BCAA?

allstar said:

Branch Chain Amino Acids are the "Building Blocks" of the body. They make up 35% of your muscle mass and must be present for molecular growth and development to take place. Eight are essential (cannot be manufactured by the body) the rest are non-essential (can be manufactured by the body with proper nutrition). Besides building cells and repairing tissue, they form antibodies, they are part of the enzyme & hormonal system; they build RNA and DNA and they carry oxygen throughout the body.

Proteins are made up of amino acids. The difference between full spectrum amino acids and regular protein powders is that protein powders have fillers, sweeteners, dyes and extra carbohydrates. More than 20 amino acids are needed to build muscle, red blood cells, and hundreds of other molecules that sustain life. Your body can produce all but 8-10 amino acids which must be obtained through your diet or supplementation. A complete amino acid profile is needed by your body to reach your maximum fitness potential.

With BCAA's 4-8 grams before a work out and 4-8 grams after is optimal. Lesser amounts are effective but if increased performance and recovery are needed a higher dosage is more effective. Taking BCAA's immediately before or during a strenuous workout or cardio session will increase performance.

Taking them after with a post work out meal or recovery drink will help speed the replacement of BCAA's in the muscles, speeding muscle recovery and preventing overtraining.
They are a staple in my stack, I think they are great. I take mine both during and after my workout. I use Scivation Xtend or SciFit Shockwave.

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Me a year ago said:

^^ No. Whey protein is a complete protein, containing all 20 of the aminos (including the ones that aren't in some plants). BCAA's are Branched Chain Amino Acids consisting 3 (of the ten) essential amino acids leucine, isoleucine, and valine. They are considered essential amino acids because human beings cannot survive unless these amino acids are present in the diet (and plant products may be missing one or all of them).

BCAA's have a very important role in sports nutrition. If the liver's glycogen stores are depleted during exercise, the body manufactures glucose from other substrates, including proteins & amino acids. The exercising muscle releases BCAA's to be broken down to make the amino acid alanine, which is then transported to the liver for conversion to glucose. BCAA's are unique in that they can also be converted and shuttled directly into energy production in muscle itself. It is essential that the athletes’ diet is supplemented with a protein source rich in BCAA's (i.e. whey protein) to reduce muscle breakdown, maintaining exercise performance and intensity and assist muscle recovery and growth. Therefore, unlike other amino acids, BCAA's provide energy directly to the muscle tissue. In fact during prolonged athletic activity, BCAA's serve as a valuable fuel source - providing as much as 15% of the body's total energy needs. If you do not consume enough BCAA's when needed (i.e. during intense physical activity, illness, or dieting) you may breakdown muscle to liberate BCAA's for more urgent demands in other tissues.

BCAA’s have been shown to assist with; energy production, decrease exercise-induced protein degradation and/or muscle enzyme release (which is an indicator of muscle damage), muscle growth, BCAA supplementation during intense training may help minimize protein degradation and thereby lead to greater gains in FFM (fat free mass), and recovery fat burning

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