BCAA

Like protein powder, Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) are a muscle building essential. Before whey protein shakes, creatine, and Cittruline Malate ranked supreme as popular bodybuilding supplements, BCAAs were the hottest ticket for all athletes and bodybuilders. That’s because they enhance muscle growth, strength, energy and even fat loss. If you're not using them, here are a few words about why you should. BCAAs are the building blocks of lean muscle. The three BCAAs, so named because of their branched chemical structure, are essential because your body can’t make them from food or other compounds. Although there are about 20 amino acids that your muscles use for fuel and growth, these three BCAAs make up one-third of the total amino acids in your body's muscles. How do they work? What's really special about these three aminos is how your body handles them. When you ingest amino acids as individual aminos or as protein, they travel to your liver, which immediately breaks them down and uses them for fuel if the body needs them for energy rather than for rebuilding muscle and other tissues. Yet, the liver tends to spare BCAAs, sending them directly to the muscles to be used for building muscle or for fuel. Your muscles can use BCAAs, unlike other aminos, directly for fuel. This gives BCAAs two unique properties. First, during workouts, muscles readily use BCAAs for fuel. Second, during rest, such as after your training, BCAAs are used for building muscle. Pre training muscle fuel Intense and longer workouts will rob BCAAs from your muscles because your body uses BCAAs as fuel. To counteract this, take a spoonful of BCAA powder right before you train. Because you have made additional BCAAs readily available to the muscle as a direct source of energy, your energy levels will be higher during the workout. If using The Curse pre workout to push your training to the next level, you should supplement with BCAAs. BCAAs also help prevent you feeling tired during workouts, so you to train harder and longer, encouraging greater muscle growth. BCAA supplementation can also help to enhance mood and brain function by reducing brain fatigue through this same mechanism. Post training muscle growth More energy to workout is important, but the critical BCAA benefit is the ability to drive muscle growth. BCAAs increase growth by directly stimulating muscle protein synthesis, building up your muscle protein (protein synthesis), one amino acid at a time, like building a brick wall. BCAAs also enhance muscle growth by facilitating growth hormone. A 2001 study from Italian researchers found that athletes taking BCAAs for one month had higher levels of growth hormone and growth hormone binding protein after exercise. BCAAs also affect the catabolic hormone Cortisol, a catabolic hormone that interferes with the anabolic hormone, testosterone, and encourages muscle breakdown. Numerous studies have confirmed that athletes taking BCAAs have significantly less muscle breakdown, delayed muscle soreness after exercise, and enhanced muscle recovery.