Bcaa's? Supplements? Are they really necessary?

That's a big point of debate. Some people swear by them, other people say it's a placebo.
Some research say it's the best thing since sliced bread, other papers say it's completely unnecessary and ultimately have no impact on either weight loss or hypertrophy.

What they are:
BCAAs are Branch Chain Amino Acids (Leucine, Isoleucine and Valine) - They are 3 of 9 essential amino acids. They are called essential amino acids because the body cannot make them, so you must get them through food.
The 3 work together.
THe point of them, from a body building standpoint, is that they can be used as building blocks for protein synthesis in the muscle and regulate blood sugar.
Leucine i thought to be the one responsible for muscle growth, Isoleucine and Valine are thought to be the ones that regulate sugar and energy as a side effect.
Those claims, however, seem to be unsubstantiated.
They are also very easy to find in food.

Whether they work or not, it's impossible for anyone to tell you because even science can't tell for sure, BUT, I work train with competition bodybuilders, one of them has qualified to the Arnold Classic next year and they take BCAAs like they're M&Ms.

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CREATINE - Is a chemical compound found in the muscles and in the brain. (Thou, in much smaller quantities in the brain - I remember reading it's a 95 to 5% ration between muscle and brain)
Your body makes Creatine from Amino-Acids (glycine and arginine if I am not mistaken)
Science seems to indicate that creating has the ability to increase muscle mass, strength and exercise performance.
It's also being used to protect against Neuro-degenerative diseases (Thou the correlation has not yet been proven)

Just like BCAAs, my body building pals drink creatine like it's gatorade. They swear by it as well.

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There's an interview with a Harvard scientist name David Sinclair on the Joe Rogan experience. He talks about longevity research and he's not a big fan of BCAAs.
It's worth watching. (Free on youtube).

I hope this helps you... I don't use any supplement, but i have in the past and stopped because i haven't felt any difference.
Progress was the same and when i stopped, i noticed no drop in strength or resistance.

BCAAs are necessary, and you should get them from food (including milk) not from supplements.

Creatine is the real deal. It's in red meat, fish, and poultry. I'm a vegetation and respond well to supplementation, a lot of people who eat meat don't respond at all to supplements, probably because they get it from their diet.

Here's a rule of thumb: food is better than supplements, almost any supplement can be gotten from food instead. Why? Our bodies only evolved to be able to use things that were available to us, and we mostly get these kinds of chemicals from eating.

IamSimonIam wrote: »

I'd say the only 2 supplements you should take are creatine and a good pre-workout with caffeine in it.
Creatine is proven to increase blood flow to the muscles, more blood, more workout and quicker recovery.
Caffeine is proven to stimulate you to do more reps, more reps, more gains.
If I've one piece of advice, is eat clean and well. No processed foods and eat a large variety of food, that way you'll stay healthy inside.
I've take most supplements, and I can say that the best improvements and gains I've made have been when my nutrition has been spot on, and taking creatine and a caffeine pre-workout.
I also take a multivitamin supplement, just because I'm 49 and want to stay healthy.

I don't disagree that creatine and caffeine can both be useful supplements for bodybuilding but that's not how either of them work.
There's also no reason to avoid processed foods as long as nutrition goals are met (all foods are processed to some degree or another).