BLOG

Long-standing members of our extended ProSource community know our devotion to scientific research and product development. We believe that science is ever-advancing and that virtually every technology is subject to improvement over time.

There is an exception to every rule, however: a technology that emerges so fully formed, so effective and powerful that it actually resists improvement. Such a technology was the original Cytodyne AAC from Cytodyne Technologies. During the peak 90s era of bodybuilding competition, Cytodyne AAC was the secret ingredient in many an athlete's supplementation regimen. Pro-card-carrying behemoths swore by it, and dedicated athletes used it to turn higher volumes of training into greater muscle mass.

Cytodyne Technologies has disappeared into the mists of legend, of course, but its namesake Cytodyne AAC (the AAC stands for Anabolic / Anti-Catabolic) is still with us in the form of its direct descendent -- ProSource's Aminodrol. And it is still, to this day, helping serious athletes gain a significant advantage in the building and maintaining of muscle mass.

Break It Down, Build It Up

What are anabolism and catabolism, you ask? Well, think of anabolism as building bigger structures from individual components, and catabolism as breaking down those larger structures into smaller components. In muscle mass terms, growth versus destruction.

Under normal circumstances, you can't have one without the other. Anabolism or growth is fueled by catabolic processes, literally the breaking down of existing muscle tissue for fuel to support continued physical exertion. Confronted with the stress of exhaustive exercise, your body will swiftly exhaust the intracellular fuel available to it and then turn to existing muscle fibers as a source for more fuel.

This endless cycle of breaking down to build up explains why so many people endure a weekly gym regimen for years but don't change all that much physique-wise. Ideally, we would be breaking down old, smaller muscle tissue and replacing it with newer, bigger, stronger tissue. But steeply declining intra-workout energy levels can undermine overall training volume, resulting in workloads too small to facilitate real growth. And then, too, many of us let catabolic processes go on too long post-workout, and potential gains are lost.

Some people, however, won't settle for this status quo. That's where Aminodrol comes in.

Stage One: Energy Production and Hormone Support

Aminodrol's key active ingredient is a specialized form of carnitine called L-carnitine L-tartrate. L-carnitine promotes fatty acid oxidation by helping to transport fatty acids to muscle cell mitochondria where they are used to produce energy in the form of ATP. L-tartrate is the salt of tartaric acid and acts as an antioxidant in the body. The blend of L-carnitine and L-tartrate produces a highly stable and bioavailable form of carnitine.

ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is the currency of all cellular activity. It provides the energy to transport protein and fats into and out of cells, supports intercellular communication, facilitates DNA and RNA synthesis, and it triggers muscular contraction. Unfortunately, your muscle cells store very little of it and then must make more to facilitate explosive, high-intensity, highly exhaustive physical activity.

Prolonged or intense exercise places a great demand on energy sources in the body to supply ATP and can result in a mismatch between ATP supply and demand. Post-exercise increases in ammonia can be indicative of that mismatch. Carnitine, in its role as fat oxidizer and muscle fuel facilitator, can help your body more efficiently meet that demand. Indeed, in a study published in the journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, researchers found that supplementation with carnitine (2 grams per day) for 2 weeks reduced the ammonia response to exercise (90 min of cycling) (Stuart 1).

L-carnitine may also offer another key benefit, this one related to testosterone bioavailability and subsequent muscle mass support. Researchers have long known that carnitine can help prevent declines in testosterone during stressful situations such as high-intensity exercise. But they didn't know why. Further investigation suggested that carnitine may help facilitate increased uptake of testosterone by promoting the expression of androgen (testosterone) receptors in skeletal muscle tissue.

To test this hypothesis, researchers from the University of Connecticut conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled study in which healthy men were provided with either L-carnitine L-tartrate (equivalent to 2 g carnitine per day) or placebo for a 3-week period. The subjects then performed a bout of whole-body intense resistance exercise with a carbohydrate-protein beverage or water provided immediately after exercise. Muscle biopsies were taken from the thigh before exercise and one hour after exercise to determine androgen receptor content.

Three weeks of carnitine supplementation led to a significant increase in resting (pre-exercise) androgen receptor content compared to placebo. When a protein-carbohydrate beverage was consumed after resistance exercise there was a further increase in androgen receptors one hour after the workout. These results indicate that L-carnitine L-tartrate supplementation can favorably influence the capacity of skeletal muscle to take up and utilize testosterone from the circulation (2 Kraemer). A complimentary study showed that LCLT supplementation reduced exercise-induced muscle tissue damage after squatting exercise (3 Volek).

Aminodrol also provides beta alanine, a conditionally essential amino acid that plays a role in muscle endurance in high-intensity exercise. Beta alanine works by increasing muscle carnosine levels. Elevated muscle carnosine improves muscle performance through its ability to buffer skeletal muscle pH (acidity) during fatiguing exercise.

Indeed, in a macro-summary of existing published clinical studies involving beta alanine supplementation, researchers considered several different patterns of supplementation that involved over 350 research subjects. When all of these measures were considered, the authors concluded that beta alanine significantly improved strength outcomes when compared to a placebo. In particular, beta alanine improved and maximized the capacity to perform exercise (4 Baguet).

Stage Two: Post-Exercise Muscle Recovery Support

Once you've primed your body for optimum training volume and growth potential by maximally supporting energy production, hormone utilization, and endurance, it's time to address post-workout muscle recovery, repair and growth. After exercise, your body falls into a severe catabolic state and can remain there for hours, tearing down existing muscle tissue for fuel and squandering any strength and size gains you may have potentially made. Aminodrol is ideally formulated to shorten this counterproductive interval and jump-start new growth.

Aminodrol contains a clinically indicated dosage of the essential amino acids L-Leucine, L-Isoleucine, and L-valine. Leucine in particular is a key factor for recovery. It is the primary activator of the mTOR anabolic pathway that governs protein synthesis and consequent muscle repair and growth. Indeed, without sufficient leucine present, muscle tissue will remain in a negative nitrogen balance during and after exercise and protein synthesis will not initiate at all.

Additional muscle-building support in Aminodrol comes from a dose of L-glutamine. Another conditionally essential amino, glutamine helps combat muscle breakdown after high-intensity exercise by supporting protein synthesis and nitrogen retention. Unfortunately, levels of cellular glutamine can drop by as much as 50% during exercise, which can lead to your body breaking down muscle tissue for energy rather than utilizing carbohydrates.

In a study published in 2015 in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, researchers investigated the effects of L-glutamine supplementation on quadriceps muscle strength and soreness ratings following eccentric exercise. In the double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled crossover study, 16 healthy participants ingested either placebo maltodextrin or L-glutamine once per day over 72 hours and then had their knee extensor peak torque and markers of muscle soreness measured before and immediately following. The researchers found that "the L-glutamine supplementation resulted in faster recovery of peak torque and diminished muscle soreness following eccentric exercise." (5 Legault)

Aminodrol also provides taurine, which helps to optimize cellular hydration and maximize muscle function and may help prevent significant reductions in muscle breakdown by decreasing catabolic 3-methylhistidine production in the muscle cell [6 Yatabe).

Finally, Aminodrol contains phosphatidylserine and inositol for added protection from our body's most catabolic hormone -- cortisol. Phosphatidylserine is a specialized fat that resides in nervous tissue and, when taken regularly, can significantly reduce blood cortisol levels which spike after intense training. Inositol may have indirect effects on cortisol levels by improving mood and brain neurochemical balance.

A Legendary Growth Support Technology

In sports nutrition circles, the emphasis is often on what's new and revolutionary. Sometimes though, the tried-and-true is your best bet for dependable, sustainable progress toward your physique goals. Aminodrol, a direct descendent of the legendary Cytodyne AAC formulation, has been helping serious athletes attain new benchmarks of muscle growth for years now, establishing a lengthy and unsurpassed track record of efficacy and real results.

Scientific References

1 Stuart DL, Galloway DR. Effects of 2 weeks supplementation with L-carnitine L-tartrate on plasma ammonia response to exercise. Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, Washington D.C., April, 2004. Abstract #502.5.

2 Kraemer WJ, Spiering BA, Volek JS, Ratamess NA, Sharman MJ, Rubin MR, French DN, Silvestre R, Hatfield DL, Van Heest JL, Vingren JL, Judelson DA, Deschenes MR, Maresh CM. Androgenic responses to resistance exercise: effects of feeding and L-carnitine. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2006 Jul;38(7):1288-96.

3 Jeff S Volek, William J Kraemer, Martyn R Rubin, Ana L Gómez, Nicholas A Ratamess, Paula Gaynor. L-Carnitine L-tartrate supplementation favorably affects markers of recovery from exercise stress. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2002 Feb;282(2):E474-82.

4 Baguet A. et al., 2009. Carnosine loading and washout in human skeletal muscles. J Appl Physiol, 106: 837-842. And Harris RC, et al., 2006. The absorption of orally supplied beta-alanine and its effect on muscle carnosine synthesis in human vastus lateralis. Amino Acids, 30(3): 279-289.

5 Legault Z, Bagnall N, Kimmerly DS. The Influence of Oral L-Glutamine Supplementation on Muscle Strength Recovery and Soreness Following Unilateral Knee Extension Eccentric Exercise. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2015 Oct;25(5):417-26.

6 Yatabe, Y., et al., Effects of taurine administration on exercise. Adv Exp Med Biol, 2009. 643: p. 245-52.


Use as directed with a sensible nutrition and exercise program. Read and follow all product label instructions and warnings thoroughly before use. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

The articles featured herein are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice. Specific medical advice should only be obtained from a licensed health care professional. No liability is assumed by ProSource for any information herein.