BCAA (essential amino acids)
Amino acid complexes today are the most important component of a healthy diet for professional athletes. Peptides and free amino acids contained in such complexes begin to enter the bloodstream even in the stomach, therefore they reach the cells of the body quickly enough, 10 minutes after ingestion. The use of amino acid complexes containing all vital amino acids is of great importance for the effective and rapid recovery of muscle tissue, depleted after intense and heavy exertion. To assimilate free amino acids, no additional energy is required for the body. Once in the blood, they do not interfere with the restoration of energy in muscle tissues. Thanks to amino acids, the growth of muscle mass is especially effectively accelerated, endurance increases; the potential of the hormonal background of the body, which arises after training, is fully used. In order to preserve and protect muscle tissue, athletes need to take a special complex of BCAA amino acids. It contains only BCAAs, namely valine, leucine and isoleucine.
BCAA are essential amino acids with side chains that are not formed in our body, therefore, a person should receive BCAA from food or supplements. The uniqueness of BCAA amino acids lies in the fact that the reaction of energy release from them occurs directly in muscle fibers, when other amino acids are utilized in the liver. BCAA amino acids are especially depleted during fasting, as well as after training, lasting more than 4 hours.
What’s happening?
With powerful loads, the athlete’s body uses mainly intracellular energy stores. When the body runs out of stores of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), it begins to actively consume proteins, especially BCAAs – valine, leucine and isoleucine. This is a normal state for our body, and there is nothing to worry about, since after exercising in the gym, regeneration processes begin to operate in the muscle tissues. It is they that allow you to build muscle mass and reduce body fat. The most important thing is that BCAA amino acids are always present in the cells of the body in an accessible form.
The effectiveness of BCAA.
Scientific studies have shown that BCAA amino acids are the most important and essential for the restoration of muscle tissue and the normalization of protein processes in the body. BCAAs are absorbed almost instantly in the digestive tract, and within a few minutes, about 70% of these amino acids are absorbed into muscle tissue cells.
Thus, muscles after exhausting workouts receive the necessary material for recovery almost instantly. At the same time, only those amino acids that were consumed to a greater extent by the body during anaerobic exercise enter the muscle tissue. It should be noted that any other methods of replenishing the body with BCAA amino acids, for example, regular food, delay the beginning of the regeneration process for many hours.
It has been proven that athletes should also take BCAAs during fasting or dieting to reduce catabolism.
How to use?
The needs of an athlete’s body for BCAA depend on the intensity and duration of gym activities, training experience, body characteristics and many other factors. It is preferable to take BCAAs within 15-30 minutes after training and just before bed. And to achieve the maximum effect from taking BCAA, you should select an individual dose through experiments under the strict supervision of a specialist or doctor.