was not measured. Nitric oxide, according to the researchers, “was supposed to improve exercise efficiency and exercise tolerance in healthy humans and increased with arginine supplementation (2).”
For the researches, “These results suggest that L-arginine supplementation can have beneficial effects on exercise performance in elite male wrestlers” but that these results “cannot explain the metabolic pathways which are responsible from these [beneficial effects of arginine supplementation].”
Source: Yavuz, Hasan Ulas, Husrev Turnagol, and A. H. Demirel. “Pre-exercise arginine supplementation increases time to exhaustion in elite male wrestlers.” Biol. Sport 31 (2014): 187-191.
Posted April 27, 2015.
References:
- Yavuz HU. Pre-exercise arginine supplementation increases time to exhaustion in elite male wrestlers. Biol Sport 2014 Aug;31(3):187-91. doi: 10.5604/20831862.1111436. Epub 2014 Jul 15
- Bailey S.J., Winyard P.G., Vanhatalo A., Blackwell J.R., DiMenna F.J., Wilkerson D.P., Jones A.M. Acute L-arginine supplementation reduces the O2 cost of moderate-intensity exercise and enhances high-intensity exercise tolerance. J. Appl. Physiol. 2010;109:1394-1403
