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More
Reps,
Less
Fatigue:
Instantly
Get
more
reps
from
every
set
and
stay
energized
through
the
toughest
workouts.
Here’s
how.
Jake
is
pumped
for
Monday’s
leg
workout.
He’s
well-rested
and
motivated.
He’s
so
excited
that
he
walks
out
of
the
house
without
his
usual
workout
nutrition
drink.
No
biggie,
he
thinks.
Nothing
will
keep
him
from
training
his
favorite
body
part.
After
his
warm-up,
he
heads
over
to
the
leg
press
machine.
He
likes
full-range
presses
where
his
knees
almost
touch
his
face,
and
he
knows
exactly
how
many
reps
he
can
get
with
certain
loads.
But
today,
something
is
off.
He
hits
only
5
reps
using
a
weight
he
normally
gets
8
to
10
with.
And
the
workout
didn’t
get
much
better
after
that.
Forty
minutes
in
and
he
was
pooped,
and
he
still
had
more
to
do.
The
next
day,
Jake
was
way
more
sore
than
normal.
More
soreness
from
a
not-so-great
workout?
That
sucks.
The
only
thing
Jake
did
differently
was
forget
his
workout
drink.
Did
workout
nutrition
make
that
much
of
a
difference?
His
drink
of
choice
doesn’t
even
contain
stimulants.
He
remembered
his
drink
for
his
next
leg
workout.
He
hit
10
reps
on
every
set
of
the
leg
press
using
the
same
weight
he’d
used
previously.
An
hour
into
his
workout,
he
wasn’t
even
fatigued.
And
the
next
day?
Not
sore
at
all.
Jake
had
experienced
something
that
most
of
us
have
learned
over
the
years:
sometimes
you
don’t
realize
what
a
supplement
is
doing
until
you
run
out
of
it
or
forget
to
use
it.
The
supplement
in
this
case
was
Surge
Workout
Fuel
(Buy
at
Amazon),
and
the
difference-making
ingredient
was
probably
l-citrulline
malate.
What
is
Citrulline
Malate?
It’s
a
compound
made
of
citrulline,
an
amino
acid,
and
an
organic
salt
of
malic
acid
called
malate.
Citrulline
is
involved
in
the
urea
cycle.
It
helps
remove
ammonia
from
your
body.
(Ammonia
is
a
natural
waste
product
of
protein
metabolism.)
Citrulline
is
also
involved
in
arginine
production.
Arginine
is
an
amino
important
for
nitric
oxide
synthesis,
which
improves
blood
flow
and
nutrient
delivery
to
muscles
during
hard
training.
The
malate
part
is
involved
in
the
Krebs
cycle
–
the
process
of
generating
energy
in
cells.
When
you
combine
citrulline
and
malate
into
citrulline
malate,
it
enhances
athletic
performance
and
reduces
muscle
fatigue.
It
increases
ATP
production,
improves
endurance,
and
reduces
soreness.
Has
It
Been
Studied?
Yep.
One
study
published
in
the
Journal
of
Strength
and
Conditioning
Research
found
that
cyclists
who
supplemented
with
citrulline
malate
experienced
increased
time
to
exhaustion
compared
to
those
who
took
a
placebo.
A
study
published
in
the
European
Journal
of
Applied
Physiology
reported
that
participants
who
consumed
citrulline
malate
experienced
a
significant
decrease
in
subjective
feelings
of
fatigue
compared
to
a
placebo
group
during
high-intensity
cycling.
An
animal
study
published
in
the
Journal
of
Applied
Physiology
found
that
citrulline
malate
supplementation
increased
ATP
production
during
exercise.
A
study
from
the
Journal
of
Strength
and
Conditioning
Research
found
that
participants
who
consumed
citrulline
malate
experienced
less
muscle
soreness
24
and
48
hours
after
intense
exercise
compared
to
a
placebo
group.
Spanish
researchers
noted
a
52%
increase
in
weight
training
performance
(bench
press
reps
to
failure
at
80%
of
maximum)
from
citrulline
malate
taken
before
training.
It
also
reduced
subjects’
muscle
soreness
by
40%.
As
reported
in
The
Journal
of
Strength
&
Conditioning
Research,
advanced
lifters
–
after
ingesting
citrulline
malate
–
were
able
to
increase
the
reps
performed
during
five
sets
to
failure
of
the
leg
press,
leg
extension,
and
hack
squat
using
60
percent
of
their
1RM.
Citrulline
malate
allowed
women
to
perform
more
reps
to
failure
during
6
sets
of
bench
press
and
leg
press
at
80
percent
of
1RM
according
to
a
study
in
the
European
Journal
of
Nutrition.
A
similar
study
showed
the
same
when
experienced
lifters
used
bodyweight
exercises
like
pull-ups
and
push-ups.
Citrulline
malate
supplementation
may
also
increase
nitric
oxide
production,
which
improves
blood
flow
and
nutrient
delivery
to
muscles
during
training.
However,
research
is
a
bit
mixed.
Some
studies
show
a
big
increase
in
nitric
oxide
levels;
others
show
little
to
no
effect.
About
that
last
bullet
point:
This
is
probably
a
matter
of
dosage.
Not
every
study
on
citrulline
malate
is
positive,
but
when
you
dig
a
little
deeper,
you
find
that
these
studies
typically
use
only
2
grams
of
citrulline
malate,
whereas
the
positive
studies
use
at
least
6
grams.
Since
it’s
usually
part
of
a
supplement
formula,
make
sure
your
supp
contains
6
grams.
Where
Do
I
Get
Citrulline
Malate?
Citrulline
malate
is
one
component
in
the
Surge
Workout
Fuel
(Buy
at
Amazon)
formula.
Each
serving
contains
6
grams
using
the
proven
2:1
ratio.
Along
with
citrulline
malate,
Surge
contains
the
following
performance
enhancers:
References
Wax,
B.,
Kavazis,
A.
N.,
Weldon,
K.,
&
Sperlak,
J.
(2015).
“Effects
of
supplemental
citrulline
malate
ingestion
during
repeated
bouts
of
lower-body
exercise
in
advanced
weightlifters.”
The
Journal
of
Strength
&
Conditioning
Research,
29(3),
786-792.
Wax,
B.,
Kavazis,
A.
N.,
&
Luckett,
W.
(2016).
“Effects
of
supplemental
citrulline-malate
ingestion
on
blood
lactate,
cardiovascular
dynamics,
and
resistance
exercise
performance
in
trained
males.”
Journal
of
Dietary
Supplements,
13(3),
269-282.
Glenn,
J.
M.,
Gray,
M.,
Wethington,
L.
N.,
Stone,
M.
S.,
Stewart,
R.
W.,
&
Moyen,
N.
E.
(2017).
“Acute
citrulline
malate
supplementation
improves
upper-and
lower-body
submaximal
weightlifting
exercise
performance
in
resistance-trained
females.”
European
Journal
of
Nutrition,
56(2),
775-784.
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