Should you drink BCAAs during training?
Should I really drink BCAAs during training or can I just drink water?
Many people ask me if it is necessary or not to use additional branched chain amino acids or BCAAs. Well, it depends on several factors. Yes, they are very tasty when you drink them, but science has not shown enough that everyone should use them. But even so, they can help you in certain situations.
How do BCAAs work?
Amino acids are small units that make up proteins. Several amino acids are linked together in different sequences to form different proteins. In addition to being the building blocks of proteins, amino acids play an important role in enzyme activity and the synthesis of molecules in the body.
Branched-chain amino acids are made up of three essential amino acids: leucine, isoleucine and valine. They are called branched-chain amino acids because they have chains on their sides that "branch". BCAAs are part of the eight essential amino acids. They are called essential because the body cannot make them, so you have to consume them through food.
While you can certainly get enough of these amino acids if you eat adequate portions of protein foods, getting them with a drink has its benefits. For example, pure BCAAs bypass the liver and intestines and go directly into your bloodstream.
Although it is important for everyone to have enough BCAAs, they are especially important for people to build muscle or maintain muscle. These compounds, especially leucine, help regulate protein metabolism by promoting protein synthesis and suppressing protein degradation.
BCAA food sources:
Leucine: whey protein, casein, eggs, soy, milk, cheese
Isoleucine: meat, poultry, fish, whey protein, casein, eggs, soy, cottage cheese, milk, cashews
Valine: whey protein, egg white casein, soy, cheese, milk, cottage cheese
Benefits of using BCAA supplements
Pre-workout supplementation with BCAAs can help increase the rate of protein synthesis, suppress muscle breakdown, reduce markers of muscle damage and alleviate the symptoms of delayed muscle pain (DOMS).
Muscle gain
Branched chain amino acids can help promote protein synthesis, leading to muscle growth, in several different ways.
When most amino acids are ingested, they are absorbed by the gut and transferred directly to the liver. The liver then decides what to do with them before they go to the rest of the body. If the body needs more energy, the liver even breaks them into fuel, instead of saving them to repair and build muscles and other tissues.
BCAAs, on the other hand, tend to be spared by the liver and gain direct access to tissues such as muscle. Muscle fibers then decide what to do with these amino acids, based on their needs. One of these needs could be to build muscle tissue, which is good!
In terms of protein synthesis, leucine is by far the most valuable of the three BCAAs in terms of stimulating muscle growth. Just as the ignition starts the car's engine, leucine turns on the protein synthesis process. By scientific terms, leucine activates a complex process called mTOR, which accelerates protein synthesis and thus muscle growth.
Recovering from muscle breakdown
Branched chain amino acids can also be anti-catabolic. This means that they help reduce muscle breakdown (catabolism) and speed up recovery after exercise.
After resistance training, both the processes of synthesis in muscle and muscle breakdown increase, but breakdown actually exceeds growth. And this is where the accessories come on the scene. After training, muscle loss exceeds growth until protein or leucine is ingested.
Drinking 6-10 grams of BCAA before training can lead to less pain and faster regeneration.
Increased energy and delayed fatigue
During exercise, BCAAs are broken down and used as a source of energy. Decreased circulating BCAA levels lead to increased serotonin levels in the brain, which is thought to contribute in part to fatigue during exercise.
Valine plays a key role in providing energy for training. During training, tryptophan enters the brain in large amounts. Tryptophan is used in the brain to make serotonin. However, valine competes with tryptophan for entry into the brain and usually wins. And the result? Less tryptophan is converted to serotonin, which allows your muscles to contract with greater force for a long time before they become tired.
The more intense and longer the exercise, the more branched chain amino acids are used for fuel. Supplementing them means that you will be able to train more intensively and for a longer period of time, which is crucial for drastic improvements in body composition. This effect is especially strong if you train on an empty stomach.
Keep in mind that if you drink BCAAs during fasting training, you are no longer technically fasting. But since they will help you keep your muscles clean, it is still a victory for your metabolism.
Weight loss
BCAAs, or possibly just leucine itself, can help you lose weight, especially during your diet. Studies suggest that they may help regulate satiety, leptin (the hormone that makes you feel full), glucose, adiposity, and body weight.
One of the first studies to emphasize this benefit was a 1997 experiment on competitive wrestlers. They found that subjects taking branched-chain amino acid supplements experienced a greater decrease in body fat, especially in the waist, during a low-calorie diet, compared with those taking placebo.
In addition, a study from Brazil found that six weeks of leucine supplementation in combination with a low-calorie diet caused a large decrease in body fat in rats. The researchers claimed that the increase in leucine-stimulated protein synthesis increased energy expenditure to the extent that it helped rats on a leucine-enriched diet burn more body fat than the placebo group.
In a recent study on the effects of BCAAs on weight loss, Japanese researchers found that a mouse given isoleucine while on a high-fat diet gained significantly less fat than a mouse that did not receive isoleucine supplementation.
These results appear to be due to the ability of isoleucine to activate special receptors, known as PPARs, which increase fat burning and inhibit fat storage. PPARs work to increase the activity of genes that promote greater fat burning in the body, while at the same time reducing the activity of genes that increase fat storage.
These effects are still under investigation, so we don't know for sure how much BCAA-enriched drinks will affect weight loss. But it looks good.
When to take BCAAs
Drinking leucine, isoleucine and valine drinks during training can prevent a reduction in these amino acid levels. This helps delay fatigue and improve mental and physical performance. It can also reduce fatigue and increase fat utilization during exercise in a state of depleted glycogen stores. So if you follow a low-carb diet, or are in caloric deficiency or fasting, BCAA supplements could make a big difference.
They can help you mix a portion of branched-chain amino acids into a sports drink. The sugar in the drink reaches the peaks of your insulin, which is an anabolic hormone, and gives you the energy you need to drive your workout (if you train on an empty stomach, make your BCAA drink with water).
You can also use them before or to train to replenish your amino acid levels or to support regeneration.
Combining BCAAs with other supplements
Combining branched-chain amino acids with other supplements can make your workouts even better.
Protein synthesis is in the part controlled by mTOR, which senses ATP and amino acid levels, specifically leucine levels. mTOR is activated when BCAAs are abundant and is also activated when ATP levels are high. BCAAs and ATPs activate mTOR through separate mechanisms.
When mTOR is activated (high ATP levels are sensed) protein synthesis is increased and when mTOR is suppressed (low ATP levels are sensed) protein synthesis is impaired.
The combination of BCAA supplements with other supplements that increase ATP levels leads to increased mTOR activation, and thus to protein synthesis. Our goal is to keep ATP levels elevated during training. To do this, we need to supplement the necessary nutrients before and after exercise to keep ATP levels elevated and our bodies ready to grow.
CREATINE
Creatine used to regenerate ATP, the body's main source of energy. Skeletal muscles have limited creatine stores. Creatine supplementation increases your ability to form ATP and thus increases the energy available for exercise. And maintaining high levels of ATP with creatine supplements increases protein synthesis, through mTOR activation.
CITRULLINE MALATE
The addition of a portion of citrulline malate also leads to increased ATP production. According to a 2002 study, 6 grams of CM per day helped people get less exercise fatigue and 30% higher ATP production.
Additional tips to increase muscle growth
Despite some promising research, these findings do not necessarily translate into real increases in strength or muscle mass. Amino acid supplements can make it easier for you not to lose so much muscle, but ultimately you still need to put in a lot of effort to increase muscle growth.
Eat! You need to eat enough calories and protein to supply muscle growth. Because the protein balance fluctuates during the day, it is best to consume small meals during the day, with each meal containing at least 20 grams of protein. If you train on an empty stomach, make a bigger training meal.
Exercise regularly. Your workouts should be designed to produce the changes you want. And they should be changed as your body adapts to continue to gain muscle gain.
Lift weights for either strength or hypertrophy (depending on your goal). Yes, they are both different. Lifting for strength will not necessarily increase your muscle mass but will support neuromuscular adaptation, which will increase muscle strength. Lifting for hypertrophy increases muscle size.
Maximize your regeneration. During non-workout days, it is still important to eat enough calories and get a good night's sleep to stay in anabolism and fully recover.
Summary
Science is still evolving, but if your goal is to be stronger or bigger, it's worth considering starting with BCAA supplements. These strong amino acids can affect muscle breakdown, regeneration and muscle damage, so you can move on to the next workout.
They can also help you if your goal is to lose weight, with your clean muscles protected.
If you eat a lot of protein, then your BCAA intake is probably where you need it. But if you have trouble getting a high enough protein intake, or often lack the energy to do your workout (or recover from it), a drink with BCAAs can help.
Taking BCAA supplements during training can help reduce fatigue and improve mental and physical performance, especially if you are training on an empty stomach. Everyone is different, so give it a try and see what works for you.
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