How to Use BCAA's to Get Maximum Results?

BCAAs or Branched Chain Amino Acids are all the rage today. The benefits of BCAAs are widely known by many bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts. BCAA helps in enhancing energy levels and decreases fatigue. It also helps with muscle growth and boosts fat loss.

What is BCAA?

BCAAs are a group of 3 essential amino acids- leucine, isoleucine, and valine. Leucine out of these 3 is the most important amino acid when it comes to enhancing muscle protein synthesis, particularly post-workout. Valine serves as a crucial pre-workout amino acid dose as it reduces fatigue. Isoleucine is responsible for repairing muscle tissues and boosting energy levels.

Therefore, it is important to consume all the 3 amino acids rather than consuming just leucine. This is why you need BCAA that offers you all 3 essential amino acids to let you enjoy a variety of benefits as a bodybuilder.

One of the prominent questions when it comes to consumption of BCAAs is how to use it to receive maximum benefits. In this article, we shall tell you how you can use BCAAs to have the best gains in muscle size.

Why Choose BCAA Supplements?

BCAA supplements are an easy way to supply BCAA to your muscles to enhance growth and recovery. They get absorbed at a faster rate than the BCAA obtained from foods and thus, deliver faster results. It is important to learn about the various ratios in which the BCAA supplements are available in the market.

It is important to consume BCAAs in the right ratio. 2:1:1 ratio of leucine to isoleucine to valine is the ideal BCAA ratio. So, ideally, 6g of BCAA should offer 3g of leucine and 1.5g isoleucine and valine each. If you want to boost your post-workout recovery, you can go for a 3:1:1 ratio. Post-workout is the time when leucine drives muscle protein synthesis. Any ratio greater than this would have very less valine and isoleucine.

Learn to use BCAAs wisely

There is no point in mixing BCAA powder in a gallon jug and keep sipping it all through the day. If you believe that by doing so you can offer your muscles with a constant dribble of BCAA to prevent muscle breakdown, boost protein synthesis, and muscle growth, then alas! You’re wrong. Instead of this, it will lead to the impediment of spikes in muscle protein synthesis.

Keep a gap of at least a couple of hours in between the doses of BCAAs. When your bloodstream is flooded with leucine 24/7, it prevents muscle protein synthesis spike that occurs within 2-3 hours of low blood leucine levels.

Below is a list of how to use the BCAA supplement as per different functions or goals.:

1) To boost energy for workouts

Time: Around half an hour (30 minutes) before a workout

The most crucial time to fuel yourself with around 6-10g BCAAs is before you work out. BCAAs like other amino acids don’t go to the liver first. Instead, they enter into the muscle cells where they are utilized as fuel.

2) To boost muscle recovery and growth

Time: 30 minutes after the workout

Another crucial time when you can consume BCAA is around 30 minutes after you have performed intense exercise sessions. It is necessary to supply your muscles with leucine at this point in time so that it can fuel muscle protein synthesis to enhance muscle growth.

3) To boost muscle protein synthesis between meals

Time: 2 hours post-meal

If you consume a meal that has around 3g leucine and 30g protein, muscle protein synthesis is spiked up for a few moments. After about 2 hours, muscle protein synthesis reduces but the amino acids still remain in the bloodstream. At this moment if you introduce BCAAs especially leucine to your muscles, it can be helpful in creating muscle protein synthesis spike again from the meal that you had consumed.

4) To boost the leucine content of your meal

Time: Meals that contain less than 30g of protein

To boost muscle protein synthesis, you need a meal that offers at least 30g of protein. That meal should also offer around 3g of leucine. If the meal somehow doesn’t contain 30g of protein, it is very likely that it won’t provide you with 3g of leucine as well. To generate a greater spike in protein synthesis from the same meal, it’s a wise decision to consume around 6-10g of BCAAs to make sure that you get enough leucine to fuel that spike.

BCAAs are an excellent source to boost muscle protein synthesis and have greater muscle growth. Eat foods that are rich in protein and BCAAs and take BCAA supplements to enhance your muscle protein synthesis and create a greater spike from the same meal.