glutamine.

good stuff, id take 3-5g a night before i went to bed. the stuff in powder tasted really bad and i couldnt stand the aftertaste or any stomach aches. so right before bed i could drink and sleep and feel fine the next day. just so happens this amino acid if taken before bed also increases hGH secretion. i didnt know that at the time. well i must say the taste was the worst but at the same time i think it really helped me. id be fresh and strong and ready to go. if taken with creatine i heard then together they help a lot, um its kinda of true, when i was taking glutamine before sleep i was taking creatine during the day and in the end i dropped some amazing times and it was all natural. sounds like an ad for glutamine, but really i just wanted to say how i feel this is a must for my running. id just make sure u mix it well and gulp pluggin your nose. l-glutamine the smaller peptide is not as effective but if u just want a pill to swallow thats a weaker version then i guess u want l-glutamine, it was a big effect to find glutamine peptide and not l-glutamine but i think its an effort thats safe to make to help ur running.

right after workout, didnt help recovery much and stomach felt bad

before workout, if i was doubling this was very helpful, come the second run i was very fresh feeling and very positive,

before bed, id have a good week, wouldnt be so tired and sore and was energetic with some good workouts, legs would be tight now and then but it really helped me in the long run.

go buy some (not the l-glutamine) glutamine peptide, it cant hurt you, it just tastes nasty so swallow it quick -and dont sniff it either- yuck

long happy trails

NO.

carb is better fuel than gluc for long distance runner.

Ill give you the magic word:

"OATMEAL"

karangasem

carbohydrates won't do anything to help your muscles rebuild themselves.

But there is no real evidence to suggest Glutamine will. However it is proven that Glutamine will force more water into muscular cells within the body - therefore your muscles can "last" fractions longer under intense stress. However - under serious, prolonged activity, the breakdown of Glutamine causes large amounts of Ammonia, and this is toxic to the body, and directly affects muscle function. Really, the disadvantages, out-weight the benefits. Glutamine is most used by Body-Builders etc, because of that water-shunting ability - A) to make the muscles appear larger, and B) Body Builders tend to train hypertrophically (serious overload, and minimal duration) so it works for them. But really, the best stuff you can take as a runner IS oatmeal, as alluded to earlier! But I would prefer to take whey protein - (low fat, low carb) in order to improve muscle strength - even for distance runners, if I was going to take a supplement, not glutamine. Unless you want to run 3min26 for 1500, or 7min53 for steeples, then I would suggest taking EPO or Human Growth Hormone.

washed up wrote:

carbohydrates won't do anything to help your muscles rebuild themselves.

That in fact is very wrong. Remember carbohydrate refers not JUST to complex carbs (oatmeal, grains etc) but also to simple carbs - ie ALL sugars, glucose, fructose etc. Ever done a really hard anaerobic session? - course you have - you know why your muscles are screaming - sure - lactic acid - a bi-product of Muscle Glycogen breakdown (along with water) OK, inital hurt due to lactic acid - but, the truth is, lactic acid cycles through the system very quickly, yet why are we still sore hours - even days after a hard session. Its called Kitosis. Muscles need to replenish themselves with Glycogen no matter what. But if we dont replace that ourselves - where does it come from? - Fat. Our body fat. Fat from our legs, and even the fat that our muscles contain - this is what the burn is. Ever seen those crap infomercials saying you can eat lots of meat, protein, etc, etc - lose fat, weight etc? - ever wonder why a Body Builder eats NO carbs, weeks before a comp?? - this is why. Back to the point. In order to stop this process of Kitosis, we must immediatly eat, or drink something straight after training that is HIGH in simple carbs, so that the glycogen can be replenished very quickly. It is scientifically proven that there is a very small time "window" after intense training, that, IF muscle glycogen is replaced, the result can be an improvement in muscle glycogen amount, and also the top-level amount of glycogen the muscle holds - which, simply, the more glycogen in the muscle, the longer the muscle will work, and the better we run. That is why bananas - which are often seen as a good pre-run food - should be taken immediatly after training, racing etc - and are pointless before. That is why Coca-Cola is actually a good liquid to take post-session because of the high amount of simple sugar it takes. Too ofetn runners neglect simple carbs under the impression they are pointless - before a race true, after, no. So in reply to your statement, that is further from the truth, carbs WILL replenish muscles. The term "re-build" here, I am sure refers to not the literal building of muscles (of course ONLY protein can do this - nothing else) but the word is "replenish"

no, when i said "rebuild" i meant "rebuild." after a hard workout, be it a hard hill workout or lifting weights, the soreness that comes on the next day and the day after that has NOTHING to do with lack of muscle glycogen, it has everything to do with breakdown of muscle.

work out hard and muscle cells are actually damaged by the exercise. over the next 24-48 hours these damaged cells are broken down and excreted by your body. that is why your muscles hurt so damn much the day or two after the workout. after the breakdown they are beduilt for the next 48-72 hours.

i think you are a little confused about what ketosis is. simply doing a hard workout is NOT going to put you in a state of ketosis. you need to work a hell of a lot harder than that to get into serious ketosis. go run for four hours and don't eat any carbs for the next few days and you'll be there for sure. but that's besides that point.

and i agree with the other guy that distance runners should use whey protein concentrates, not glutamine.

I think you meant "ketosis", otherwise your biochem is right on the mark.

damn! I was wondering about that one - I wrote it at 11.30pm, so cut me some slack.

sorry - breakdown of muscle? there is no such thing. In fact once you have built muscle tissue, it remains with you for ever, sorry pal - used, or un-used, it is there for ever. What makes your muscles go? - there is only one thing - muscle glycogen, and a few other minor amylases etc - but glycogen is the primary source. If you are using the term rebuild, and "rebuild" as you so put it - there is NO SUCH THING. Glycogen level has everything to do with muscle soreness. And trust me - Im pretty sure Im not confused about what ketosis is.

No breakdown of muscle, it is there forever? Where did you learn that? What happens to old people who were once very muscular as younger people? What happens to starvation victims and POW's in concentration camps(what steroids were actually invented for)? What happens to everyone who excercises strenuously? Your muscles breakdown for a variety of reasons. Mechanically and metabolically. You need to rebuild and re-fuel. You need both carbs and protein.

cut the protein out of your diet and we'll see how you feel. you're talking about maintaining muscle fuel. i'm talking muscle mass. you need both. you need carbs and protein.

Im not denying that. I am the first to agree with you. Many athletes primarily take only carbs under the impression that its what they should do. But many dont know that if you dont balance the level of carbs and protein correctly (its actually very close to 50-50) that you can incur a hormonal defficiency, which seriously affects performance. I would never cut out the protein of my diet - I possibly eat more protein than carbs PURPOSELY.

Try L-Glutamine after hard workouts it seems to help. I have read science both ways but I know that I personally am less sore after hard workouts when I take it than when I don't. Everybody is different though.

Yes, it works!