The Best BCAA Supplements (Branched Chain Amino Acids) To Build Muscle While Losing Fat

Adding Branched Chain Amino Acid (BCAA) supplements to an already high protein diet has gotten more and more popular over the years, and for good reason. By strategically using BCAA supplements at the right time you can help your body’s ability to lose fat and build muscle. The actual BCAA supplement itself doesn’t necessarily help you lose fat, but there is a great way to include it in your diet and workout routine so that you can burn the maximum amount of fat while maintaining and even building muscle. I prefer Prograde’s BCAA supplements due to their high standard of quality but in reality you can use almost anyone’s and still get good results.

BCAA’s account for 1/3 of all the protein in muscle tissue which makes them highly important in helping to build muscle and provide energy to the muscle cells. BCAA supplements provide you with three very important amino acids:

1. Isoleucine
2. Leucine
3. Valine

These BCAA supplements prevent muscle tissue breakdown, help in with the speed of recovery and allow you to workout in a fasted state without the fear of using muscle as fuel.

Using BCAA Supplements To Build Muscle & Lose Fat

BCAA supplements are most commonly known for their role of aiding the muscle building process. Perhaps less know though, is the role they can fill in losing fat.

One of the most effective ways to lose fat (in addition to dieting) is to workout in a fasted state. When you’re really trying to burn stubborn body fat, you can even go for an hour or two after your workout without eating. However, this is a bad idea if you’re concerned about losing muscle. That’s where BCAA supplements can really make a difference!

Here are some other BCAA benefits:

• Prevents muscle breakdown
• Protects muscle tissue
• Helps build muscle
• Improves nitrogen retention to aid in muscle development
• Reduces muscle soreness and fatigue
• Aids protein synthesis
• Wound recovery
• Balancing nitrogen in body

When To Take BCAA Supplements

By taking a serving of BCAA’s before and then after your workout, you don’t have to worry about your muscles being catabolized. Also as mentioned, BCAA’s help in the recovery process and in protein synthesis which will help you build more muscle.

Depending on my diet and overall goals, I usually take 5 grams of BCAA’s 30 minutes before my workout and then another dose after my workout. By doing this, I can wait an hour or so to eat without really worrying about whether or not I’m going to lose any muscle by not eating.

When I’m focusing on a bulking up workout phase I’ll still take them immediately after my workout but I will also eat a post workout meal as well.

Are BCAA Supplements Necessary?

In a word, “no” they are not necessary. You can still get a good amount of Branched Chain Amino Acids through diet. A great source could be from a protein shake, a pre or post workout shake or a good old fashioned high protein diet.

The metabolic effects you’ll receive from supplementing BCAA’s are greater than from ingesting the same amino acids from the actual protein source.

As I mentioned above, I really like BCAA’s for the simple fact that I can train in a fasted state while not being concerned about losing muscle. Many other people find that BCAA supplements are great for simply building lean muscle, which they are! Are they necessary? No. Can they really make a large impact on your training and workout efforts? Yes!

What Are The Best BCAA Supplements?

It seems that BCAA’s are BCAA’s where ever you get them. With that said though, I do think you should take a look at the company who is selling them.

If I were to recommend a BCCA supplement (which I guess I am now) it would definitely be (or is) Prograde’s BCAA’s due to the company’s stand on quality for all of their supplements.

It’s important to me that if I am going to take a supplement I want it to be of the best quality only! Unfortunately though, with the best quality you aren’t always able to get the lowest price. These aren’t the absolute cheapest but knowing that you’re getting an awesome product for a still good price seems worth it to me.

You can checkout the nutritional facts of these and some of these other recommended weight lifting supplements here.