BCAA Question

[Pure]

I want to buy some BCAA powder but only if I can put a few scoops in a big bottle of water and drink it throughout the day. Does anyone know if this ruins the quality. Does freezing it ruin the quality aswell.

Also any recommendations on a decent supplement shop in Auckland.... I want to by locally.

Ta

[Cammo]

I buy SciVation Xtend powder from bb.com.

I've searched & searched but can't find any NZ stockists. It mixes well with water & tastes alright too.

I just got the new apple flavour - it tastes good mixed in my PWO shake & there's more in the container of apple flavour than the other flavours (a new flavour promotion I suspect).

Not too sure about freezing it - can't see it being a problem.

[Pure]

Awesome... Just what im after

Thanks bro

[Truds]

I have the watermelon flavour, it's delish!

[Goldberg]

I use these

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/aap/amino.html

these are by far the best source of aminos anywhere, i mix these in water and just sip on them all through the day, these are so good in the past i have used these as my only source of protein and only used 1/2 a bottle a day, which is 80grams of protein and have not lost any muscle.

[Ash]

I use Trueprotein BCAA powder:

http://www.trueprotein.com/Product_Deta ... 34&pid=314

I just grab some old vitamin bottles and load them up with the BCAA powder. As long as I've got one in my office desk, car, sports bag etc. I'm sweet - just pop a bit of the powder in with some water and I've got a fresh BCAA drink.

The powder doesn't dissolve easily but there is an instantized version for not much more money:

http://www.trueprotein.com/Product_Deta ... 4&pid=6812

As for a good local shop - although I get my whey and BCAAs elsewhere, I use Endorphin Systems for some stuff and have done since 2000. Never had a hassle with them.

Ash

[Marcus]

I use the trueprotein stuff as well. I just spoon it into my mouth & then wash it down with water. Ensures none is wasted sticking to the glass.

[Pseudonym]

The BCAA's are essential amino acids, meaning that they must be consumed in the diet (rather than manufactured in the body) and constitute a more than one third of the amino acid composition of skeletal muscle(8). During high intensity exercise, the BCAA's are oxidized for use as fuel and to maintain oxidative metabolite concentration(4). Supplementing with BCAA's reduces exercise-induced muscle proteolysis (breakdown)(14) and also stimulates muscle protein synthesis(13). Daily BCAA supplementation may also reduce muscle damage, promote strength recovery and even enhance blood oxygen carrying capacity(12).

That's what TrueProtein says about their BCAAs, and I'm sure that's all quite correct. But doesn't regular whey protein (which also contains BCAAs) have exactly the same benefits? Obviously you guys all think this is worth paying more for... why?

[Laver]

Sorry if this is slightly off topic,

I guess BCAA are added to Whey Protein Powder, not just naturally in the whey?

Meaning my 20kg wholesale untouched bag of WPC has no BCAA in it?

Meaning that i'm getting no BCAA's in my diet I dont think?

How important are they, in a scale of importance of nutrition?

[Ash]

Apart from whey powder (which I absolutely have to have being a vego), the BCAA powder is the best supp I’ve ever used.

My recovery is much better when I have my 5g of BCAA post workout and again before bed, I seem to be able to train harder, more frequently, put on more size and I also have less DOMS. Call me mad but it works for me.

Every time I run out or don’t take the BCAAs, I feel like I’m going backwards and my progress is definitely affected, so I’ve resolved to just stay on it forever. It’s not hugely expensive and at 5-10g a day a kilo lasts a long time.

There’s some info on BCAAs at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branched_a ... _synthesis

“Importance of BCAAs

BCAAs play an important role in protein synthesis. In general terms, after a bout of resistance training the muscle will be in a catabolic state, with a protein synthesis deficit. This is because post exercise the MAPK signaling pathway is activated to induce muscle growth. While this is a pathway that will increase protein synthesis, it is not as effective as when combined with the BCAA signaling cascade. The two pathways act independent of each other. Because of this, when adequate amounts of BCAAs are ingested post workout (studies demonstrate that as little as 3g can be sufficient) the body is placed in a greater state of hypertrophy with a positive amount of protein synthesis. This is extremely important for athletes because it will decrease recovery time as it increases the rate at which lean body mass is gained. The use of BCAAs in burn victims results in the same positive protein synthesis. This allows victims to heal faster and return to normal activities at an increased rate, which is the treatment goal.”

and from a link on that page at:

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do;js ... =-1#bottom

BCAAs are present in all complete protein sources, looking at my tub of whey protein, there’s heaps of all 3 BCAAs in it, more than I get from the 5g of BCAA powder but getting just the BCAAs at the right time seems to be the critical part of the equation? Flex or Waldo could clarify this far better than I ever could…..

Ash

[Cammo]

I've mentioned this before but a guy I know in the US started mega-dosing some of his clients (athletes & bodybuilders) on BCAA's - according to him, the recovery rate was a lot faster & the gains these guys made as opposed to the guys that weren't on it were quite impressive.

[Marcus]

I use 15g after a workout & I have found it works.

I used to take BCAA's & Glutamine post workout. I've sinced dropped the glutamine & haven't noticed any difference. But when I drop the BCAA's I find my recover time stretches out longer.

[Flex]

I guess BCAA are added to Whey Protein Powder, not just naturally in the whey?

Meaning my 20kg wholesale untouched bag of WPC has no BCAA in it?

Meaning that i'm getting no BCAA's in my diet I dont think?

Protein is made up of Amino acids, which are a group of nitrogen containing compounds and the building blocks for muscle. There are around 20 different amino acids that make up protein and two separate groups within this, the Essential amino acids and the Nonessential. There are 8 essential amino acids which the body cannot manufacture and must be obtained from the diet. These include BCAA's leucine, isoleucine, and valine.

The other group of amino acids are called nonessential amino acids as they can be made within the body by combining essential amino acids and various carbon and nitrogen precursors. However there are three nonessential amino acids that are commonly referred to as “conditionally essential” amino acids. This is because they can be made in the body but, for active individuals, generally not in adequate amounts to meet the demands caused by exercise. Therefore by supplementing with these three amino acids - glutamine, taurine and arginine, additional benefits can be gained.

Fortunately, most whole food proteins like meat, fish and milk proteins contain an assortment of essential, nonessential and conditionally essential amino acids so generally you should be able to get an assortment of all the amino acids. However whole foods can be classified in two ways, Complete proteins and Incomplete proteins. Complete proteins contain all of the essential amino acids while incomplete proteins do not. Complete proteins include eggs, milk, meat, fish and some vegetable sources including soybeans. Incomplete proteins include many grains and vegetables.

But, although a complete protein may contain all the essential amino acids, the amount of usable protein varies depending on the balance of amino acids present i.e. a protein source may contain 10 grams of protein, but your body can only use a certain percentage of this, maybe 7-8 grams. This is commonly referred to as the Bioavailability of the protein.

The chart above lists the Biological Value (BV) of most common proteins indicating the ease of which the protein can be absorbed by the body. These figures may seem arbitrary when it comes to figuring out exactly how much protein you are eating but basically you can see that, should you eat 100 grams of protein per day from whey concentrate (BV-104) compared to 100 grams of protein from beans (BV-49), you are absorbing over twice as much protein from whey concentrate in comparison to beans. This however doesn’t mean you can eat 200g of beans and get the same amount of protein as 100 grams of whey - whey is typically between 85%-95% protein while beans come in at around about a paltry 1% protein. Obviously it wouldn’t be wise to try and get your daily protein intake (around 2g Protein/kilo bodyweight) from beans.

While a protein may be Incomplete it is by no means bad protein that should be avoided. It still contains essential amino acids but may be lacking a few. By combining two or more incomplete protein sources with different amino acid profiles, you can create a high quality, complete protein. This combination needs to be fairly specific but is probably something you are already doing anyway. To end up with a complete protein you need to combine the sources in the following ways:

Grains plus Seeds -

i.e. Breads / Pasta combined with Seed meal / Sesame or Sunflower seed etc.

Grains plus Milk Proteins -

i.e. Cereal / Pasta / Bread combined with Milk / Cottage cheese etc.

Grains plus Legumes -

i.e. Rice / Pasta / Bread combined with Beans, Peas etc.

This can seem a bit of an extreme way of maximising your protein intake and so many people find that supplementing with a whey protein can make it a whole lot easier to meet their daily requirements.

But even Whey proteins aren’t perfect as they are low in phenylalanine, an essential amino acid, and not as high in glutamine and arginine (both are conditionally essential) as some other proteins. This is where benefits can be gained by supplementing with the individual amino acids or choosing foods high in each of the different amino’s.

Branch Chain Amino Acids - BCAA’s

Branch Chain Amino Acids are so called because they structually branch off another chain of atoms instead of forming in a line. They play a major role in protein synthesis and have been shown to have powerful anabolic (muscle building) and anti-catabolic (prevents muscle breakdown) effects.

There are only three BCAA’s, Leucine, Iso-Leucine and Valine. These BCAA’s are used directly for fuel by the muscles and so spare other amino’s from being used during exercise. Maintaining high levels of BCAA’s in the diet is extremely important to help ensure muscle growth and avoid muscle tissue being burnt for fuel. Most people using a quality whey protein should be getting enough BCAA’s to cover their training with 100g of whey protein containing approximately 15-25 grams of BCAA’s.

However if you are training intensely and your protein intake isn’t as high as it should be or if you are not using a Whey protein supplement you may benefit from using a BCAA supplement.

Benefits gained should include improved recovery rates as well as less muscle soreness following training.

The importance of amino acids can not be overlooked as they are involved in all important functions in the body. Fortunately, as you can see, much of your requirements for amino acids can be met by following a diet high in quality complete proteins and supplementing with whey protein. If however you are looking for improved results from a specific area of your training or if you feel you may be lacking somewhere then definite benefits can be gained by using specific amino acids or choosing a supplement high in the particular amino you require.

[Pseudonym]

Thanks Flex. Do you take BCAAs post-workout, or do you rely on your protein powder?

I estimate my post-workout shake has about 10g BCAAs in it, so adding another 15g to that would be quite a significant improvement proportionately. Perhaps I'll give it a try.

BTW, Ash, it's great to see you back. I was wondering where you'd got to just the other day. I can't remember which forum the topic came up in, but someone had been talking about vegetarian bodybuilding. How've you been?

[Laver]

hey thanks Flex and others, that helps me out a lot, I find it easier asking than reading through pages and pages on the net to eventually find what im after, hope you guys dont mind.

I will look more into this BCAA supp idea!

[Cammo]

hey thanks Flex and others, that helps me out a lot, I find it easier asking than reading through pages and pages on the net to eventually find what im after, hope you guys dont mind.

I will look more into this BCAA supp idea!

You're absolutely right!

Better to ask those who have tried something and are unbiased to it's performance than read how "wonderful" & "steroid like" a product is from someone who's trying to sell it.

Go the forums!

[Ash]

BTW, Ash, it's great to see you back. I was wondering where you'd got to just the other day. I can't remember which forum the topic came up in, but someone had been talking about vegetarian bodybuilding. How've you been?

Gday mate

I've been well thanks. The focus of my training shifted for quite a while to martial arts and I dropped about 8-10kg at one point. I was still at gym full time, just training differently and way too busy at work to write much. Back into putting on some mass and I've got some more time on my hands, so I'll be on here chatting away as usual.

[harmonist]

If anyones interested I've got the 250 pill bottle of biotest bcaa's

http://www.nutritionplus.co.nz/productz ... rch%3DTrue

I brought them and had 2 pills and realised they're too big for me to be swallowing all day long so if anyone wants em I've got 248 that ill sell for 50 bucks, central aucks

[buffazn]

is scivation the best bcaa supp?? n where do u guys buy it from