Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA) are one of the most popular sports nutrition products, and for good reason. However some may not be fully aware of what they are or the benefits they can bring to muscle mass and growth.<\/p>\n
BCAA\u2019s<\/a> are a collective group of 3 essential amino acids \u2013 Leucine<\/a>, Isoleucine and Valine. These 3 amino acids, are \u201cessential\u201d by nature\u2026 you have to consume these in the diet, your body cannot create them by itself from other amino acids. As such, foods which are high in BCAA can be really beneficial.<\/p>\n Taking things a step back it\u2019s important to recognise that Amino Acids (such as BCAA\u2019s) bond together to form proteins. Some sources of protein may already contain a decent amount of Branched Chain Amino Acids, which can be a good assessment tool for selecting a protein supplement. The\u00a0amino acid<\/a> content and the amount of BCAA specifically can be a great predictor for how effective the supplement may be at supporting recovery and growth (not the be all and end all). For example, Whey Protein<\/a> is high in BCAA and particularly a good source of Leucine, this combined with its great digestion speed, makes it an ideal supplement post-workout.<\/p>\n A combination of resistance training, the presence of naturally occurring hormones in the body and the presence of free amino acids, triggers a cascade of events which signals for protein synthesis. BCAA\u2019s are very influential to stimulating this cascade of events called mTOR. Leucine in particular acts as a trigger for this cascade of events which signals for protein synthesis (or muscle growth and repair). This is why increasing your protein intake when resistance training is so important.<\/p>\n BCAA supplements specifically can become really important due to their free form status. Free form amino acids take almost no digestion in the stomach\/intestines and can pass into the blood stream with ease. As such, they become a really valuable tool for consumption around the workout (immediately before, during or after) to help support rapid recovery and growth. This is why BCAA\u2019s are often added to pre<\/a>\/intra<\/a>\/post workout supplements \u2013 the fast digestion prevents any gastric distress, whilst helping to bring the benefit of reducing muscle soreness and improving recovery\/growth.<\/p>\n BCAA\u2019s can be incorporated in a number of ways to support muscle growth. If you currently use a pre-workout and post-workout supplement to optimise muscle growth \u2013 I would suggest using either an Intra-Workout formula which contains BCAAs \u2013 such as ENDURE<\/strong>,<\/strong> or using a dedicated BCAA supplement, such as BCAA Powder<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n Alternatively, if you prefer not to supplement during your workout, you can introduce BCAA\u2019s to your pre or post workout shake. Research suggests that combining BCAA\u2019s (in particular Leucine) with protein, post workout, provides additional benefits to protein synthesis when compared to protein alone. Products such as AFTERMATH<\/strong><\/a> and INFORMED WHEY<\/strong><\/a> both contain added Leucine for this very reason. Additional BCAAs\/Leucine becomes increasingly important if you use a protein sources which may be lower in BCAA\u2019s (for example, Egg White Proteins).<\/p>\n As suggested earlier \u2013 pre-workout can also be a great time to supplement with BCAA\u2019s to support muscle growth and recovery. You can either look for a pre-workout supplement which contains a good serving of BCAAs, such as Complete Pre-Workout ADVANCED<\/strong><\/a> or you can simply choose to use a dedicated BCAA supplement, such as Instant BCAA<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n It may also be beneficial to consume BCAA\u2019s throughout the day. Recovery and growth doesn\u2019t just happen in and around the gym\u2026. It\u2019s happening around the clock. As such, with the improved digestion of BCAAs, it can be beneficial to add a serving of BCAA\u2019s throughout the day. Products like Instant BCAA<\/strong><\/a> are available in refreshing flavours, so can make an enjoyable drink between meals, without making you feel too full.<\/p>\n BCAA\u2019s are best used in the 5-10g range per serving. Some may go higher, and use up to 20g \u2013 however 5-10g makes it much more manageable to consume within a pre\/intra\/post workout shake or at multiple timings around the workout.<\/p>\n BCAA\u2019s can make a great addition to your supplement arsenal, particularly around the workout in helping to support muscle growth by stimulating mTOR (protein synthesis). As such, adding 5-10g of BCAA to your pre\/intra\/post workout shake will help to support recovery and muscle growth. This can be from formulations containing BCAA\u2019s or a dedicated BCAA supplement.<\/p>\n Looking to learn more? We believe that every person, with support, has the right to transform their lives through fitness. That’s why we’ve put together hundreds of articles with expert advice, all to help you on your fitness journey.<\/p>\n Amino acids: do you need them?<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 BCAAs vs Amino Acids<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA) are one of the most popular sports nutrition products, and for good reason. However some may not be fully aware of what they are or…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":10971,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[353],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-supplements"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/uk\/the-core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/uk\/the-core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/uk\/the-core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/uk\/the-core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/uk\/the-core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10962"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/uk\/the-core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10962\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24829,"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/uk\/the-core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10962\/revisions\/24829"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/uk\/the-core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/uk\/the-core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/uk\/the-core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bulk.com\/uk\/the-core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}How do BCAA\u2019s help with muscle mass?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
What is the optimal dose to achieve results?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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