BCAA’s… Maybe you’ve heard of them, maybe you haven’t! In either case, BCAA’s, or Branched-Chain Amino Acids, have shown to have many benefits for healthy individuals who are active and striving to build muscle and lose fat. BCAA’s stimulate protein synthesis, perhaps even more than normal protein alone. In addition, BCAA’s increase the synthesis of the process that is responsible for building muscle (protein synthesis.)
So what does this all amount to and HOW do you incorporate BCAA’s into your diet? Many athletes get their BCAA from a dissolvable powder you put in your water or other beverages, either flavored or unflavored, and then consume either before, during, and/or after your workout. This can be especially helpful in maintaining muscle mass while on a calorie-deficit diet, as dieting can also take a chunk out of your muscle mass IN ADDITION to the fat you are also losing. This is because dieting is a catabolic process, or muscle breakdown. This is because the leaner a body gets, the harder the body tries to hold onto body fat stores. As a result, the body will turn to muscle as an energy source. No bueno!
To fight against this process, many take BCAA’s, particularly leucine, to stimulate protein synthesis and decrease the rate of protein breakdown. So if one of your goals at our Durham personal training gym is to increase muscle and lose fat, BCAA’s might be your answer!
From our personal trainers in Durham…. Happy muscle building and fat burning! Perhaps with the help of BCAA’s!