Any good BCAA supplemental drink mixes? (Trying to build muscle.)

cardioxxbunnyxx

I have heard about BCAA (amino acid) supplement drink mixes and how they help out with building muscle, and how it helps recover you from fatigue from lifting. I am fairly petite, 5'3, small framed for the most part... but I am trying to lower my body fat % a bit and gain more muscle! it's so hard. I hate eating meat so I'll drink protein shakes and other protein substitutes like eggs every morning, beans, yogurt.
Plus, since I workout every morning before work, I end up being so fatigued the rest of the day.

What brands do you recommend? I don't want anything that will be like a "pre-workout" dirnk, I hate that stuff that gives you too much energy, as I get super anxious and jittery from that kind of stuff!

Thanks!

psuLemon

cardioxxbunnyxx wrote: »

I have heard about BCAA (amino acid) supplement drink mixes and how they help out with building muscle, and how it helps recover you from fatigue from lifting. I am fairly petite, 5'3, small framed for the most part... but I am trying to lower my body fat % a bit and gain more muscle! it's so hard!! lol

What brands do you reccomend? I don't want anything that will be like a "pre-workout" dirnk, I hate that stuff that gives you too much energy, as I get super anxious and jittery from that kind of stuff!

Thanks!

The more recent reviews of science would suggest that BCAA's are overrated, especially if you have adequate protein intake or drink a protein shake.

The bold is going to be very hard to do. While you can gain some muscle in a deficit, it's far from optimal and diminishes over time. It's also more based on your training protocol and your total intake.

ninerbuff

BCAA's are overated. You want to lose body fat..............you lower your body %. You want to gain muscle? You increase progressive resistance and EAT ENOUGH to support muscle growth. Unless you're doing an intentional recomp, you choose either one or the other.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

JRiveraRodriguez

You look to be very lean with some muscle definition already.
What your attempting will have you quickly spinning your wheels.

Best bet is to figure out whether you'd like to get leaner or build more muscle.
There's nothing wrong with starting a bulk before summer as long as you keep an eye on your intake and gain only .5 pounds a week.
Being as lean as you are you can gain some decent muscle without putting on much fat at all.

As for the BCAA's, safe your money and just have a coffee before a work out,
I've benifited and seen great performance results.

Wish you well on your journey!

sardelsa

psuLemon wrote: »

cardioxxbunnyxx wrote: »

I have heard about BCAA (amino acid) supplement drink mixes and how they help out with building muscle, and how it helps recover you from fatigue from lifting. I am fairly petite, 5'3, small framed for the most part... but I am trying to lower my body fat % a bit and gain more muscle! it's so hard!! lol

What brands do you reccomend? I don't want anything that will be like a "pre-workout" dirnk, I hate that stuff that gives you too much energy, as I get super anxious and jittery from that kind of stuff!

Thanks!

The more recent reviews of science would suggest that BCAA's are overrated, especially if you have adequate protein intake or drink a protein shake.

The bold is going to be very hard to do. While you can gain some muscle in a deficit, it's far from optimal and diminishes over time. It's also more based on your training protocol and your total intake.

Yup this. I don't take them and I have successfully gained muscle by eating in surplus and lifting weights.

What it sounds like you want to do is recomp but honestly if you are already pretty lean with a pretty low BF%, I don't think you will get the results you desire.. I would probably go for a really small surplus as mentioned (this is what I am doing now) then cut.

canadianlbs

to answer what you asked, i bought two tubs of aminocore key lime-cherry powder two or three years ago. still working my way through the second one, but that's more because bcaa's just don't have a big place in my daily lineup.

does it work? idk. i bought it because i just wasn't getting a break from the doms and there's only so many whey shakes/chicken breasts i'm willing to eat in one day. i think that it does help for that, but i can't speak for actual muscle growth. i use it more like an alternative form of anti-inflammatory, and about that often too.

as far as the taste . . .well, idk what to say. idk if this is all bcaa powders or not. and for all i know this is just the one flavour i bought. but on the one hand there's a very definite, pretty rank . . . aura that comes off the stuff. sort of tom-cat-y, little bit of a toejam thing too. but it is more like an aura than an actual part of the taste. it's quite weird. and quite strong . . .when i was taking the stuff at work before i had to do this long long ride home, i was stashing it in the freezer to try and keep it suppressed.

and on the other hand, bizarre as this sounds i got used to it.

AnvilHead

https://examine.com/supplements/branched-chain-amino-acids/

https://examine.com/insiders/3-more-popular-supplements-that-are-a-waste/

shor0814

cardioxxbunnyxx wrote: »

I have heard about BCAA (amino acid) supplement drink mixes and how they help out with building muscle, and how it helps recover you from fatigue from lifting. I am fairly petite, 5'3, small framed for the most part... but I am trying to lower my body fat % a bit and gain more muscle! it's so hard. I hate eating meat so I'll drink protein shakes and other protein substitutes like eggs every morning, beans, yogurt.
Plus, since I workout every morning before work, I end up being so fatigued the rest of the day.

What brands do you recommend? I don't want anything that will be like a "pre-workout" dirnk, I hate that stuff that gives you too much energy, as I get super anxious and jittery from that kind of stuff!

Thanks!

Scivation Xtend is pretty cheap with good flavor, I am partial to the mango but the lemonade is pretty good. Same with Controlled Labs Purple Wraath although it is a bit tart.

Raw BCAA's have a bitter taste so the flavors tend to be really really sweet or a sour flavor to mask the bitterness.

These won't do much for energy (which sounds good for you) but they break the monotony of plain water through the day.