In addition to being one of the most effective supplements for muscle
growth, BCAAs delay fatigue, support strength and mental focus, and even
boost fat-loss. Get the details!
The branched-chain amino acids, or BCAAs, are the three essential amino acids leucine, isoleucine, and valine.
From a chemical structure standpoint, each of these amino acids has a
forked outcropping that looks a lot like a branch. That's where they get
their name. If they were named for what they do in the body, they would
have been called AAAs—for amazing amino acids!
You
may have heard that BCAAs help support muscle growth. That's no BS. In
fact, a study that I presented at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the
International Society of Sports Nutrition found that trained lifters
taking a BCAA supplement around workouts for 8 weeks gained about twice
as much muscle and strength as those taking a whey protein shake without
additional BCAAs.
But
the benefits of these three simple acids go far beyond mere muscle
growth. Let's get deep into the science of an important performance
supplement!
Branch Out to Work Out Longer ///
Part
of what makes the BCAAs so special is how the body handles them.
Typically, when you ingest amino acids—either individually or as a whole
protein—they first travel to the liver. Here, the liver either breaks
them down to use as fuel or directs them toward building and repairing
muscle and other tissues. BCAAs, on the other hand, tend to be spared by
the liver and get sent directly to the muscles, so that the muscle can
use the BCAAs directly for fuel or to build and repair itself.
This
gives BCAAs a two-pronged relevance to athletic training. During
workouts, they can act as a fuel source, and when the workout is over,
they can help build muscle. These effects explain why instructions on
BCAA products usually advocate you take them before, during, and after a
workout.
The
more intense and the longer your workout, the more BCAAs will be used
for fuel. So you can see how taking a dose of BCAAs before workouts can
help you sustain your energy during a workout and train with more
intensity from start to finish. You may not feel them in the same way as
a pre-workout supplement, but first-time users often report that they
BCAAs make their workout feel more pleasant and manageable.
Branch Out to Get Bigger and Stronger ///
The
BCAAs built their popularity with bodybuilders on the reputation of
being able to increase muscle size. But how does this work, exactly?
As
you likely know, muscle tissue is made of protein. And protein is made
up of amino acids, which are strung together like a pearl necklace. The
way that muscle grows is by stringing together amino acids to make more
protein. This is known as muscle protein synthesis. Although the three
BCAAs are critical components in the "strings" of proteins that make
muscle, their role in muscle-building is more than serving as building
blocks.
Research
has shown that the BCAAs, particularly leucine, increase muscle growth
by directly stimulating muscle protein synthesis. Leucine acts like a
key that turns on the process that strings the amino acids together to
build muscle protein. Additionally, leucine boosts insulin levels.
Insulin is an anabolic hormone that further stimulates protein
synthesis.
Another
way that BCAAs work to enhance muscle growth and strength is by
boosting levels of growth hormone (GH). Italian researchers found that
athletes taking BCAAs for one month had higher levels of growth hormone
after workouts. The higher your GH levels after workouts, the greater
the increases in muscle size and strength you can expect.
Yet
another hormone that BCAAs influence to promote muscle growth and
strength gains is cortisol. Research has shown that athletes taking
BCAAs have lower levels of cortisol during exercise. This blunting of
cortisol levels is thought to increase muscle growth because cortisol
encourages muscle breakdown and interferes with the anabolic hormone
testosterone. Numerous studies have confirmed that athletes taking BCAAs
have significantly less muscle breakdown after exercise and recover
more quickly.
Branch Out to Delay Fatigue ///
Acting
as a direct energy source for muscles is not the only way that BCAAs
boost your workout intensity. They also work via the brain to delay
fatigue.
During
exercise, the neurotransmitter serotonin (5-HT) signals to the brain
that the body is fatigued. This leads to a reduction in muscle strength
and endurance. The amino acid tryptophan is responsible for producing
5-HT in the brain, whereas the BCAAs, namely valine, compete with
tryptophan for entry into the brain. Research has shown that taking
BCAAs before workouts lowers the amount of tryptophan that gets into the
brain and therefore delays fatigue.
This
ability of BCAAs to delay fatigue via this brain mechanism also means
that BCAA supplements aren't just beneficial for the body, but the brain
as well. By reducing levels of exercise-induced 5-HT in the brain, you
reduce mental fatigue, which keeps you sharper mentally. This is one
reason that endurance athletes and other high-intensity competitors
supplement with BCAAs: to keep sharp when they're approaching physical
exhaustion. Many people sip on BCAAs throughout the work day for the
same reason.
BCAAs
have also recently been found to aid in a different type of endurance:
life span. Researchers from Milan, Italy discovered that mice
supplemented with BCAAs in their drinking water had higher amounts of
mitochondria in their muscles, higher activity of the longevity gene,
SIRT1, and lived 12 percent longer than those not getting BCAA-enriched
water. So supplementing with BCAAs daily can keep you in the race longer
in addition to making you stronger.
Branch Out for Fat-Loss ///
The
BCAAs are clearly great mass-building supplements, but they also can
aid in fat-loss. Researchers have yet to determine precisely how this
happens, but they've offered up several theories to explain the
startling results they've seen.
One
of the first studies to discover this benefit was a 1997 study of
competitive wrestlers, which found that those who were supplementing
with BCAAs while following a low-calorie diet experienced a greater drop
in body fat, particularly in the waist, as compared to those taking a
placebo. My study from 2009 also found that the lifters taking BCAAs
lost about twice as much body fat as those taking whey protein without
added BCAAs.
A
study out of Brazil found that leucine supplementation for six weeks
caused a large drop in body fat. The researchers proposed that the
increase in protein synthesis stimulated by leucine increased energy
expenditure so much that it helped to burn off body fat. Leucine has
also been found to reduce hunger, causing you to eat less while you burn
more, which ultimately leads to fat-loss.
In
the most recent study on BCAAs fat-loss effects, Japanese researchers
discovered that mice given isoleucine while eating a high-fat diet
gained significantly less fat than mice not getting supplemental
isoleucine. This was due to isoleucine's ability to activate special
receptors, known as PPAR, that increase fat-burning and inhibit fat
storage.
BCAA Dosing ///
Each
time you take BCAAs you should go with about 5-10 grams. The most
critical time to take them is around workouts, so add 5-10 grams to your
pre- and post-workout shakes.
If
your goal is to build mass, also consider taking a dose of BCAAs first
thing upon waking to help stop the muscle breakdown that is turned on
during your night of fasting while you sleep. You can also take a 5-10
gram dose of BCAAs at any other time of day to get a mental energy
boost, reduce hunger, and aid muscle growth.
stronger-with-bcaas.html
Photo Source: www.imagarcade.com
Are you getting in YOUR aminos?
No comments:
Post a Comment