The Study
The Acute Effect of Citrulline Malate Loading in Resistance Trained Males on: Anaerobic Muscular Endurance, Force Recovery and Muscle Soreness
This study gave some guys a supplement and saw if it helped them do more reps during a tough workout. It found they did a few more reps, but nothing else changed. That means the supplement might help with one thing, but we can't say for sure because only 11 people tried it.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Scientists gave guys a supplement called citrulline malate before lifting weights to see if it helped them do more reps or feel less sore.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 552 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Doing 13 more reps total over a whole workout might help a bit, but it doesn't make you stronger or less sore during or after each set.
- 2The guys did 13 more total reps with citrulline (68 vs.
- 355), but didn't do more reps per set, get stronger, recover faster, or feel less sore.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Journal of Science in Sport and Exercise
Year
2024
Authors
A. Chappell, Adrien Parry, T. Simper
Related Content
Claims (3)
Taking citrulline before working out results in less muscle soreness 72 hours after the workout.
Taking 8 grams of citrulline malate per day for four days does not change muscular endurance, maximum strength in different types of muscle contractions, how quickly force is generated, or muscle soreness in men who regularly train with weights.
Taking 8 grams of citrulline malate daily for four days increases the total number of repetitions performed in a German Volume Training workout by about 13% in trained men, but does not improve endurance within individual sets, strength, force recovery, or reduce muscle soreness.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.