Branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) are essential amino acids. They are essential because the human body can't synthesis them, you have to get them from your diet. The three BCAAs (leucine, iso-leucine and valine) make up 1/3 of skeletal muscle tissue.
BCAAs are particularly important for bodybuilders and serious strength athletes because they help stiumulate protein synthesis and prevent muscle breakdown.
PhD Nutrition's BCAA supplement is formulated in the 2:1:1 ratio, providing twice as much leucine (the most important BCAA) as the other two amino acids. Topping up on BCAAs before, during and after training prevents damage to muscles and helps speed up recovery - so you'll be back in the gym before you know it.
One of the main barriers to improvements in lean muscle size, is athletes’ inability to manage recovery after stressful workouts. BCAA supplementation has been the subject of many scientific trials, which suggest their importance to both protecting and building muscles.
PhD Nutrition BCAAs are intended for use before, during and after training as part of your supplement stack. Those who prefer not to take supplements mid-workout should split the recommended dose between pre- and post- workout supplementation. PhD BCAAs are convenient capsules that are easy to swallow, and the small bottle won’t overload your gym bag.
PhD Nutrition BCAA’s, the exciting first product in their brand new “Recovery range” have been designed to the specific 2:1:1 ratio required to optimise the effects of Leucine, the most important of the three BCAA’s.
PhD BCAA’s are vital to protein synthesis (the ability to build muscle) and also vital in reducing muscle damage. Vitally, when we workout strenuously with weights, we oxidise amino acids (use them to fuel our training). BCAA oxidisation is rapidly promoted by exercise, so when we train hard, we use BCAA’s. If we do not replace or keep topping these BCAA’s up before, during and after exercise, we run the risk of increasing muscle damage indicators Creatine Kinease (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and missing the opportunity of recovering in the optimum time. Slow recovery means slow progression, fast recovery equals faster progression, it’s a simple equation.
Managing workout muscular stress and recovery
One of the reasons athletes fail to increase lean muscle size is down to their inability to manage workout stress and recovery. Studies show that intense training increases the presence of muscle damage indicators (CK and LDH). With high plasma concentrations of CK and LDH, we cannot recovery quickly and effectively (if we can’t recover, we can’t build muscle, get quicker, stronger or more powerful).
BCAA supplementation before and after exercise has beneficial effects for decreasing exercise-induced muscle damage and promoting muscle-protein synthesis; this suggests the possibility that BCAAs are a useful supplement in relation to exercise and sports. For those who do not want to use PhD BCAA’s during their workout, simply split the total amount of BCAA capsules used per training session, for your body weight, into two portions. Example: 80-100KG athletes use 8 capsules prior to working out (in the manner recommended) and the remaining 7 capsules after working out (in the manner recommended). Great to use before workouts with PhD Wired, during workouts with PhD Battery+/-3 and post workout with Synergy-ISO-7.