BCAA supplements have made their grand entry into the supplement market in recent years. The community of bodybuilders and fitness buffs has accepted it with full enthusiasm and for all good reasons. BCAAs or Branched Chain Amino Acids are the building blocks of protein and you need to obtain them from either food sources or supplements like BCAA powder.
BCAA supplementation can be helpful in gaining skeletal muscles and also helps you to maintain muscle mass while you are following a calorie-deficit diet. Those who want to gain a lean physique, BCAA is a great pick for them. In this article, you’ll learn about 4 best reasons to choose a BCAA supplement.
What is BCAA?
These are a group of 3 amino acids namely leucine, valine, and isoleucine. All these 3 are essential amino acids that your body needs. Since your body cannot make it, you need to consume supplements or eat foods rich in these amino acids.
These are used by bodybuilders because they help in muscle growth. BCAA helps in various things, such as:
- Boosting muscle protein synthesis
- Helps in forming other amino acids such as glutamine
- Improving leptin
- Fueling you with energy
Supplements are an easy way to enrich yourself with the goodness of BCAAs. Though there are certain foods rich in BCAAs, such as chicken, eggs, beef, brown rice, whole wheat, etc., supplements offer you a hassle-free experience of consuming this essential amino acid group.
4 benefits of BCAA supplements
- Enhance muscle protein synthesis
Since they fuel you with essential amino acids leucine, isoleucine, and valine, the help in improving protein synthesis in your muscles. Protein synthesis is a type of metabolic process through which your body produces a new protein in your muscles which is also called gains. This strengthens your muscles and enhances your bodybuilding experience.
- Restricts breakdown of protein
BCAA is helpful in preventing protein breakdown. These supplements minimize the protein breakdown pathway and reduce the amount of mRNA that is generated through the genes that regulate these components. When protein synthesis in your muscles is increased and protein breakdown is controlled, you experience ease in maintaining muscle mass and gains.
- Improve your athletic performance
BCAAs are great for improving your performance at the gym. They grapple with tryptophan (amino acid) to enter the brain, where this tryptophan is converted to serotonin. When you are working out, the serotonin levels go up and this leads to you feeling tired. When you experience fatigue, you often give up and cannot perform more. BCAA supplements help in bringing down the level of tryptophan and minimize the production of serotonin. This results in reduced levels of fatigue and allows you to perform better and for longer durations.
- Reduces muscle soreness
It is a common phenomenon to have sore muscles after an intense workout session. This is called DOMS (Delayed onset muscle soreness) which can show after 12 to 24 hours post-heavy-duty workouts. It can stay up to 2 days or more. This soreness is the result of some tears in the muscles. BCAAs help in reducing muscle damage and this can minimize the intensity and duration of DOMS. Consuming BCAA prior to your workout can help in boosting your recovery time.
Whey and BCAAs
Many people state that if you are consuming whey protein, you do not need to consume BCAAs. Whey protein also contains BCAAs, but those are not enough to enhance your bodybuilding. If you want to have effective muscle growth and fat loss, consuming BCAA supplements is a great way.
The BCAAs present in whey are bound by peptide to other amino acids. If you want to increase BCAA in your body, they should be absorbed nicely in your bloodstream. BCAA supplements get quickly absorbed in your bloodstream and create that spike in the amino acid levels in your blood than the BCAAs in whey protein.
It is important that you choose the right BCAA supplement to boost your muscle growth. There are various brands in the market that sold a variety of BCAA supplements such as BCAA powders. Choose a reliable and popular brand that offers quality nutrition.
There are many brands in India that sell BCAA powder in various flavors. Brands like MuscleBlaze have the best BCAA powder price in India, as they offer quality supplements at a reasonable price. Other brands like GNC, Optimum Nutrition, Scivation, etc. also sell these supplements. You can go with these brands to ensure that you are getting the best quality BCAA for your bodybuilding goals.