What Is BCAA And How To Use It ?
BCAA is a trio of amino acids, valine, leucine, and isoleucine, called the branched-chain amino acid. BCAA constitutes approximately 3/1 muscle proteins.
What Does BCAA Do?
BCAA reduces muscle fatigue and improves your recovery after training. It compensates for the loss of amino acids in the muscles during training and helps the body absorb protein. When the ratio of amino acids in your body decreases, it causes muscle loss, and unlike other amino acids, BCAA is metabolized in your muscles, not in your liver.
According to a recent study in the Nutritional Journal of Medicine, the muscle breakdown (catabolism) that occurs in endurance athletes can be reduced by using BCAA supplements and diets. Other studies stated that after strenuous strength training, muscle breakdown increases in 4-14 hours. Following this process, the muscle-building process (anabolism) begins. If the anabolic process takes longer than the destructive muscle process, there is an increase in muscle strength and volume.
This means that any approach to reducing muscle breakdown can be beneficial. Providing muscle cells with a quick amino acid boost right after training will help reduce muscle breakdown.
How to Use BCAA?
Using BCAA before and after training will help increase your performance and relieve fatigue. Consuming BCAA immediately after training or with a meal after training will lower cortisol levels (cortisol damages the muscles) and allow the muscles to compensate for BCAA levels faster.
BCAA is recommended to take with every meal and before and after training. It should also be used 30-60 minutes before and after a heavy workout to assist the muscle regeneration process and to start the muscle-building process.
