Acute Effects of BCAA and L-Arginine on Performance in Elite Soccer Players

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his study aims to investigate the acute effects of a single pre-exercise dose of branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) and L-arginine supplementation on anaerobic performance, sprint speed, agility, lactate response, and post-exercise heart rate recovery in male football players competing in a youth development league. Twenty-one football players participating in the T.F.F. U-19 Development League will be randomly assigned to one of three groups: BCAA (n = 7), L-arginine (n = 7), or placebo (n = 7). Participants will receive either 12 g of BCAA (4:1:1), 5 g of L-arginine, or an equivalent amount of maltodextrin, administered 1.5 hours before training. Performance assessments will include 10 m and 20 m sprint tests, an agility test, the Wingate anaerobic power test, blood lactate measurements, and post-exercise heart rate recovery measurements taken at the 1st, 3rd, and 5th minutes of recovery. Data will be analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance to examine within- and between-group differences.Data obtained from the study were analyzed using the JASP 0.95.4 software. Pre-test and post-test values of the experimental and control groups were evaluated using Repeated Measures ANOVA. Effect size was determined using Eta Squared (η²), and differences between groups were identified using Tukey post hoc analysis. A 95% confidence interval was applied, and statistical significance was accepted at p \< 0.05. In the BCAA group, 20 m sprint performance (p \< 0.05) and agility test results (p \< 0.05) improved significantly compared to the control group. Additionally, heart rate recovery at the 3rd and 5th minutes was significantly faster in the BCAA group compared to both the L-arginine and placebo groups (p \< 0.05). In the L-arginine group, no significant improvements were observed in sprint performance, agility, lactate response, or Wingate parameters compared to placebo. No significant differences were found between groups in lactate response or anaerobic power variables (peak, mean, and minimum power, and fatigue index) (p \> 0.05). A single dose of BCAA supplementation improves short-distance sprint performance, agility, and heart rate recovery in football players; however, it does not have a significant effect on anaerobic power or lactate response. Acute L-arginine supplementation did not produce a significant ergogenic effect on these parameters. The findings suggest that amino acid supplementation may produce more pronounced effects with chronic rather than acute application

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