Sports nutrition > Library > Why does the body need BCAA?
Why are BCAA needed? This question may arise for those who have just started taking care of their body. But gym regulars don’t have such questions. After all, they know that BCAA are a kind of base for maintaining muscle growth and, in principle, high performance of the body during training. To better understand their benefits, you need to take a closer look at the structure and features of BCAA.
So, BCAA includes three essential amino acids - leucine, isoleucine and valine. They are essential because our body cannot synthesize them from other amino acids. They must enter the body from the outside. This could be food or sports nutrition complexes.
BCAAs make up 30 percent of all amino acids present in muscles. Hence the conclusion that muscles cannot do without them. In addition, unlike other amino acids, BCAA are absorbed immediately in the muscles. They do not pass through the liver. Accordingly, other amino acids cannot compete with BCAA in terms of absorption rate. If you need to deliver building material to your muscles quickly, then BCAA is what you need.
Introduction
Speaking about BCAA amino acids, or as they are popularly called “BCAs”, it is necessary to start from the end, namely with the problem, with the task they are designed to cope with. First of all, if we talk about success in sports, we mean the quality of our training. Regardless of what kind of training it is - strength, functional, cardio or any other, for speed, agility, endurance and so on. Whatever type of training we are talking about, the lion's share of the results in training is played by proper nutrition. Again, whatever the goal of training, your diet, firstly, must be complete, and secondly, it must be rich in protein products, including sports supplements - sources of protein.
Sports achievements are always achieved by those who are able to devote maximum time to sports. Those who show diligence, hard work and dedication in their pursuit. However, you need to understand that even the most intense training is not always the key to successfully achieving results. One of the many negative effects that is an obstacle to achieving results is a lack of amino acids in the body, which in turn leads to weakening and loss of muscle tone. We need these organic compounds to restore energy reserves, build muscle tissue, strengthen the immune system, including burning fat; however, the range of positive effects of BCAA amino acids is much wider.
What is BCAA?
Content
The BCAA complex is three essential amino acids (valine, isoleucine and leucine), produced for athletes in the form of capsules, tablets or powder.
- Valin occupies an important place in the BCA complex. This amino acid is responsible for the restoration and construction of muscle tissue. It relieves muscle pain after grueling workouts.
- Isoleucine is intended for active energy metabolism. It is involved in the production of hemoglobin, stabilizes blood sugar, and fills the body with energy.
- Leucine is involved in the formation of muscle, bone and skin cells. Also involved in the production of growth hormone in the body. The presence of leucine is responsible for endurance and allows you to increase the duration and intensity of workouts.
Proteins are very important for humans, scientists realized this a long time ago
What are BCAA's for?
Let's understand what BCAA amino acids are and start with the abbreviation itself. BCAA stands for Branched Chain Amino Acids, which in English means amino acids with branched side chains. BCAs are a complex of several amino acids, which includes leucine, isoleucine and valine. These components are the main building blocks for our muscles. They also play a vital role in the body’s recovery processes and the construction of new protein structures. Plus, they have an anti-catabolic effect, that is, in simple terms, they prevent muscle destruction, which is why they are valued both in bodybuilding and in many other sports.
BCAAs are not produced by the body itself and can only be supplied to the body by eating foods such as chicken, fish, beef, eggs and more. However, the most preferable option, in addition to food, is to take appropriate sports supplements. The BCAA amino acid complex is the most important fuel for our muscles. The use of amino acids not only helps to improve athletic performance, but also has a beneficial effect on health. The versatility of amino acids helps athletes solve several problems at once: build muscle mass, reduce body fat, show body contour, and, among other things, regulate the secretion of some important hormones.
If we briefly describe the need for consuming BCAA amino acids, it will be that, firstly, without them you will not be able to build significant muscle mass, and secondly, without them, the recovery processes in the body will proceed much slower than they could would. Our muscles are made of proteins, which is why bodybuilders eat a lot of protein foods - cottage cheese, milk, eggs, meat, fish, cheese and more. Training is just a way to injure your muscles, but to build new ones you need building material. Protein acts as this building material. The faster it rebuilds (and even with compensation) the destroyed muscle fibers, the less time the recovery process will take you.
BCAA for men
Training for men in the gym is mainly aimed at building a beautiful muscle profile. It will not be possible to provide him with physical activity and proper nutrition alone. Therefore, you will need to use biological additives responsible for the formation of muscle tissue. Bodybuilders are recommended to drink BCAA on a regular basis. It is possible to combine BCAA with other supplements. They complement each other and enhance the positive effect.
After a workout, when glucose levels are at a minimum and there are practically no amino acids left, you should immediately replenish their supply.
Why do men need BCAAs in sports:
- protecting muscles from destruction during intense training without increasing the number of meals and volume of food;
- growth of muscle fibers, building muscle relief and accelerating fat burning processes during training;
- increasing endurance during grueling workouts, reducing recovery time.
How to take BCAA
How you use BCAA amino acids may vary depending on the purpose for which you are taking them. Of course, the manufacturer indicates the most optimal and, one might even say, average recommendations regarding the use of this supplement on the packaging, and it is these instructions that you should familiarize yourself with first of all. Next, after the manufacturer’s recommendations are known to you, you can move on to the “nuances,” that is, to those application regimens that are recommended by experienced trainers. They believe that the best time to take BCAA amino acids is in the morning, immediately after waking up. But it is also important to understand that the protein nature of amino acids itself allows them to be taken at any time of the day.
In other words, you can take BCAAs in the morning, afternoon, and evening, that is, throughout the day. As for training, you can take them before training, during, and even after training. As I said above, regarding the nuances of use, there is an opinion that if your goal is weight loss, then the optimal time to take BCAA amino acids is in the morning. You can also take them between meals. This is due to the fact that this dietary supplement reduces the feeling of hunger and also improves the production of leptin and insulin in the body. The guideline in taking BCAA amino acids is not even the goals, but the needs of the body, that is, they should be taken when the body urgently needs them - immediately after sleep, during and immediately after training.
Dosages of BCAA amino acids are also a subject of great debate, since they, like many other nutritional supplements, have one very interesting property. They affect each person differently. This statement can also be rephrased in another way. Each person differs in sensitivity to amino acids, which is why the dosages often differ from the recommended ones, both for those losing weight and those gaining weight. So, generally accepted for both gaining and losing weight is 6-8 grams of powder per 100 ml of liquid. How many times a day should you take BCAA amino acids? A maximum of three doses per day are recommended. More precisely, from one to three doses per day. The fewer appointments, the less the body’s needs are covered.
Why drink BCAA and how to do it correctly?
Athletes do not have complex and lengthy workouts every day, so the need for the amount of amino acids on such days is different. There is no need to stop taking BCAAs on non-training days. This allows the body to recover faster and achieve the desired results.
The dosage of taking BSAA can be divided into two types of days:
- intense training days;
- days without training.
In order to avoid catabolic (destructive) processes in muscles during gym days, it is necessary to ensure additional supply of amino acids to the body. Even the most balanced diet will not be able to replenish the necessary balance of amino acids during active training. It is necessary to select the most suitable BSA complex and start taking it.
On training days, it is recommended to drink BCAA according to the following scheme:
- One serving immediately after waking up.
- The next portion is before the start of the workout.
- Last portion after finishing the workout.
If you follow this regimen, you will be able to avoid amino acid deficiency and the onset of catabolic processes.
BCAAs should be taken immediately before and immediately after exercise
It is not recommended to stop taking BCAA on rest days. Let's try to figure out why you should take the complex on weekends. At this time, anabolic processes actively occur in the body, muscle fibers are formed, and adipose tissue is burned. Meal intake is not enough to ensure an even supply of amino acids, so it is important to continue taking a BCAA complex.
On non-training days, it is recommended to take BCAA immediately after waking up. At this moment, the body begins to work actively, and the received dose of amino acids will help to properly consume energy. In the morning, you can take BCAA in half or full dosage. No appointment required during the day. The second portion can be taken before bedtime. An evening dose is especially important if you expect an intense workout in the gym in the morning.
Increasing the dose of the drug in one dose is undesirable. Manufacturers have developed exactly the formula, amino acid ratio and dosage that will be most effectively absorbed by the body. Exceeding the recommended dose will be ineffective, although harmless.
Benefits of BCAA amino acids
For any athlete who is involved in bodybuilding or any other sport, and in one way or another strives to change his physique, the primary task is to work with weights or on machines. It has never occurred to any normal person to get rid of muscles, which means we will start from the fact that the goal of the vast majority of both men and women is to build muscle mass. At the same time, we certainly take into account the fact that everyone sees the volume of expansion in their own way. Some people want to become huge so that they can hardly pass through the doorway and instill fear in those around them, while for others it is enough to just tone their muscles and give them some volume to achieve an attractive figure.
So, in both the first and second cases, the result will be impossible if the body does not have a sufficient amount of BCAA amino acids. The thing is that one of the main, and perhaps the most valuable, properties of these organic compounds is to counteract the destruction of muscle volume. Each grueling workout reduces the concentration of BCAA in the body, which, in addition to depleting energy reserves, also results in lethargy and drowsiness. It is necessary to replenish the wasted reserves of BCAA amino acids after completing a workout as quickly as possible, and the best way to cope with this task is with appropriate sports supplements, and you do not have to have a container with food, cottage cheese, eggs or chicken with you.
By the way, since we are talking about the benefits of amino acids for muscles, we need to understand that muscle work is performed not only in the gym and only by bodybuilders. This is the reason why BCAA amino acids are so popular in literally all sports, from team and game sports to individual and speed-strength sports. Whatever work you do and whatever sport you engage in, you in one way or another injure your muscles and waste energy reserves, which then need to be restored somehow. Amino acids, being a source of vital protein, do not impose any special requirements for a particular sport, so they can be taken by swimmers, skiers, cyclists, and basically anyone.
Why do girls need BCAA?
As we have already said, these three amino acids are essential. In other words, they cannot be synthesized in the body, so they must be supplied there daily from the outside - with food or special supplements.
- On the one hand, metabolism in the female body follows the same pattern as in the male. BCAA amino acids will participate in the construction and metabolism of muscle fibers, increase the rate of protein synthesis, and maintain and replenish nitrogen balance.
- On the other hand, there are hormonal differences. Girls need more essential amino acids, since they are also necessary for normal estrogen synthesis.
Like men, representatives of the fair half of humanity are recommended to take additional BCAA during increased physical activity, fitness and bodybuilding.
Separately, it is worth noting the benefits of BCAA amino acids for weight loss. After taking this low-calorie supplement, your appetite is suppressed. At the same time, calorie consumption increases due to the acceleration of the energy-consuming process of protein synthesis, and the muscles are protected from destruction. This means that the weight loss process will be as effective as possible. You can purchase the complex at any sports nutrition store.
Forms of BCAA amino acids
Today, this sports supplement is produced by literally all sports nutrition manufacturers. This would hardly have been possible if it had not enjoyed such wide popularity. And in order to do this, it is enough just to produce numerous varieties of it in as wide an assortment as possible, and then everyone will be able to choose the option that suits them best. The release form of BCAA amino acids is currently available in three packages: powder, tablets and liquid. Over time, each of these forms has won its place in the sun and it is difficult to say that one of them is more preferable than the others, although debates about this do not stop, there are always enough people who want to prove that they are right.
Perhaps the most popular theory, which actually relies on logical arguments, is the belief that the liquid form of amino acids is absorbed by the body faster and better. This statement can be considered fair because from a physiological point of view, the body digests any liquid food much easier and takes nutrients from it faster. At the same time, it cannot be said that the powder form is objectively worse. Moreover, since manufacturers began producing micronized forms of the powder, the rate of its absorption has increased even more, and taking into account the fact that no one takes the powder in its pure form and it must be mixed with water for use, the output we get is same liquid.
Perhaps the most unpopular form of release of BCAA amino acids, if one can even put it that way, is the tablet form. It, in turn, is also presented in two forms of release - these are capsules (with powder inside) and powder directly pressed into the form of tablets. The first negative impression is due to the fact that the gelatin capsules in which the powder is enclosed, after entering the body, require a certain time to dissolve, after which the powder is only released, which means the effect will be somewhat delayed in time, although not significantly. The second negative impression is caused by the fact that the tablet form does not dissolve in water before use, which is why it also takes a long time to dissolve.
3. Energy replenishment
Have you ever heard that BCAA can help out during cutting or dieting? They are often included in your diet when you are drying or on a diet. Why is this being done? But because BCAA, in addition to building material, also provides energy to the body. In other words, the body uses them for fuel if necessary. This is why BCAA are attractive to those who are on a diet or dry. The body does not receive extra calories when taking them. Only energy and building material for muscles.
BCAA contraindications
The topic of contraindications in the context of sports supplements is quite popular, primarily due to low awareness of the general public. We have all heard very well about such an expression as “chemistry”. Few people understand what is meant by this word, however, everyone uses it. So, chemistry are components or additives that are synthesized completely artificially in the laboratory, and amino acids are a product of organic origin that is made by drying and fermenting common protein foods. So, as for contraindications, the first thing you need to know about amino acids is that they have exactly the same relationship to chemistry as chicken, beef or fish.
The next popular topic is side effects. As we have already found out, BCAA amino acids have no obvious and objective contraindications. However, each person has his own threshold of sensitivity to food additives, his own enzymatic system, his own intestinal microflora and many other factors that affect how his body will perceive the intake of this particular food additive. Even though the supplement is completely organic in origin, sometimes some people experience itching, others have redness of the skin, and others have stomach upsets or other allergic manifestations. However, characteristically, not a single study has revealed a direct connection between these reactions and amino acid intake.
Finally, the third burning question concerns whether an overdose of BCAA amino acids can occur and what happens if this happens. To begin with, it is worth saying that an overdose can occur with any ordinary food product. Any food that you take in excess of the norm is no longer beneficial. The same applies to any sports supplements. I already pointed out at the beginning that you should first read the manufacturer's recommendations and then the advice of experienced trainers, but if your personal sensitivity threshold turns out to be too sensitive to amino acids, the worst thing that can happen to you is bloating, nausea or vomiting. which are signs of the most common food poisoning.
