BCAAs

[perky12415]

What are your thoughts on BCAAs for helping with muscle building? For a fitness competition for example.

[JCourter]

I have found, in my experience of using lots of money on BCAA's at various times in my life, that they do NOT help with building muscle. Actually, let me correct myself. They do not build muscle in any significant degree that would qualify you to actually purchase BCAA's. I am sure they might "help", but nothing measurable that would be worth the price. Supplements that I found to actually make a measurable difference would be ZMA and pure Creatine.

[Jumpstart]

BCAA might be necessary if you lift heavy AND lift fasted. There are a fair number of people at the various gyms I visit that do 16/8 fasting called Lean Gains. They fast 16 hours each day and eat in an 8 hour window. They train fasted using 10 grams of BCAA, creatine and Beta-Alanine. HOWEVER, try eating a serving of oatmeal with some berries a couple of hours before the workout in the AM and save your money on the processed garbage. There isn't anything like real whole food to build muscle.

[geo]

Suppliments for bodybuilding are pretty much a scam. There appears to be only 3 substances that seem to have been both well tested and have the majority of studies providing some limited positive feedback for bodybuilding enhancements:

1. Creatine Monohydrate - seems to enhance the muscles by providing them the ability to store extra water as well as providing you more energy for workouts.
2. Beta-alanine - may have a positive muscle building effect, but only in combination with creatine monohydrate. they should be taken together.
3. Caffeine - gives you more enery for a longer workout.

Everything else on the market, either doesn't have any good science behind it, or the science is pretty negative. Even for those 3 substances I listed the science is not unequivocal. Of the 3, the creatine seems to be the most useful and is relatively inexpensive as the dosage level is relatively low.

But bottom line is don't expect any legal suppliment to be of much use really. Just workout hard, get plenty of rest, and eat well (in that order) and you'll get the results your body is capable of.

BTW you can read this 2014 study for bodybuilding's latest nutrition info: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/article ... -11-20.pdf

(I definitely don't agree with all the nutritional aspects in the study, but it is what it is)

[perky12415]

Thanks Geo. That is pretty much what I decided (your one, two, three steps). I got the 30 30 30 book. I should have it soon. I leave on a two week trip mid-week so when I get back that is my next adventure.