In recent years, branched-chain amino acid supplements have made a comeback in the bodybuilding and fitness community, and for good reason. The benefits of BCAAs in sports are proven. Many studies have been conducted in recent years to confirm this.
While BCAAs are beneficial during bulking phases, BCAAs are even more useful for maintaining muscle mass during a calorie deficit. This product is especially popular among athletes preparing for competitions.
Catabolism
Dieting is catabolism, which means the body can cause muscle breakdown for several reasons. The lower your subcutaneous fat layer, the more likely your body will try to shed muscle mass, as the body tries harder and harder to maintain fat stores, and it is much more convenient for the body to store fat. Another downside of being in a calorie deficit is that protein synthesis slows down, as does metabolism. Drowsiness also joins all these inconveniences. By depleting glycogen stores, you will no longer be able to perform very intense workouts with maximum weights, and the muscle, meanwhile, will adapt to the new, lighter load and, of course, will decrease.
BCAA Support
How do we fight all the shortcomings listed? It has long been established that branched-chain amino acids (especially leucine) stimulate protein synthesis and improve protein absorption. BCAAs protect muscles from breakdown by reducing the rate of protein breakdown, as well as reducing the activity of active components in the body responsible for the same rate of breakdown, thus protecting and maintaining muscle mass. Given these facts, we see that a calorie deficit can be combated, losing a smaller amount of quality muscle.
BCAAs can also help improve workout intensity. During physical exertion, our serotonin levels rise, which means that intensity will decrease and you will feel fatigued. This happens due to the effect of tryptophan, which is converted into serotonin. BCAAs significantly reduce the amount of tryptophan, while less serotonin is released into the body, which will allow you to train harder and more intensely.
BCAAs and Whey Protein
Despite the many positive properties of BCAAs, there are many skeptics who tend to believe that buying BCAAs is simply overpaying, and to get as much BCAAs as possible, you simply need to consume more whey protein. Although whey protein is enriched with BCAAs, this does not mean that it is the most effective strategy. In whey protein, BCAAs are in peptide form, which binds together with other amino acids, and for the chain to be effective, it must pass through the entire digestive tract and only then will the BCAA chain be absorbed into the blood. Although whey protein is digested quite quickly, the process will still take several hours. BCAAs separately as a supplement are in free form, do not require digestion, and are absorbed into the blood very quickly. Even a few grams of free-form BCAAs will be absorbed significantly faster than 30 grams of whey protein. By the way, let's not forget that BCAAs have a direct effect on protein synthesis and the duration of protein breakdown.
Furthermore, because BCAAs bypass the liver and intestines and enter directly into the bloodstream, this chain can be used as a direct energy source during exercise. Valine and isoleucine are considered glycogenic amino acids, meaning they can be converted into glucose and serve as an energy source during exercise, which will help get rid of fatigue during workouts.
Conclusion
Studies have shown that people who adhere to a diet supplemented with BCAAs lose weight much faster and without drastic muscle loss. Here's some food for thought, my friends: maintaining quality muscle while losing a larger amount of body fat can be helped by one supplement! Our market is full of unnecessary supplements that promise quick results in the shortest possible time. Instead of blindly believing fairy tales, check out the power of BCAAs, because the benefits of BCAAs are obvious!
Translated into Lithuanian from: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bcaas-the-many-benefits-of-amino-acids.html
