Everyone knows that working out to build muscles requires a properly balanced diet and lots of rest. For fitness gains, foods rich in proteins should make up most of your diet. However, what they don’t tell you is that the human body cannot synthesize essential amino acids – the building blocks for proteins. As a result, you’ll have to obtain them by some other means such as the protein-based diet or BCAA supplements. There are a lot of sub-par products out there, and with that in mind, this article should help you find the best BCAA for men and exactly where to buy it.
Best BCAAs for Men in 2020
Studies have already shown that BCAA supplements have wondrous effects in improving muscle mass and performance. At the same time, they help with reducing muscle damage during exercise, which is just the right ingredient for powerlifters. Here are some of the best BCAAs for men currently in the market.
1. Battle Ready Fuel
Battle Ready Fuel is the brainchild of the company’s founder, Ollie Ollerton, following his real-life experience with sub-par supplements. As a result, he combined his nutritional knowledge in science to create the company and tagged himself for accountability and reliability. That said, the BRF BCAA for men is a premium fitness, bodybuilding, and health supplements that checks all the right boxes. Did you know that this particular BCAA supplement is both vegetarian and vegan friendly?
For starters, most BCAA products have the amino acids Leucine, Valine, and Isoleucine in the ratio of 2:1:1. For the longest time, this was the norm in the market. However, Battle Ready Fuel does its best to up your intake on the same in the ratio of 4:1:1. As a result, its effects on muscle hypertrophy should be more pronounced, provided you maintain consistency during your workouts.
So what exactly does it do? The Battle Ready Fuel BCAA supplements pave the way for the body to synthesize proteins for muscle growth. The Leucine present does its best to activate essential biological processes such as the mTOR pathway necessary in bodybuilding. As a result, muscle growth is improved, and at the same time, recovery is improved. One noticeable effect of the product is that muscle fatigue is highly reduced to give you more power workouts sessions.
When should you take it? Experts recommend downing a serving of this particular product during your workout. As a result, it should be used only during high-intensity workout sessions and not those lazy days at the gym.
This is, in fact, far much better than ordinary supplements that have you popping down a few pills throughout the day on dosage with no particular rhyme. With that in mind, the recommended intake for this is a mixture of a 100ml bottle of water with their 5g or 10ml scoop of the supplement.
Features
- A ratio of 4:1:1 blend of Leucine, Valine, and Isoleucine
- Vegan Friendly
- 5g per serving in at least 100 ml of water downed during workouts
- Reduces muscle fatigue and builds on faster glycogen recovery
2. Xtend Hydrasport Strawberry Kiwi
The Xtend Hydrasport BCAA is one of Scivation’s newer versions of supplements. The North Carolina based company isn’t new to the supplement market and already has a reputation for some of the best BCAA for men. Their supplements most lean on offering much fewer calories in their capsules, fluid, and naturally sweetened products.
This particular model boasts of dual functionality by helping maintain your body’s electrolyte levels as well as enhancing muscle performance. Like most supplements in the market, the Hydrasport comes in two different flavors and contains BCAAs in the ratio of 2:1:1.
Concurrently, you also get a BetaPower Betaine Anhydrous with electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, and magnesium useful in replenishing the irons lost in sweat during your intense workouts. The package specifically points out that they have zero calories, carbs, and sugars for at least 1890mg per bottle.
So what exactly does it do? Hydrasport checks all the boxes, including performance, endurance recovery, and hydration, all at the same time. Most users noticed that during their workouts, they would need far much less water and remained hydrated. The narrative didn’t change either during the rest of their daily activities as they didn’t wind up thirsty.
What’s the dosage like? Experts recommend taking the Hydrasport supplement during and after your workouts. A recommended dose 7g of BCAAs should do the trick. Some users who found the flavors appalling used it with coconut water to help with the re-hydration process.
Are there any side effects? No potential side effects have been noted so far. However, if you were keen enough, you’d notice that the dosage on this supplement is far much more than the others. However, the company offers great value for your money and packages it up to 30 servings. It also has a can version of the same with ingredients similar to the same, ie. 7g of BCAAs, 1g of citrulline, 200mg of potassium, and 1140 mg of electrolytes.
Features
- BCAAs in the common ratio of 2:1:1
- Zero carbs, calories, and sugar
- BetaPower anhydrous for hydration purposes
- Canned version available
3. Transparent Labs BCAA Glutamine
Transparent Labs base their operations in Utah, where they deliver on growth and recovery supplements. Their mantra is based on safe delivery non-GMO and quality products from effective ingredients that offer a clean, delicious, non-chalky taste. That said, their BCAA Glutamine is nothing short of its reputation coming in with six different flavors to choose from.
Again, like most common BCCA supplements for men, this particular model has its ingredients in the ratio of 2:1:1. Like the former, the BCCA Glutamine supplement also comes with coconut powder, which helps to re-hydrate your body, as well as increasing immunity towards diseases. It also helps in balancing the insulin and glucose levels in your blood.
Other than that, you also get the L-Glutamine, which is an essential amino acid in increasing strength, muscle growth, quick recovery, and better performance. The company shies away from using artificial coloring or the addition of artificial sweeteners. Instead, they chose to stick with citric acid, ascorbic acid, and stevia, a natural sweetener as part of their ingredients. As a result, the product comes an all-white powder form. All these phytonutrients present with cytokines have also been known to reduce carcinogenic effects.
What’s the dose like? Unlike the first two BCAAs for men we have already encountered, this one ups it’s intake even further. One serving should include 14 grams made up of constituent ingredients: BCAA 8g, Glutamine 5g, and 1g of coconut water powder. Even with the larger uptake, the bottle’s content can still support up to 30 servings. However, you may have to cough up a few extra dollars from your wallet than the first two supplements on the list.
Does it have any side effects? As their company name, the manufacturer is very transparent about the potential side effects that can result from the BCAA supplement. The most common include coordination loss and fatigue. However, on a much lower scale, chances are you may not experience headaches, increased blood pressure, skin whitening and the possibility of the supplement inhibiting the absorption of other amino acids into the body.
Features
- BCAA included in the ration of 2:1:1
- Large intake of 14 g per serving which includes 8g of BCAA, 5g of Glutamine and 1g of coconut water
- No added artificial preservatives, artificial sweeteners nor artificial coloring
- Gluten-free and non-GMO
4. Best BCAA by BPI Sports
If you live in the state of Florida, then you may be familiar with the sports and nutrition company. For the longest time, BPI Sports has been commended for its reasonably priced protein bars as well as protein bars. As a result, it doesn’t come as a surprise to find them in the supplements niche with their Best BCAA offering. What may come as a shock, however, is how it’s made.
The Best BCAA supplement comes in two main active ingredients, i.e., BCAA comprised of Leucine, Valine, and Isoleucine in the ratio 2:1:1. At the same time, you also get another active ingredient called the CLA Matrix. This is a special concoction made from avocado oil, powdered safflower oil, coconut oil, and about 250 ml of agmatine.
The product also contains inactive ingredients such as maltodextrin from corn, citric acid, malic acid, fiber blend of cellulose, xanthan, and carrageenan gum. You’ll also get natural flavors as well as artificial additives such as blue food dye number one.
So how does it work? The magic behind the Best BCAA by BPI Sports depends solely mostly on the oligo-peptide enzymatic technology. This is a way to process the BCAAs into peptide bonds for better transport, absorption as well as recovery. The agmatine should act as a catalyst for L-Arginine, whose function is to serve as a vasodilator in blood vessels. As a result, you’d benefit from enhanced blood flow during your workout.
On the other hand, the CLA Matrix, or the Conjugated Linolenic Acid, helps to reduce fat. Therefore, for everyone out there looking to building lean muscles, then this is probably one of the best BCAA supplements for this purpose.
What the dosage like? Experts recommend taking it before your workout session to reduce fatigue. For up to 30 servings, you will only need 5 g of the supplement for your work out sessions, which is surprising considering all the ingredients plowed into the product. With that in mind, the product contains sucralose and acesulfame potassium part of the ingredients, which studies have shown to be mildly carcinogenic.
Features
- BCAA ratio of 2:1:1
- 5 g dosage of up to 30 servings
- CLA Matrix for fat reduction purposes
- Consumed before a workout which offers less fatigue
5. BCAA Energy by EVL Nutrition
EVLution Nutrition is the brainchild of former BMX star Mike Spinner. Though barely a decade old in the industry, the company has made huge leaps since its inception in 2014. From an entry-level company with only five products, including the BCAA 5000, Lean BCAA, and Amino-10, it has grown into several other products, including the BCAA Energy that we are about to highlight.
What’s under the lid? The BCAA energy supplement comes packed with Vitamins C, B’s, antioxidants, and of course, the BCAA. Like most supplements in the market, the company also manufactures its BCAAs in the ratio 2:1:1. However, what sets them apart are the ingredients. Extra additives include malic acid, citric acid, silica, acesulfame potassium, the red dye number 40 as well as natural and artificial flavors.
Your package should lack carbs, calories, and gluten, which is not so bad after all. Other than that, there is about 500 mg of Beta-alanine, alanine, and taurine. For the vitamins, you can revel in 150 percent ascorbic acid, and 500 percent of RDI found in vitamins B6 and B12. For the coffee lovers, you should also get about 110 mg of included caffeine, which is more than your typical Starbucks serving.
Ascorbic Acid cannot be synthesized by the body and is, therefore, essential in the supplement. Vitamin B6 facilitates biochemical reactions that support the immune system while the B12 aids in the production of red and white blood cells. The antioxidants present in the caffeine also helps in boosting your immune system.
What the dosage like? You need about two servings of 5 g each for clean energy, strength, and endurance. Are there known side effects? Like all caffeine-based products, you can experience a lack of sleep, especially when consumed close to your bedtime. Other than that, the balance of sucralose in the product is questionable to clients who value flavor. It’s a bit chalky to most people but other than that, the product offers great value for money.
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Everyone knows that working out to build muscles requires a properly balanced diet and lots of rest. For fitness gains, foods rich in proteins should make up most of your diet. However, what they don’t tell you is that the human body cannot synthesize essential amino acids – the building blocks for proteins. As a result, you’ll have to obtain them by some other means such as the protein-based diet or BCAA supplements. There are a lot of sub-par products out there, and with that in mind, this article should help you find the best BCAA for men and exactly where to buy it. We also provided an article for other best BCAA. If you are asking what will be the best for women, we also have an article about best BCAA for women.