Why Citrulline malate is an effective performance supplement designed to improve all of your bodybuilding goals.
Citrulline malate is most commonly found in pre-workout supplements, but has become a daily health and fitness supplement. With one of its main benefits being a positive effect on your vascular system, your overall workout and recovery will improve on top of a host of other benefits to really see solid growth and well-rounded gains.
Although citrulline malate is produced naturally in the body, taking it in supplement form will increase levels to really enhance physical fitness and performance. With debate surrounding the effectiveness of this supplement, for some, citrulline malate seems to work just fine, while others find it more challenging to see results and would rather stick with something else. Since citrulline malate is typically combined with a host of other supplements when formulated in a pre-workout, many are more likely to accept it in this form as opposed to isolated since many other ingredients are at play as well.
What Is Citrulline Malate?
To start, citrulline is an amino acid, but unlike others, it is not used to build proteins. It is actually one of three amino acids that are found in the urea cycle, which is responsible for removing harmful compounds from your body. Citrulline does this along with help from ornithine and arginine.
As a non-essential amino acid, it means citrulline can be synthesized within the body. Along with its vital role in the urea cycle, it also works to produce nitric oxide which works as a vasodilator to improve blood flow to deliver oxygen all around your body (1).
It is important to understand where the malate portion of this supplement comes into play. Malate is an essential component of the Tricarboxylic Acid (TCA) Cycle which uses fats and carbs for energy production to help the process of producing ATP (2). This energy is then used for your muscles to smoothly and effectively contract and keep you moving.
The benefits of combining citrulline with malate not only enhances the sole effects of each, being energy and nitric oxide production along with assisting the urea cycle, but also enhancing muscle function and serving as a powerful and worthwhile performance enhancing aid.
Benefits Of Citrulline Malate
There are a load of benefits when it comes to using citrulline malate, so let’s take a look.
Delay Muscle Fatigue
By promoting increased aerobic energy, citrulline malate has the ability to help delay muscle fatigue to keep you working harder and for longer (3). A great synthesis and production of ATP means more energy to power your through any tough workout that could induce unwanted fatigue. Not only can citrulline malate lengthen time in weight training, but also increase explosive power and bodyweight performance.
Improve Exercise Endurance & Weight Training
The ability to increase oxygen delivery to the muscles improves exercise performance to cover longer distances, especially in those sports that require it. By increasing the oxygen content in the muscle tissues, it improves oxygen usage in the muscle being used (4). So while your body may not use more oxygen as a whole, you optimize the amount of oxygen used for that specific working muscle. This works for both exercise performance, as well as weight training.
Promote Better Utilization Of Amino Acids
Amino acids are the primary building blocks of energy and muscle growth and taking citrulline malate can actually improve your body’s ability to fully use all the amino acids consumed for fuel to ensure nothing goes to waste. Fully optimized amino acids can increase blood flow, improve workout performance, and assist in recovery once your workout has ended.
Reduce Lactic Acid & Toxic Buildup
With the added bonus of increasing blood flow, this allows you to reduce lactic acid and ammonia buildup by working to sweep them out of your muscles quickly (5). Along with reducing fatigue, you will feel a serious boost mid-workout where you normally start to fade to see increased muscle growth and weight loss.
Dosage & Safety Of Citrulline Malate
For most people, a daily dose of around 6-8 grams of citrulline malate is enough to give them these great benefits, but some research has suggested as low as 3 grams will elevate performance. With no known side effects at these doses, citrulline malate has taken over as a safe and effective product for all of your fitness and performance needs.
Recommended Citrulline Malate Supplement
Nutricost L-Citrulline delivers pure L-Citrulline base powder without malate, ensuring users receive only the essential amino acid known for its role in boosting nitric oxide production, enhancing blood flow, and supporting muscle endurance. Each bottle contains 600 grams of L-Citrulline powder, providing 3 grams per serving and an impressive 200 servings per container, making it an excellent value for athletes and fitness enthusiasts. The formula is non-GMO, gluten-free, and manufactured in a GMP-compliant, FDA-registered facility, ensuring exceptional purity, quality, and safety for consumers seeking reliable supplementation.
Best Pre-Workout With Citrulline Malate
Transparent Labs PreSeries BULK is backed by science with clinically effective dosages to increase muscle size and mass. This pre-workout is perfect for reducing fatigue, aiding in muscle growth, and boosting energy levels for better overall performance.
PreSeries BULK delivers over 20 grams of 19 active ingredients per serving, with 30 servings per tub, setting it apart as a clean and effective pre-workout formula. Free from artificial food colorings, sweeteners, preservatives, fillers, or unnecessary chemicals, this supplement is naturally flavored and sweetened with stevia, making it sugar-free and vegan-friendly. Designed specifically for athletes, bodybuilders, and fitness enthusiasts, PreSeries BULK supports building lean muscle mass, enhancing muscle cell volumization, improving blood flow and muscle pumps, and increasing overall strength, offering a natural edge in workout performance.
Read the full review for PreSeries BULK here!
Wrap Up
Citrulline malate is a rising supplement in the health and fitness game for a host of benefits it provides to your training and performance goals. As a main ingredient in pre-workout supplements, it is important for us to understand why citrulline malate is so sought after. A combination of citrulline and malate is perfect to enhance not only the sole effects of each, but also work to provide extra benefits to muscle function, contraction, and overall performance. With a wide range of daily intake and no real side effects, this supplement seems to be one that many would love. Consider citrulline malate for your workout and performance today and see what this much sought after supplement can do for you.
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*Images courtesy of Envato
References
- National Library of Medicine National Center for Biotechnology Information. “Citrulline”. (source)
- Mailloux, Ryan J.; Beriault, Robin; Lemire, Joseph; Singh, Ranji; Chenier, Daniel R.; Hamel, Robert D.; Appanna, Vasu D. (2007). “The Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle, an Ancient Metabolic Network with a Novel Twist”. (source)
- Takeda, Kohei; Machida, Masanao; Kohara, Akiko; Omi, Naomi; Takemasa, Tohru (2011). “Effects of citrulline supplementation on fatigue and exercise performance in mice”. (source)
- Perez-Guisado, Joaquin; Jakeman, Philip M. (2010). “Citrulline malate enhances athletic anaerobic performance and relieves muscle soreness”. (source)
- Wax, Benjamin; Kavazis, Andreas N.; Weldon, Kevin; Sperlak, Joseph (2015). “Effects of Supplemental Citrulline Malate Ingestion During Repeated Bouts of Lower-Body Exercise in Advanced Weightlifters”. (source)
