This post is all about a few staple workout supplements of mine, Betaine Anhydrous aka TMG (Trimethylglycine) and its benefits. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s for, when it’s used, and how much should be used each workout, this is the blog post to read.
I’ll break down the benefits of it, correct use, and when to use it. Let’s go.
Workout Nutrition DIY: Trimethylglycine Benefits – Up Your Workout Game.
What’s TMG anyway? For starters, Betaine Anhydrous is also known as Trimethylglycine or more simply TMG. It’s an amino acid and it can be found in whole food sources like beets, seafood, wheat germ, spinach, and wine. For workouts though, you need it in higher doses than what you can pick up from food.
What’s it for? It supports chemical processes in the body like detoxification, liver function, and cell replication, but that’s not what you’re here for – you wanna know how it’ll help with your gainz.
From a fitness perspective, it’s incredibly helpful when it comes to working out. It doesn’t matter if you’re a man or woman; research out there shows it increases workout volume and endurance, meaning you can train harder, for longer (Cholewa et al, 2014) – and this isn’t bullshit either folks. It also aids in increasing muscle mass and improving your overall body composition.
Where’s the proof? I’ve used Betaine Anhydrous myself for over a decade now and can honestly say it’s helped me in my heavy lifts, boxing, and military endurance workouts. I’ve recommended it to clients and friends and they’ve also reaped the benefits.
The biggest benefit I’ve consistently noticed is an increase in lean body mass. Prior to using workout nutrition without TMG, I had strength but was hitting a plateau when it came to increasing muscle mass, and fatigue hammered my CNS more. I also noticed volume work became easier because my required rest times decreased. If you’ve ever done AMRAP on an endurance day or had supersets in the hypertrophy range, you’ll know how helpful this can be.
More than 50 other clinical research papers mention the benefits of Betaine Anhydrous so there’s solid research if you’d like to geek out and look further – alternatively, you can always check out the article I cited earlier by Cholewa et al (2014), at the bottom of this post.
How is it used? It’s best used in a pre- and intra-workout shakes. I primarily use it in intra-workout shakes, but it can also be added to your pre-workout stack – or better yet, just start sipping on your intra-workout drink 10-15 minutes before starting your workout.
How much of it to use? I’d say 2.5 grams of TMG is sufficient per serving. If your workout is under an hour, this is plenty. If your workout is between 1-2 hours, take 2 servings. If you’ve read my post on intra-workout nutrition, that means you just make 2 servings of the intra-workout drink for workouts over an hour.
Pretty straightforward right? I know many of you are familiar with the pre, intra, and post-workout drinks I’ve offered up on the blog, and the supplements mentioned in both nutrition guides. However, I like “zooming in” on supplements on a more individual basis, too.
You can’t always cram valuable info like this into another blog post without it detracting from the main focus.
That’s all for now kids.
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References
Cholewa, J.M., Guimarães-Ferreira, L. & Zanchi, N.E. 2014. Effects of betaine on performance and body composition: a review of recent findings and potential mechanisms. Amino Acids. 46, pp. 1785–1793. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-014-1748-5
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Photo 1 & Featured Image: Marcus Chan
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