Branch Chain Amino Acids are such an excellent nutritional supplement. Your body naturally creates twenty different amino acids on its own and synthesizes nine different amino acids that are derived from food consumption. When you hear about branch chain amino acids, it is in reference to the chemical structure and synthesis of Valine, Leucine, and Isoleucine. Together, this supplement aids in taking care of your muscles so as to help with work out recovery by reducing muscle soreness and supporting muscle growth.
Foods like eggs and meat usually provide these chemically structured amino acid proteins. When you are lifting to gain muscle mass, you should consume, in ounces, the same number in pounds that you weigh in the number of protein grams that you take in on a daily basis. Often, we consume many other nutrients, but it can be a challenge to consume all of the food necessary for muscle growth. This is where supplements like BCAA become relevant to health and fitness.
Supplements are just that. They supplement your diet and provide your body with anything that is missing so as to compensate and optimize your overall nutrient intake for whatever goals you are working toward. BCAAs stimulate muscle growth and help powerlifters and bodybuilders gain muscle mass.
Do BCAAs work? Well, BCAA’s are best for your body if you are lifting heavy on the regular. If you are still curious when to drink BCAAs or have an inquiring mind towards anything and everything about branched-chain amino acid supplementation, read on as we dive in a little deeper to provide everything you need to know!
When Should You Drink BCAAs?
BCAA After a Workout
It is ideal to drink BCAA after a workout. This time, during your anabolic stage, which is thirty to forty five minutes after your workout, is the best time to replenish your body, so it would be one of the best time to drink BCAA. BCAAs help neutralize the acids that seep from your muscles and cause pain; they help with protein muscle synthesis and workout recovery. Drinking BCAAS after your workout will help you recover quickly so that you can get back into the gym and start all over again!
BCAA During a Workout
You can also drink BCAA during a workout. This will work as a super beverage for your muscle fibers while they break, tear, and stretch. As you push your body to the next level with lifting, BCAAs, as your workout formula will help feed your muscles during your entire workout. Some BCAA’s are formulated to help with endurance, so drinking a BCAA beverage during your workout isn’t a bad idea.
If you use an actual pre-workout powder, you can save your BCAA supplement for your anabolic stage, post-workout. Most pre-workout has BCAA in it. It doesn’t hurt to add BCAA to your pre-workout powder, but it might be a better spend of money to add a muscle pump or upgrade your pre-workout formula if you feel like it needs another additive.
BCAA In the Morning
Some bodybuilders use BCAA first thing in the morning so that each day starts with a little extra protein and adds a little extra support to recovery and muscle synthesis. The short answer is that if you are working out in the gym on the regular, there’s never a bad time to drink BCAAs. When to drink, BCAAs are up to your own routine and convince. It’s not a bad idea to sip on a gallon all day to nourish your muscles and the recovering body.
We like to drink BCAA in the morning. This is because your lymphatic system has just drained, and your body has just fasted for eight to ten hours, ideally. It helps your recovering body if you’ll drink BCAAs in the morning to support your health, replenish your body, and nourish your muscles.
How Much BCAA Should You Take?
How much BCAA to take per day will depend on a few variables. Your body goals, how many workouts you get in each week, the length of time you workout per day, and your body weight are all fluctuating variables that contribute to your daily health and wellness. In general, you can drink BCAAs all day, and it won’t hurt anything; however, the best way to use is BCAA is for muscle recovery.
Consuming too much BCAA without working will force your body to dispose of the BCAA in your urine. It’s not a smart idea to drink BCAA every day if you are not working out so be sure that you remember that BCAA is a workout supplement to help your body to recover from all the hard work you did at the gym.
BCAA 2-1-1
Valine, Leucine, and Isoleucine work together in your body as it synthesizes and aids in muscle growth. When it comes to dosage and serving size, it is available and optimized in a 2-1-1 BCAA ratio (the best BCAA ratio). The three amino acids juxtaposed to each other create a synergistic effect to feed the muscle tissue that you already have and manufacture new muscle growth. Because they work together, this supplement works in a relative 2-1-1-dose as opposed to an overall dose.
Out of these nine amino acids, three of them are branch chain amino acids and those three amino acids, Valine, Leucine, and Isoleucine that are available in powder form and known as BCAAs. Most often flavored to a delicious sweet taste for easy consumption, branch chain amino acids, also known as BCAAs, are used to help your muscles rebuild and recover. After your muscles are torn from working out, your body’s natural process of muscle protein synthesis occurs, and BCAA supports that synthesis.
What is my BCAA Dosage?
However, how many grams of BCAA should you take per day is dependent on a few things that your body needs. How much BCAA per day you take will depend on your body goals, how many workouts, and the length of time you workout per day, and your body weight are a few variables. In general, you can drink BCAAs all day, and it won’t hurt anything. However, the best way to use is BCAA is for muscle recovery.
Consuming too much BCAA without working out will only cause your body to use what it can, and your body will dispose of the BCAA in your urine. It’s not a smart idea to drink BCAA every day if you are not working out, so be sure that you remember that BCAA is a workout supplement to help your body to recover from all the hard work you did at the gym.
BCAA and Pre-Workout
You can mix BCAA with your pre-workout or other supplements to quench your thirst, but BCAA’s are a great diet supplement on their own. Mixing BCAA with pre-workout can be done, but most pre-workout has BCAA as part of its ingredient profile.
We think that a perfect time to drink BCAAs is during a heavy lift. After your pre-workout has neutralized the lactic acids around your muscles, your body will be able to support more weight, and the extra push for your workout will leave your muscles open to receiving the amino acids for support and recovery while you are still pushing in the gym. Nourished muscles grow big and push and pull more weight to help with your muscle gains and support your heaviest lifts.
The short answer to how much BCAA you should take varies from person to person. Each BCAA supplement is different. It’s important to remember that BCAAs are a supplement, so even though they taste great and provide nutrients to your body, you shouldn’t take BCAAs if you aren’t putting in work at the gym.
You should take one scoop of BCAA in your water in the morning or after a workout. You can add BCAA to a gallon of water and sip on them throughout the day to help you reach your water intake goals. Read the label of the BCAA supplement that you choose to learn the proper dosage for the amount of water you will add to it.
Remember that BCAA powder works in proportion, and that proportion is already formulated and mixed as a ratio of and when you purchase the best BCAA powder. As a general rule of thumb, one scoop of a delicious BCAA supplement into a typical drink shaker is a nice dosage.
With more or less water, you may want to adjust the scoop serving. The flavor might get a little watered down if you don’t add enough of the power to your drink; alternatively, with two scoops, you might want a bigger glass.
BCAAs Before Bed
BCAA before bedtime isn’t a bad idea. Your body recovers and resets every time you rest. Sleep is a huge priority in bodybuilding, just like proper supplementation and regular workouts. When you drink BCAA at bedtime, you are giving your body a little boost of nutrients to help the natural process of detox.
It’s not exactly a smart idea to drink BCAAs before bedtime, and that’s because your body is already going to detox, and your body has a full day of nutrients inside when it lays down at night. If you supplement with BCAAs at bedtime, it could be a waste of product.
Your body eliminates everything it doesn’t use. SO when you have a full day of nutrients and proper supplementation, and you add more for your body to detox at night, it’s almost like a waste of product. In the event that you didn’t eat all day, a BCAA drink at bedtime is an alright idea, but eating food at dinner time is better.
If you are going to work out and supplement with BCAAs.
Quick Recap
1. How much BCAA should I take a day?
How much BCAA a day you take varies from person to person. The short answer is that one scoop of BCAAs consumed thirty to forty-five minutes after a workout is best. Drinking BCAAs every morning is also a good idea if you work out five to seven days a week; otherwise, stick to post work out BCAA supplementation.
2. Why is BCAA post-workout best?
BCAA post-workout is best because this is when your body has just been wrecked. Your muscles are tired and torn, your blood is flowing hot, you just sweat out a ton of toxins and that thirty to forty-five minutes after your workout is the best time for protein supplements. If you bring along your BCAA instead, it nourishes your muscles in the same way. It is best to supplement muscle recovery within the first hour after your workout. This period of time is known as the anabolic stage.
3. What is the difference between BCAA and Pre-workout?
BCAA is an amino acid supplement that helps your muscles recover by delivering branch chain amino acids to your body. Pre-workout is a drink that helps your blood run thinly through dilated veins so as to assist with your weight lifting pumps. It dilutes the lactic acid that surrounds your muscles when you begin your lifts and allows you to workout longer and harder. You must learn the best BCAA for weight loss for you for it to be really effective.
In short, BCAA nourishes your muscles. Pre-workout out helps you break them.