There is an old saying that surmises too much of anything is never good. Well, I’m here to tell you that whoever came up with that theory, never supplemented correctly with Glutamine! The fundamental approach to supplementing with glutamine is to constantly replace any intramuscular/intracellular glutamine that is lost through resistance training and add to what the body is already capable of producing. Fully saturated muscle tissues are what you should be striving for with your glutamine use and by following the protocol outlined later in this article, you’ll only be setting yourself up for success.
What is Glutamine?
Glutamine is a five-carbon neutral amino acid containing two carboxyl groups one of which is bound to nitrogen, forming an amide group. It is the most abundant free amino acid in the body. In the extracellular fluid, it constitutes about 25% of the free amino acid pool, in skeletal muscle more than 60%. Due to the body’s ability to produce glutamine naturally, it is considered a non-essential amino acid and regular production of the amino acid contributes to an entire host of processes in the body, one of which just happens to be muscle repair.
More reasons to use Glutamine
Glutamine has numerous functions in normal physiology, for example, it acts as a precursor for protein synthesis, and it also provides the nitrogen for synthesis of other key muscle builders such as arginine and taurine. Glutamine may have some affect on the stress-induced accumulation of extracellular fluid as well by changing the cellular hydration state. An increase in cellular hydration acts as an anabolic signal making the muscle a healthier muscle and one ready to move around some heavy weight for more growth. One final reason for supplementing with glutamine and perhaps the most important one is when glutamine levels within the body drop, the body turns to breaking down muscle protein for additional glutamine stores, therefore, putting the body in a catabolic state and reversing any of the positive effects from training, eating and supplementing.
How much should I use?
Many products out there now include some level of glutamine within their products that are not glutamine specific. For this reason, I have been asked many times if it is necessary to supplement with a glutamine specific product if an alternative product already contains it. My answer is a simple yes, and let me explain. A study conducted on the chronically ill who had extremely low glutamine levels found that when given a supplement protocol with a baseline dose of 25 grams of glutamine daily, showed significant signs of improvement in muscle function and regularity. Based on these findings, it is my opinion that if someone who is sick can handle as much as 25 grams a day, and they are not putting their bodies through the rigors of training, then someone who is, such as a bodybuilder, can handle much more to keep muscles saturated.
The worst case scenario for any bodybuilder or athlete is to misinterpret the definition of glutamine as a non-essential amino acid and assume what the body produces is more than enough. It might be for the average person who couldn’t tell the difference between a dumbbell and a barbell, but for the iron warriors fighting every day for muscle gain, supplementing accordingly is the only way to go. Keep training hard, load up on the glutamine and enjoy the benefits that follow.
