Bcaa???!!!

Tell me what you like and what you don't like. Tell me why you take it. And what kind you like!
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Replies

  • Luna3386
    Luna3386 Posts: 888 Member
    I use ON nutrition amino energy mostly for the caffeine lol. It is supposed to help muscles recover so you aren't as sore, but I don't know about that.
  • JonDrees
    JonDrees Posts: 161 Member
    BCAA are great for you, but I get mine from eating meat and taking whey protein....there is probably no need for you to take them individually.
  • Farrell73
    Farrell73 Posts: 94 Member
    Thank you luna3386
  • Farrell73
    Farrell73 Posts: 94 Member
    Great! Thanks Jondrees
  • gymzonian
    gymzonian Posts: 15 Member
    I love taking sciVation Xtend BCAAs. Their flavors are close to Jolly Rancher taste. My favorites are watermelon, and apple.
  • lemonychild
    lemonychild Posts: 654 Member
    What's their purpose @gymzonian
  • gymzonian
    gymzonian Posts: 15 Member
    What's their purpose @gymzonian
    http://main.poliquingroup.com/articlesmultimedia/articles/article/1088/ten_benefits_of_bcaas.aspx People don't have to take Bcaa's at all but for me. I love them and have no problem buying Bcaas all the time.
  • jph3
    jph3 Posts: 17 Member
    Love BCAAs intra workout. Currently using grape Purple Wraath and really liking it.
  • Misalayne
    Misalayne Posts: 84 Member
    I like the Xtend, as well. The flavor I'm drinking now is Strawberry Kiwi. It does help me in the gym while working out.
  • Farrell73
    Farrell73 Posts: 94 Member
    Thank everyone! Question does it really help you not to be so sore?
  • EugeneBee
    EugeneBee Posts: 5 Member
    It's just a waste of money!
  • Sp1tfire
    Sp1tfire Posts: 1,120 Member
    I love my BCAA. I take it during the first portion of my workout (elliptical or running 40 minutes) because I train fasted. I find that it also helps with my power output during the strength training portion of my workout, but it could be partly due to the InsuSpike or Watts UP Peak force thats added to the one that I take. I LOVE GNC's beyond raw precision BCAA (it tastes just like gummy worms, and i'm super picky about flavors.) It's also supposed to help with DOMS too. Maybe stop into your local GNC and see if they have sample packets?
  • ejsilvi
    ejsilvi Posts: 205 Member
    I would put it this way it all depends on what u r trying to do ? N y u think u need them ? I do feel they work u can add them to your protein shake or take them by them selfs just watch some company's add caffeine too also not a big fan of flavored ones too Amazon has some of the best deals on them hope this helps U ...
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    https://examine.com/supplements/branched-chain-amino-acids/
    BCAAs are important to ingest on a daily basis, but many protein sources, such as meat and eggs, already provide BCAAs. Supplementation is unnecessary for people with a sufficiently high protein intake (1-1.5g per kg of bodyweight a day or more).
    In regards to the anti-fatigue effects, it is highly plausible that this will only apply to untrained or lightly trained persons doing prolonged exercise. There does appear to be a difference between trained and untrained persons, and perhaps this is due to less tolerance to exercise-induced sedation (fatigue tends to set in earlier in newbies, so an anti-fatigue effect is going to affect them more)
  • Farrell73
    Farrell73 Posts: 94 Member
    Thank you all!
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    Farrell73 wrote: »
    Tell me what you like and what you don't like. Tell me why you take it. And what kind you like!

    for myself: yes, i do think it helps with soreness, but also no, i don't feel like i need to do it continually. i take mine about the same way as i take my magnesium: only when actual cramping or soreness show up and they seem to be necessary.

    i have aminocore key lime/cherry flavour, with some pink lemonade stuff from canadianprotein.com still waiting in the kitchen cupboard. took me a while to get used to the aura around the aminocore stuff, but now i'm used to the flavour and kind of like it, though i dilute it like mad. i'm a water-or-coffee person the rest of the time, so my tastebuds don't have much resistance to violent sweetness and flavouring.


  • Sp1tfire
    Sp1tfire Posts: 1,120 Member
    Like canadianlbs said, I also don't feel the need to take it religiously. I only add it to the first portion of my workout when I have intense strength training planned. BCAA can be a little expensive (I never ever take the dose reccomended by the salesmen at GNC, he suggested taking 3x what I take now, and I'm feeling effectiveness at my current dose). It helps to stretch it a bit.
  • stang02
    stang02 Posts: 75 Member
    edited May 2017
    I have a problem ingesting protein in large quantities so I can't take regular protein powders. I take BCAAs to help. I found a world of difference in my endurance after taking it. I use it pre, during, and post but I dilute it greatly. (I'm not bodybuilding, but I practice martial arts daily so my goals/reasons might be different than yours.)
  • CipherZero
    CipherZero Posts: 1,418 Member
    filbo132 wrote: »
    BCAA are useless if you have a high protein diet. The only time BCAA have any use is if you are training fasted and you don't eat food for many hours after that. If you are not doing IF and not training fasted, then there's no point in taking them.

    Pretty much this. If I'm doing a first-thing-in-the-morning workout I'll use them (BCAA 2:1:1, L-Glutamine, and 200-400mg caffeine) and get to it.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    Farrell73 wrote: »
    Thank everyone! Question does it really help you not to be so sore?

    For me, personally, yes. My husband also thinks so.
  • getupforchange
    getupforchange Posts: 86 Member
    I get the fizzy NOCCO BCAA drinks form the No Carbs Company but only really have them as an energy boost when I go to do fasted cardio in the mornings. I only drink coffee at work so don't keep any at home but the NOCCO drinks have added caffeine and I find that they help me get going in the mornings. Super expensive for what it is really but I like their flavours and can't get pre-workout down. Plus they contain vitamins including vitamin D and I have a deficiency so... Peach is my favourite, Pear is great too and I also really like the Tropical one.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,425 MFP Moderator
    all broke-*kitten* will say it's a waste of money.

    Yea.. because it's not tlike there is science or anything to back that recommendation....


    oh wait:

    Hey everyone, a frequently recurring topic is BCAA supplementation. A lot of folks are simply unaware of the actual data, so they needlessly waste their hard-earned cash on BCAA supps. This might not be music to the ears of folks locked in a routine of taking their favorite supp, but my hope is that it gives some of you food for thought, and ultimately helps you zap an unnecessary (and potentially detrimental) item from your supplement shopping list.

    The high-quality proteins in our diets are comprised of appx 18-26% BCAA as it is. Supplementing with extra BCAA on top of that can range from adding extra unnecessary calories (and metabolic burden), to actually inhibiting optimal use of ingested amino acids [1].

    Let me also add that whey protein has a stronger anabolic/anticatabolic effect than its equivalent in supplemental EAA or BCAA [2]. It's no surprise that supplemental BCAA has an equivocal track record in the research [3,4]. For those concerned about "going catabolic" doing fasted cardio without AA supplementation, my colleagues and I found no difference in body comp effects between fed vs fasted cardio when total protein is sufficient (both groups retained their LBM) [5]. As for the ability of BCAA to inhibit muscle soreness, note that this is always compared to a non-protein placebo.

    It's LOL to supp with BCAA to begin with (instead of an intact, high-quality protein such as whey, which provides the rest of the EAAs as well as other co-factors for anabolism -- but it's all moot if you're getting enough total daily protein anyway). Here’s a salient quote from a recent review [6]:

    "Thus, as we speculated, consumption of crystalline BCAA resulted in competitive antagonism for uptake from the gut and into the muscle and was actually not as effective as leucine alone in stimulating MPS. Despite the popularity of BCAA supplements we find shockingly little evidence for their efficacy in promoting MPS or lean mass gains and would advise the use of intact proteins as opposed to a purified combination of BCAA that appear to antagonize each other in terms of transport both into circulation and likely in to the muscle.”

    The only people who are not wasting time & money on supplemental BCAA are those who must maintain a low-protein diet, or a diet with restricted amounts of high-quality protein. With that all said, if your total daily protein is optimized, and you don't mind consuming the functional equivalent of really expensive flavored water, then be my guest. :)

    1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27175106
    2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22451437
    3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20110810
    4) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15930475
    5) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25429252/
    6) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26388782/
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,425 MFP Moderator
    I consume adequate protein and often time a protein shake + carbs pre workout (since my lunch is 5 hours before hand) and consume dinner after. So BCAA's = worthless.
  • dudemeister2014
    dudemeister2014 Posts: 16 Member
    I am now 30 quid lighter in the wallet department. I tried it and found it useless. Common sense should have told me that a high protein diet was fine and really all i was doing was adding a shocking amount of chemical artificial sweeteners to my otherwise clean diet lol. I lift heavy and have grown to accept DOMS as part of life, not that BCAA powder made any difference. Have a steak and get some magnesium spray for leg day relief B)
  • ItsAllMental819
    ItsAllMental819 Posts: 68 Member
    psuLemon wrote: »
    all broke-*kitten* will say it's a waste of money.

    Yea.. because it's not tlike there is science or anything to back that recommendation....


    oh wait:

    Hey everyone, a frequently recurring topic is BCAA supplementation. A lot of folks are simply unaware of the actual data, so they needlessly waste their hard-earned cash on BCAA supps. This might not be music to the ears of folks locked in a routine of taking their favorite supp, but my hope is that it gives some of you food for thought, and ultimately helps you zap an unnecessary (and potentially detrimental) item from your supplement shopping list.

    The high-quality proteins in our diets are comprised of appx 18-26% BCAA as it is. Supplementing with extra BCAA on top of that can range from adding extra unnecessary calories (and metabolic burden), to actually inhibiting optimal use of ingested amino acids [1].

    Let me also add that whey protein has a stronger anabolic/anticatabolic effect than its equivalent in supplemental EAA or BCAA [2]. It's no surprise that supplemental BCAA has an equivocal track record in the research [3,4]. For those concerned about "going catabolic" doing fasted cardio without AA supplementation, my colleagues and I found no difference in body comp effects between fed vs fasted cardio when total protein is sufficient (both groups retained their LBM) [5]. As for the ability of BCAA to inhibit muscle soreness, note that this is always compared to a non-protein placebo.

    It's LOL to supp with BCAA to begin with (instead of an intact, high-quality protein such as whey, which provides the rest of the EAAs as well as other co-factors for anabolism -- but it's all moot if you're getting enough total daily protein anyway). Here’s a salient quote from a recent review [6]:

    "Thus, as we speculated, consumption of crystalline BCAA resulted in competitive antagonism for uptake from the gut and into the muscle and was actually not as effective as leucine alone in stimulating MPS. Despite the popularity of BCAA supplements we find shockingly little evidence for their efficacy in promoting MPS or lean mass gains and would advise the use of intact proteins as opposed to a purified combination of BCAA that appear to antagonize each other in terms of transport both into circulation and likely in to the muscle.”

    The only people who are not wasting time & money on supplemental BCAA are those who must maintain a low-protein diet, or a diet with restricted amounts of high-quality protein. With that all said, if your total daily protein is optimized, and you don't mind consuming the functional equivalent of really expensive flavored water, then be my guest. :)

    1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27175106
    2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22451437
    3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20110810
    4) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15930475
    5) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25429252/
    6) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26388782/

    Everyone is entitled their opinions but too say they are a waste of money is ludicrous... Why don't you worry about yourself and try to cite your own sources? Did you even read these studies? Most are about L-luceine only or specific times the study concentrated on like caloric restrictions or when consuming ample protein & protein drinks. I don't use a BCAA drink but do take L - Glutamine after every workout but would take them and would never tell someone they were wasting their time or money for trying to better & give themselves a boost or edge.

    There are studies that support the effects of BCAA's & other amino acids - especially L-Glutamine - on muscle recuperation and growth but I'll let you research that yourself since you are the expert... Wouldn't want you too just re post them. What are the requirement to be a MFP Moderator anyways?
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    edited May 2017
    psuLemon wrote: »
    all broke-*kitten* will say it's a waste of money.

    Yea.. because it's not tlike there is science or anything to back that recommendation....


    oh wait:

    Hey everyone, a frequently recurring topic is BCAA supplementation. A lot of folks are simply unaware of the actual data, so they needlessly waste their hard-earned cash on BCAA supps. This might not be music to the ears of folks locked in a routine of taking their favorite supp, but my hope is that it gives some of you food for thought, and ultimately helps you zap an unnecessary (and potentially detrimental) item from your supplement shopping list.

    The high-quality proteins in our diets are comprised of appx 18-26% BCAA as it is. Supplementing with extra BCAA on top of that can range from adding extra unnecessary calories (and metabolic burden), to actually inhibiting optimal use of ingested amino acids [1].

    Let me also add that whey protein has a stronger anabolic/anticatabolic effect than its equivalent in supplemental EAA or BCAA [2]. It's no surprise that supplemental BCAA has an equivocal track record in the research [3,4]. For those concerned about "going catabolic" doing fasted cardio without AA supplementation, my colleagues and I found no difference in body comp effects between fed vs fasted cardio when total protein is sufficient (both groups retained their LBM) [5]. As for the ability of BCAA to inhibit muscle soreness, note that this is always compared to a non-protein placebo.

    It's LOL to supp with BCAA to begin with (instead of an intact, high-quality protein such as whey, which provides the rest of the EAAs as well as other co-factors for anabolism -- but it's all moot if you're getting enough total daily protein anyway). Here’s a salient quote from a recent review [6]:

    "Thus, as we speculated, consumption of crystalline BCAA resulted in competitive antagonism for uptake from the gut and into the muscle and was actually not as effective as leucine alone in stimulating MPS. Despite the popularity of BCAA supplements we find shockingly little evidence for their efficacy in promoting MPS or lean mass gains and would advise the use of intact proteins as opposed to a purified combination of BCAA that appear to antagonize each other in terms of transport both into circulation and likely in to the muscle.”

    The only people who are not wasting time & money on supplemental BCAA are those who must maintain a low-protein diet, or a diet with restricted amounts of high-quality protein. With that all said, if your total daily protein is optimized, and you don't mind consuming the functional equivalent of really expensive flavored water, then be my guest. :)

    1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27175106
    2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22451437
    3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20110810
    4) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15930475
    5) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25429252/
    6) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26388782/

    Everyone is entitled their opinions but too say they are a waste of money is ludicrous... Why don't you worry about yourself and try to cite your own sources? Did you even read these studies? Most are about L-luceine only or specific times the study concentrated on like caloric restrictions or when consuming ample protein & protein drinks. I don't use a BCAA drink but do take L - Glutamine after every workout but would take them and would never tell someone they were wasting their time or money for trying to better & give themselves a boost or edge.

    There are studies that support the effects of BCAA's & other amino acids - especially L-Glutamine - on muscle recuperation and growth but I'll let you research that yourself since you are the expert... Wouldn't want you too just re post them. What are the requirement to be a MFP Moderator anyways?

    As the saying goes, everybody is entitled to their own opinion, but they're not entitled to their own facts. Broscience is not the same as science.

    If you'd like to see plenty of peer-reviewed research on BCAAs (which further state that they're essentially useless in the vast majority of cases if you already have adequate protein intake), there are a ton of studies summarized (and linked in their entirety) here: https://examine.com/supplements/branched-chain-amino-acids/
  • ItsAllMental819
    ItsAllMental819 Posts: 68 Member
    Even though the first thing I noticed when scrolling to the sources cited was this site was selling a book and wanted my info - I took the time to look it over.

    On the title page:
    Supplementation is not necessary, but BCAAs may benefit the body if taken at specific times.

    So if you know when to take them... like during a workout or immediately after as they mention and many of there studies looked at.

    First source I clicked:
    RESULTS:
    The leucine group demonstrated significantly higher gains in total 5-RM strength (sum of 5-RM in eight exercises) and 5-RM strength in five out of the eight exercises (P < .05). The percentage total 5-RM strength gains were 40.8% (± 7.8) and 31.0% (± 4.6) for the leucine and placebo groups respectively. Significant differences did not exist between groups in either total percentage LTM gains or total percentage FM losses (LTM: 2.9% ± 2.5 vs 2.0% ± 2.1, FM: 1.6% ± 15.6 vs 1.1% ± 7.6).
    CONCLUSION:
    These results suggest that 4 g/d of L-leucine supplementation may be used as a nutritional supplement to enhance strength performance during a 12-week resistance training program of initially untrained male participants.
    PMID: 21487148

    States it helps to enhance strength in untrained males... Hmmm

    I guarantee many other studies on this site will say they are NOT worthless. Don't just read the summary or the title in bold... Over half of the studies I looked at were done on rats also!