When you are trying to find the best supplements to help you build or preserve muscle, whey protein is the first thing that comes to all of our minds. And rightly so! It is a fantastic supplement that has a multitude of benefits.
However, if you study any of the fitness professionals who 'walk the walk,' you will notice another supplement that they all are taking (and praise).
That supplement is called BCAAs, which stands for branch-chained amino acids.
How BCAAs Earn Their Worth
BCAA's are a fantastic tool because they are among the most versatile supplements that exist. While whey protein can have benefits in terms of both muscle gains and fat loss, BCAAs have PROVEN effects on both.
Since we are talking about adding them with whey protein, we will talk mostly about muscle building benefits.
First and foremost, BCAAs promote protein synthesis, which is the process for which muscle growth begins. This is done through a process called mTOR, which is started by leucine, the most important BCAA.1 This shows that taking BCAAs are a fantastic way to start up protein synthesis.
Another fantastic benefit of BCAAs is that they are not only very beneficial for protein synthesis, but they also act as an immediate energy source. You can use BCAAs as a pre-workout, and it will help you train more intensely, and for a longer period of time. In turn, this allows for more work to be done to your muscles, thus further contributing to your progress. While this may not be as direct of an impact as the protein synthesis effect, it still contributes to your improvement in performance, which contributes to accelerated results.
Ok, But What's The Difference from Whey Protein?
BCAAs are also in whey protein, which is why many just decide to take in more whey protein. While this can obviously be beneficial, the impact isn't the same.
The amino acids in whey protein take several hours to be absorbed into the bloodstream, while the regular supplement BCAAs do not require digestion. This means that they are immediately absorbed, and have a much larger spike on amino acid levels. This equates to a faster impact on protein synthesis, and also explains why they can also be used as an immediate energy source for your workouts.
Not Only Do They Build Muscle…
… They also prevent muscle breakdown, which is a FANTASTIC advantage, whether your goals be geared towards muscle building or fat loss.
When in a caloric deficit, your body responds by becoming catabolic, in an attempt to gather more necessary energy. However, many find difficulties with keeping all of their hard-earned muscle mass during the 'cutting' phase.
BCAAs prevent this due to their ability to promote protein synthesis. And, on top of that, they also reduce muscle damage post-exercise.2 This can contribute to less soreness, and also prevention of catabolism, which can still happen to individuals who are trying to gain muscle mass, but are not aware of whether or not they are eating enough to promote mass gain.
- Wang, X. (2006). The mTOR Pathway in the Control of Protein Synthesis. Physiology, 21(5), 362-369. doi:10.1152/physiol.00024.2006
- Howaston, G., Hoad, M., Goodall, S., Tallent, J., Bell, P. G., & French, D. N. (2012). Exercise-induced muscle damage is reduced in resistance-trained males by branched chain amino acids: A randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled study. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition. doi:10.1186/1550-2783-9-20
