BCAA's Do you use it?

flippy1234
flippy1234 Posts: 686 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi All,
I keep seeing people at my gym drinking BCAA's. They say it helps give them energy during workouts. Do you use them? Do they really help? I just got some but haven't used it yet.
Thanks.

Replies

  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    edited July 2018
    The BCAAs don't give them energy... the caffeine they are often packaged/mixed with does.

    Caffeine: good.
    BCAAs: placebo at best (usually).
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    Mine has caffeine, so yes. It also has flavor. I use it as a base for my pre-workout/daily Beta alanine/creatine/Citrulline
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    I don't use it because it's a waste of money.

    http://www.mysportscience.com/single-post/2017/10/02/The-truth-about-BCAA
  • deputy_randolph
    deputy_randolph Posts: 940 Member
    Tried...did nothing noticeable. Caffeine ftw.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    It's a fashion statement, join the placebo crew....

    AA's aren't really used as an energy source. The digestive path takes far too long anyway to help intra-workout.
    If you need to supplement protein there's virtually no scenario where BCAA's are a better choice than whey protein (which contains BCAA's anyway).

    If you feel the need for added energy then glucose would be a better choice.
    If you feel the need for stimulants then take them.
  • mrslynda
    mrslynda Posts: 50 Member
    For me, a cup of coffee is enough of a stimulant. My heart rate and blood pressure tend to be low, but if I attempt to raise it with anymore than a standard cup of coffee or equivalent, the raise and than drop make me feel off. Also I have found working night shift , that over doing caffeine can be counter productive. I agree with carbs being helpfull as well.

    Full disclosure, I haven't tried BCAA or commercial preworkouts, as I am on a budget and my experiments involve mostly what we always have in the household.
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
    I use a pre-workout (c4) but mostly just for the jolt of caffeine to wake me up in the morning. If I'm doing a usual 2 hour workout session I'll sip on a protein shake throughout my workout which has BCAA's as well. Beyond that, buying BCAA's by themselves really does nothing that I could tell. I'd have to agree that they are likely a placebo, as long as you get enough electrolytes in your regular diet to replenish what you sweat away I see no reason to add them.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,979 Member
    deputy_randolph wrote: »
    Tried...did nothing noticeable. Caffeine ftw.

    Same.

    Caffeine pill and in 30 minutes I'm zooming around the room.
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