Straight to the Bar

All Things Strength

HELPING YOU GET STRONGER SINCE 2004

Gettin’ Swole, Part 2
Posted By Derek Peruo
Filed In : Diet and Nutrition | Strength Training Product Reviews
Now L-Citrulline Performance Supplement

L-Citrulline: The underdog of strength!



Today we have a brief follow-up review of Arginine’s baby brother, L-Citrulline.
Like I stated last month, Arginine is an amino acid, and acts as a vasodilator. It stimulates nitric oxide and creatine production, which means lifting more weight, moving faster, and recovering quicker after each workout. The recommended dose for arginine is 5-10 grams pre-workout.
Potent stuff. I highly recommend it!
Citrulline works in a similar way, and is the precursor to Arginine in the Citrulline-Arginine-Ornithine Cycle. It is found in high quantities in watermelon, watermelon rind, and some other citrus fruits, and is much easier to digest and absorb than Arginine. Therefore, it is more bioavailable.
At dosages of 6-8 g/day, Citrulline has been shown to improve aerobic and anaerobic performance by way of ammonia detoxification and nitric oxide synthesis.
And who doesn’t want a boost in performance?!


But for my money, I would still go with L-Arginine over L-Citrulline.
You see, while experimenting with Arginine, not only did my workout intensity improve, but so did my body composition!
At first, I thought the change in body comp was due to higher workout intensities. But after reproducing the body compostion changes by taking 6-7 grams of Arginine pre-night-of-partying-like-a-rock-star, I’m starting to think there is more to it than just increased workout intensity.
The fact that Arginine improves insulin sensitivity and increases serum growth hormone levels, and Citrulline does not, could explain why I did not experience the same awesome body composition changes while taking Citrulline.
Take Arginine, party all night, wake up shredded.
I think I just discovered the magic formula for weight loss.
Granted, my experiment is not the most scientific in the world; but I’ve been able to repeat the results on at least four occasions, and I bet you could too.
Pick up a bottle of NOW L-Arginine and L-Citrulline and do the experiment for yourself. Post your results below.
Now Arginine Pills ==> eVitamins.com
Now Arginine Powder ==> eVitamins.com
Now Citrulline Pills ==> eVitamins.com
Now Citrulline Powder ==> eVitamins.com

Incidentally, if this has got you thinking about your own diet, you might like to swing by Examine.com. Fantastic site.

Over to you. Drop us a line on Twitter ( @scottbird ), or add a comment below.

Cheers.

 

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Written By Derek Peruo
Derek Peruo, CSCS, is the owner of Renaissance Fitness, an exclusive personal training service based in New York City. He shares his training philosophy via magazines such as Men's Fitness, Muscle & Fitness, and Men's Health. And of course Straight to the Bar.
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