Bcaa

[richardmf]

What type of BCAA would you recommend for weight lifting?

There are so many types.

Also would you take them individually? or buy one that has multiple amino acids in it?

Could someone please explain BCAA's in a bit more detail

[Bigdumogre]

There are many types but the most studied is a 2:1:1 ratio. Some have added benefits like electrolytes like ErgoBlast. People use them mostly when cutting calories and when training fasted or in between meals.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/er.../ergogenix.htm

[Marshall28]

Are you cutting or bulking? If cutting I would suggest an amino product such as Amino Build. If bulking, I would spend my money else where.

[giarmyjoe]

Generally BCAAs are used for their recovery aspect. People tend to use BCAAs either pre workout or intra workout and in between meals as a drink that will help with recovery. Also they thought to be more beneficial for fasted training.

There are a multitude of BCAA products you could chose from. The best bet would be find one that you feel will taste great.

Here are a few companies that make them, check out the products find a flavor you like and give one a go. Ergochain from Ergogenix, Compete from iForce Nutrition, Amino IV from PES, Xtend from Scivation.

[NEBinAK]

Look for one that has at least 6g of bcaa in the 2:1:1 ratio, added goodies are always nice as well. Xtend has 7g bcaa in the 2:1:1 ratio, as well as Citrulline, glutamine, and electrolytes. Also featuring 11 flavors with 30 and 90 serving tubs.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/sv/xtend.html

You should know though that building muscle is going to come from a caloric surplus not supplements. You will need to stay 300-500 calories above maintenance to build muscle.

Good luck op

[BULLED]

Steakend is my fav BCAA product. It contains all essential amino acids + vitamins, minerals and other goodies. The Grilled Veal flavor is delicious. Yeah, I would recommend it for weight lifting!

[The Solution]

What type of BCAA would you recommend for weight lifting?

There are so many types.

Also would you take them individually? or buy one that has multiple amino acids in it?

Could someone please explain BCAA's in a bit more detail

if you are 1) not training fasted or 2) not going to dose them between meals as a bolus it may not benefit you
also if you are meeting protein intake in the 24 hour period adding BCAA's wont merit you much in the long run

If you do not need them as stated above it would be better to invest in the essentials (Whey, creatine, fishoil, and mulit)

For a pure BCAA product
Scivation Xtend
Cor BCAA
Core ABC
Alpha Amino

all great choices.

[KimJong-il]

Personally I prefer BCAA + EAA which you can get both in Purple Wrath. Usually use it during intense cutting phases.

[Sean26607]

You're going to hear a lot of back / forth about whether or not it benefits you unless you're fasted, blah blah.
Do what you think is best for you OP. 2:1:1 ratio is pretty popular, so are the 3:1:1

Xtend
Hyperblend (with or without caffeine)
Muscle Martini
BB.com Amino Recovery

I personally enjot them while on a cut or when the sweet tooth kicks up

[IlliniTrack800m]

scivation xtend bcaas has a scientifically studied 2:1:1 ratio and includes electrolytes and citrulline malate

we have MANY great flavors and a very high rating in the bb.com store along with thousands of reviews backing it up... AND multiple bb.com supplement awards.

[TrainerTone]

BCAA'S will only be beneficial if you are training in a fasted state or if you are using them as a bolus between meals 4-6 hours apart. If not they would basically be useless.

If you do plan on using them in 1 of the 2 ways I described above some great options are Alpha Amino, Compete, Best BCAA, Amino Recovery or Amino IV

[Big.Jazayrli]

There are many types but the most studied is a 2:1:1 ratio. Some have added benefits like electrolytes like ErgoBlast. People use them mostly when cutting calories and when training fasted or in between meals.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/er.../ergogenix.htm

You neglected to mention our wildberry pomegranate flavor available as of today

[Starkk]

You neglected to mention our wildberry pomegranate flavor available as of today

Hi Jaz,

Long time listener, first time caller... are you referring to this flavor?



Sincerely,

Starkk

[aaronuconn]

I prefer EAA's if using them intra-workout. Purple Wraath and Amino IV are two great choices. I believe Prime has bulk EAA's as well.

Here's our Amino IV write-up. Let me know if you have any questions.

Amino IV™ - The Most Versatile Amino Product


We live in a day and age in which optimizing performance, recovery, and results are integral to every meal we eat and supplement we consume. We don’t just consume post-workout protein and call it a day…we’ve learned from science that taking separate, free-form amino acids can give you that extra edge to take your progress to the next level.

Amino IV: A BCAA product with added benefits to take it beyond just another BCAA.

You spend all the time and money working hard and eating right…why sell yourself short on your essential supplements?

Amino IV – Unlocking the Power of BCAAs and EAAs Combined

What is every amino product built off these days? Branched chain amino acids (BCAAs). BCAAs are key ingredients to consume no matter what type of athlete you are: Bodybuilding, powerlifting, long distance runner, or sprinter. If you use muscle…BCAAs should be a go-to supplement.

The body runs off what we call Essential Amino Acids. These are amino acids that your body cannot make on its own. They must be consumed via diet. You see, when your body goes to make new protein, like the protein that make up your muscles, it requires that all of the 9 essential amino acids be present, not just the 3 BCAAs.

Your body starts by making muscle protein to build muscle mass. It incorporates the BCAAs into the growing protein chains, and then your genetic code calls for an essential amino acid. So what happens if you don’t have EAAs present?

1. The new protein is terminated. You simply do not benefit.
2. Your body breaks down a pre-existing muscle protein (known as “catabolism”) in order to get the missing amino acid. The net effect is loss of muscle mass.
We created a product that will truly give you an edge, and has both your short term and long term goals in mind.

In an all new category of its own, Amino IV has taken the next step: it provides you with BCAAs along with the essential amino acids necessary for proper BCAA function. Before we even cover any other ingredients, Amino IV is already a 2 in 1 product. A true, properly formulated BCAA + EAA product.

Formulated for the consumer

Betaine Anhydrous

It looks like there’s a new contender in the strength and size department: Betaine Anhydrous. This exciting compound only recently came to researchers’ attention as they found it increases strength and muscle by actively providing energy to your muscle cells.

In addition to this, betaine holds other properties that athletes should take notice of: it reduces lactate production, it increases power output and explosiveness, it improves endurance, and it delays fatigue in trained subjects [1-4]. Betaine even creates a positive hormone environment by lowering the catabolic hormone cortisol [5].

While the specific timing of betaine consumption is not important, we include it in Amino IV so you ensure that you are taking it on a daily basis.

SynerGlut Alanine/Glutamine Blend

As many of you know, glutamine has long been touted as the ultimate recovery amino acid since it is the most plentiful amino acid in muscle tissue. And yet, countless studies have shown that glutamine has no effect on muscle recovery; it’s nothing more than a placebo when taken as plain old L-Glutamine! [6,7]

This result came as a major shock to myself and many others, so I asked the ever elusive question: why does glutamine not work? The answer lies in the fact that glutamine is the primary amino acid that feeds the cells of your gut, so your intestines consume all the glutamine before they ever reach your muscles.

After over a year of research, we’ve found a novel way to bypass this problem. By consuming L-glutamine with L-alanine, glutamine delivery to muscle tissue is massively increased, and the recovery pathways can finally have potential [8-10]. And it doesn’t matter whether or not the glutamine is bonded to alanine as a dipeptide; combining L-glutamine with L-alanine in a blend has shown to be equally effective in mammals[11]…and this is precisely what we do.

Electrolytes

If you are a hard-working, sweating, and fatigued athlete then you are probably more than familiar with those sugary sports drinks with electrolytes. But now you are more educated than the days of when you would down those by the bottle. Now you avoid them because of the high amount of table sugar in every serving...but the downside is you have a tough time getting the electrolytes you need.

To continue to versatility of Amino IV, we have added electrolytes to every serving. Consider Amino IV your guilt free sports drink with muscle in mind.

Amino IV | The Last Amino Acid Supplement You Will Ever Need

References

1. Trepanowski, John F., Tyler M. Farney, Cameron G. Mccarthy, Brian K. Schilling, Stuart A. Craig, and Richard J. Bloomer. "The Effects of Chronic Betaine Supplementation on Exercise Performance, Skeletal Muscle Oxygen Saturation and Associated Biochemical Parameters in Resistance Trained Men." Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 25.12 (2011): 3461-471. Web.

2. Lee, Elaine C., Carl M. Maresh, William J. Kraemer, Linda M. Yamamoto, Disa L. Hatfield, Brooke L. Bailey, Lawrence E. Armstrong, Jeff S. Volek, Brendon P. Mcdermott, and Stuart As Craig. "Ergogenic Effects of Betaine Supplementation on Strength and Power Performance." Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 7.1 (2010): 27. Web.

3. Pryor, J. Luke, Stuart As Craig, and Thomas Swensen. "Effect of Betaine Supplementation on Cycling Sprint Performance." Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 9.1 (2012): 12. Web.

4. Hoffman, Jay R., Nicholas A. Ratamess, Jie Kang, Adam M. Gonzalez, Noah A. Beller, and Stuart A S Craig. "Effect of 15 Days of Betaine Ingestion on Concentric and Eccentric Force Outputs During Isokinetic Exercise." Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 25.8 (2011): 2235-241. Web.

5. Apicella, Jenna M., Elaine C. Lee, Brooke L. Bailey, Catherine Saenz, Jeffrey M. Anderson, Stuart A. S. Craig, William J. Kraemer, Jeff S. Volek, and Carl M. Maresh. "Betaine Supplementation Enhances Anabolic Endocrine and Akt Signaling in Response to Acute Bouts of Exercise." European Journal of Applied Physiology 113.3 (2013): 793-802. Web.

6. Candow, Darren, Philip Chilibeck, Darren Burke, Shawn Davison, and Truis Smith-Palmer. "Effect of Glutamine Supplementation Combined with Resistance Training in Young Adults." European Journal of Applied Physiology 86.2 (2001): 142-49. Web.

7. Phillips, George C. "Glutamine: The Nonessential Amino Acid for Performance Enhancement." Current Sports Medicine Reports 6.4 (2007): 265-68. Web.

8. Harris, Roger C., Jay R. Hoffman, Adrian Allsopp, and Naomi B.h. Routledge. "L-glutamine Absorption Is Enhanced after Ingestion of L-alanylglutamine Compared with the Free Amino Acid or Wheat Protein." Nutrition Research 32.4 (2012): 272-77. Web.

9. Hoffman, Jay R., David R. Williams, Nadia S. Emerson, Mattan W. Hoffman, Adam J. Wells, Daniele M. Mcveigh, William P. Mccormack, Gerald T. Mangine, Adam M. Gonzalez, and Maren S. Fragala. "L-alanyl-L-glutamine Ingestion Maintains Performance during a Competitive Basketball Game." Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 9.1 (2012): 4. Web.

10. Hoffman, Jay R., Nicholas A. Ratamess, Jie Kang, Stephanie L. Rashti, Neil Kelly, Adam M. Gonzalez, Michael Stec, Steven Anderson, Brooke L. Bailey, Linda M. Yamamoto, Lindsay L. Hom, Brian R. Kupchak, Avery D. Faigenbaum, and Carl M. Maresh. "Examination of the Efficacy of Acute L-alanyl-L-glutamine Ingestion during Hydration Stress in Endurance Exercise." Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 7.1 (2010): 8. Web.

11. Cruzat, Vinicius Fernandes, and Julio Tirapegui. "Effects of Oral Supplementation with Glutamine and Alanyl-glutamine on Glutamine, Glutamate, and Glutathione Status in Trained Rats and Subjected to Long-duration Exercise." Nutrition 25.4 (2009): 428-35. Web.