Fitness Masters

Branch Chain Amino Acids or BCAA’s are they are more commonly known are easily one of the most overlooked supplements available to date.  This is mostly due to people being unaware of just how effective BCAA’s are when it comes to building muscle, in fact if you were to ask a regular weight training individual they probably wouldn’t be able to tell you what they do or how to dose them.

So to give you a little background on this type of supplement, amino acids are building blocks of protein and muscle growth. When you ingest protein the body sets to work breaking this protein down to its base amino acids so it can then absorb and utilise them correctly.

The amino acids that come from protein are known as essential amino acids or EAA’s for short. The reason they are called essential amino acids is because although the body needs them it cannot produce them naturally so they must be obtained from other sources such as complete proteins.

In total there are nine amino acids and these nine are; histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, and valine. Whereas BCAA’s only have 3three amino acids these are; isoleucine, leucine and valine its these BCAA’s that are simpler amino acids utilised by the body to form muscle tissue.

These BCAA’s make up 35% of our total muscle mass and in order for the body to grow they must be present. However BCAA’s are not just used to form muscle tissue they are also utilised by the body to balance hormonal release and brain functions.

Whenever you are lifting heavy weights or performing extended amounts of cardio vascular work having a supply of branch chain aminos can be of great benefit. This is due to your body quickly depleting your glycogen stores during intense exercise and when this occurs your body sends signals to stop protein synthesis and it’s this reaction from your body that causes you to enter a catabolic state which as any weight lifter knows is something we really don’t want to occur.

However by introducing the correct amount of BCAA’s into your body during these times of intense exercise you can effectively reverse your bodies reaction and allow it to maintain protein synthesis which in turn can lead to better muscle gains, faster recovery and even greater performance.

When Supplementing with BCAA’s it’s recommended to dose between 5-10 grams before your workout and the same again after your workout, however by having a protein powder that provides a full range of amino acids the post workout dose can be replaced with your usual post workout shake.

With BCAA’s dosage will vary between individuals and doses of up to 15grams have been considered to yield even greater results greatly improving recovery times and performance during workouts.

Another benefit to BCAA’s is for bridging your weight training and CV workouts, if you tend to do weights then cardio ingesting a BCAA mixture throughout your workout or briefly before starting your cardio can help to prevent your body becoming catabolic resulting in muscle loss.

This is great if you are aiming to lose weight as BCAA’s are not digested in the same way as normal proteins so will not impact on your weight loss, also consuming them during CV work can increase your energy levels.

Also if you are doing and extended period of cardio, weight training, or sports activity lasting longer then and 1 ½ hours you should consume BCAA’s sometime during the activity. This will help stop muscle breakdown that usually happens after an extended period of stress.

Overall branch chain amino acids are one of the most beneficial supplements you can add to your workout or sports training. They are very well research and have been proven for a long time. If you already have a whey protein, multivitamin, and creatine supplement, this is a great choice to boost your gains to the next level.