You do not have to be a professional athlete or a bodybuilder to take BCAA supplements. BCAAs are comprised of branched-chain amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein. These nutrients promote faster gains by boosting muscle tissue growth. If you want to achieve a leaner, more toned physique, then we highly recommend taking BCAA supplements. These dietary supplements will help you gain skeletal muscle and minimize the risk of muscle mass loss. Suffice to say, BCAA supplementation does affect your mental and athletic performance.
Losing Muscle Mass through a Low-Calorie Diet
If you are watching what you eat then you are probably minimizing your caloric intake. This can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your fitness goals. If you are sticking to a low-calorie diet while also toning your physique, you are likely to lose muscle mass in the process.
Dieting is inherently catabolic. It can lead to muscle tissue breakdown as the body runs out of stored fat to convert to energy. The leaner the body gets, the more skeletal muscle it loses. As the muscles shrink, they lose power. This is the reason you feel weaker, more fatigued when you are sticking to a low-calorie diet.
Now, imagine working out in a weakened state.
Even when you work harder, you will not gain or lose muscles. That's because the level of muscle protein synthesis is reduced due to low energy. Eventually, the harder you try to work your muscles, the more muscle mass you lose. The body will use up all the available lean muscles for energy. It’s like burning a candle at both ends.
Training while sticking to a low-calorie diet could also affect the quality of your training. Since you are too weak to work out, you are unable to make the most out of your training. You will not get any work done because your muscle cannot adapt your energy needs.
How BCAAs Affect Your Training
Taking BCAAs will help you train longer and harder. This goes even when you are watching your caloric intake.
Boosts Protein Synthesis
Protein synthesis is a metabolic process that stimulates new muscle growth, better known as gains. For the body to produce more muscle tissues, 11 essential amino acids are needed. The body produces some of these essential amino acids. Unfortunately, the body cannot produce leucine, isoleucine, and valine. Worse, the body does not store excess amino acids for later use that’s why you have to fortify your diet with amino acid-rich foods.
BCAA supplements are comprised of valine, isoleucine, and leucine. Taking BCAA supplements allow new muscle tissues to grow, giving you the help you need to develop defined, lean muscles.
Minimizes the Rate of Protein Breakdown
When you eat protein, protein synthesis rates rise, which results in muscle gain. On the other hand, if the protein synthesis rates drop, you will lose muscles. Being in a fasted state or sticking to a low-carbohydrate diet can lead to a slower protein synthesis and this will lead to negative protein balance.
People who want to achieve a slender, toned physique usually take high protein foods to elevate protein synthesis rates and minimize protein breakdown rates. Some of the best strategies to boost protein synthesis rates include sticking to a high protein diet, taking pre-workout and post-workout nutrition, and limiting cardio workouts. You can also take BCAA supplements to keep the protein synthesis rate up.
Better Physical Performance
Do you engage in intense workouts? If you love HIIT, boot camp training, or any type of rigorous workout, you have to boost your intake of amino acid rich foods. When you engage in a strenuous training, the level of serotonin in the brain rises. This will make you feel exhausted so you will start slowing down. As tiredness sets in, you won’t push too hard so your workout becomes less effective.
Taking BCAA supplements and boosting your meals with amino acid rich foods could improve your physical performance. You’ll be able to train faster, longer, and harder because you don’t feel exhausted at all. With your energy level up, you’ll be able to achieve your fitness goals in no time at all!
BCAA supplements could make a world of difference to your training. Regardless if you are just starting out in bodybuilding or you simply want to improve your athletic performance, taking BCAA supplements will help you make more gains.