Amino
acids are the building blocks of muscles. After a grueling workout,
muscle tissues are depleted and amino acids play a fundamental
role in replenishing your muscle cells with valuable nutrients
for repair and rebuild. Weightlifters, bodybuilders, athletes
and fitness enthusiasts need amino acids on a regular basis for
an optimum workout and for muscle maintenance as well. Without
proper amino acids intake, you'll hardly make any muscle gains
and your performance will greatly suffer.
There
are two types of amino acids ie essential and non-essential. Essential
amino acids consist of Leucine, Valine, Isoleucine, Histidine,
Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine and Tryptophan while non-essential
amino acids include Alanine, Arginine, Aspartic Acid, Cysteine,
Cystine, Glutamic Acid, Glutamine, Glycine, Hydroxyproline, Proline,
Serine and Tyrosine. Essential amino acids are derived from foods
and supplements whereas non-essential amino acids are naturally
produced by your own body although you can get them in foods and
supplements too. The term "non-essential" can be misleading
as all amino acids are essential. For instance, Glutamine is needed
to strengthen your immune system function.
Leucine,
Valine and Isoleucine are essential branched chain amino acids(BCAA's)
and make up about 1/3 of the body skeletal muscle tissue. They
play a vital part in stimulating protein synthesis which is the
process of converting amino acids into muscles. So proper intake
of BCAA's will result in building muscle mass. Furthermore, they
enhance recovery, promote endurance, decrease fatigue, induce
fat loss, stimulate metabolism, reduce muscle soreness, boost
immune function and have anti-catabolic effects. Other great benefits
include an increase in testosterone levels, growth hormones and
insulin and all these are highly anabolic hormones.
Branched
chain amino acids can naturally be obtained from food sources
like chicken, turkey, eggs, beef, fish, milk, cottage cheese,
yoghurt, lentils, kidney beans and soya beans so if you follow
a proper nutrition plan, you can get your intake of BCAA's easily.
Another
way of taking BCAA's is via a branched chain amino acid supplementation.
Sometimes you might not get your nutrition right, this is where
supplements come in handy. Another major benefit is amino acids
are best utilized as Branched Chain and Free Form and supplements
are convenient for that. Free Form amino acids have the prefix
"L" before for example L-Valine, L-Leucine, L-Isoleucine,
L-Glutamine. In this state, they don't need to be digested and
get shuttled to the bloodstream for immediate use by muscle cells.
As compared to whole protein(peptide bonds), free-form amino acids
don't have to be broken down in the stomach.
A
branched chain amino acid supplementation is highly effective
for pre-workout, intra-workout and post-workout. BCAA's can simply
be taken with water or gatorade. It's mostly available in powder
form and capsule/pill form. Ideally, the easiest way to proceed
is to simply mix the powder with some water in a shaker and carry
it along with you in the gym. To improve performance and prevent
muscle catabolism, most people like taking BCAA's and sip through
it during their workout. Below, you'll find some of the best branched
chain amino acid supplements or simply some of the best BCAA supplements
for building muscle.
