I purchased this product with the intent of gaining a little extra endurance in my workouts. I read plenty about Beta Alanine and was just about to make a purchase on some bulk powder when I ran into this supplement by Universal.

The reason why it caught my attention was that it contained a lot of other ingredients that at the time seemed very beneficial. Some being Citrulline Malate, Na-R-ALA, Potassium Phosphate, and a handful of others. So I thought to myself why not give it a go, get the benefits of Beta Alanine plus other compounds that could help with endurance and preventing DOMS.

Value : 4/10 - I bought 210 caps for $20.00 plus shipping from A1Supplements. If I'm taking it by itself, I take 4 pills, but if I take it with a PWO, then I take 3. So basically around 55-70 servings per container. But the reason why I gave it a low rating for value is because I would have been way better off with just Beta Alanine powder, but I'll get to that later.

Taste/Pill size : 9/10 - First thing I noticed when I opened the container was that the pills smelt like crap, like no joke, as if I bought a tub of poop. I don't know why, the smell later went away. The pills are small, average size, and have no taste. Also you don't burp up an after taste post-consumption.

Effectiveness : 7/10 - The first couple weeks when using this product, I got the infamous 'Beta tingles' and thought that was cool. I did workout longer than usual using Beta Ala 9. What I noticed the most was that I was able to do several more sets without having my muscles feel way worn out. I would take it before running on my cardio days and my calves wouldn't get as 'sore' towards the end of the run. The thing is, I've tried just straight Beta Alanine powder a couple times in the past month and got the same effects. I didn't notice anything special about the 8 different compounds they throw in there. So I've learned my lesson to just stick to normal powder.

Overall : 7/10 - This product did what it claims to do, but I just believe I would have saved money just getting plain old Beta Alanine. So I won't rate the product poorly because of that, because it works, but it wasn't anything amazing that Universal could brag about.

So I recently reviewed Nitrox II and its great effects as a PWO supp in conjunction with Jack3d. The 3rd piece in the PWO puzzle in my opinion is Beta Alanine or this product, Beta Ala 9 by Universal. Most people who take Jack3d for the first time always talk about the tingles they get and in my opinion associate that with the products effectiveness. Tingles + Stims = effectiveness. After they take Jack3d a few times the tingles are no longer there and they assume they have built up a tolerance to Jack3d. The amount of Beta Alanine in Jack3d is miniscule. This is where additional Beta Alanine supplementation comes into play.

Research on Beta Alanine states:
"Beta Alanine is an ingredient with ample clinical studies to back up its efficacy. Universal Nutrition’s Beta Ala9™ works to boost the muscles’ natural level of l-carnosine, assisting the muscle in soaking up the overload of positive hydrogen ions that are released when working out. Coupled with a specialized absorption and buffering blend, Beta Ala9™ aids muscles and helps ensure that they are working at Optimum levels to enhance muscle cell buffering while also Combating dreaded free radical production. Beta Ala9 TM helps you Maximize your potential in the gym. Greater endurance plus more reps equals new growth."

So I figured I'd add Beta Alanine to my pre-workout stack. While looking in my local wholesale supp store I noticed that straight Beta Alanine was being sold for about $15 for like 120 caps. I stumbled on this product by Universal and saw all the extra ingredients which many are touted as beneficial to working out. The following is the profile in Beta Ala 9:

Serving size: 3 caps
Niacin 50mg
Beta Alanine 2000mg
Beta Ala Proprietary Buffering Formula 150mg
NAC
Magnesium Phosphate
Potassium Phosphate
Sodium Phosphate
Citrulline Malate
L-Histidine
Na-R-Alpha Lipoic Acid
Glucuronolactone

VALUE: 10
I found this product for $21 at 210 caps which equates to 70 servings. Thats a lot of product for not much money in my opinion. Straight Beta Alanine surely works but for a few extra bucks you get a ton of additional support supps.

EFFECTIVENESS: 8.5
I'm giving this a 8.5 because I'm already taking Jack3d and Nitrox II so I can't pinpoint exactly how this product would work on its own. One thing I will say is that when I added the 3 caps of it to my PWO stack I noticed the Jack3d effectiveness to return full force and hasn't diminished since. Probably due to the Beta Alanine high dosage and the "tingles". Taking a high dosage of Beta Alanine also produces a different type of "tingles" from what I found. Not as pronounced but more intense if that makes any sense. The product states it delays muscle fatigue while increasing endurance and strength. The key component in Beta Alanine's effectiveness is its ability to "soak up" the excess of positive hydrogen ions which Ultimately would limit our workouts. What people need to realize is that when they take a PWO stim or NO booster they are generally lifting more weight for more reps creating even more of an excess of hydrogen ions. So adding this product to the Jack3d and Nitrox II I noticed a significant endurance and strength increase. When I say significant I mean an average of 3-4 more reps on just about every exercise at the same weight prior to usage. The only limiting factor in my evaluation of the product is not taking it alone but in my opinion it works better synergistically with the PWO stims and NO boosters.

OVERALL: 9
Overall I'm giving this product a 9 based on its synergistic effect with the products I'm already taking. Jack3d + Nitrox II + Beta Ala 9= ONE HELL OF A WORKOUT!!!! Pumps galore, energy, and endurance. I've been using this stack for a little over a month now at about 4 days per week and have noticed zero decrease in effectiveness. The only CON I came up with is that when you open the container the smell is a combo of rotten eggs and the North Jersey Industrial air of Linden.

Great Pump, easy to take... Increased energy... I used on my pre contest preparation and it works really well for the porpose i got these... pump, energy and vascularizatin... if you have low BF it will works..