When to take BCAAs.

[Tavis G]

Hey guys, long time no see. I take BCAA pre workout to decrease muscle breakdown and after so i can keep myself high in testosterone and low in cortisol. Good or bad idea? And Leucine itself is a major factor in mTOR, so would i take BCAAs immediately after then drink milk 30 minutes later? Because i heard the BCAAs would compete for absorbtion with other protein. And do you guys think you get enough Branched Chains from diet. I drink a lot of milk and a lot of nuts and nut butters and meat. I even started taking nuts to school.

[Larry Roseman]

Hope it's going well!

 

Before workout is the only time they have been shown to reduce post workout soreness.  

So over the long haul you *may* be able to avoid some down days because you were not feeling up to training.

There are lots of BCAA in food, whey, etc. Supplementation isn't required but if you have it, might as well use it.

 

I wouldn't do it specifically for hormonal reasons - since you aren't be tested regularly, how would you know if it's working? But if you feel it is helping, go right on. Some studies show a benefit.

 

Nuts are ok. A couple of small handfuls a day as a snack have been shown to help with appetite.

Some people avoid because of the omega-6 however the monosaturated fat is healthy. Try to eat some omega 3 fish, like salmon a couple times a week to balance. Best to avoid the fatty skin on the farmed fish specifically though. Canned is ok though-wild caught. Tuna is also good, look for skipjack which is the smaller species.

 

Just touched on some of the big issues worth mentioning.

[Tavis G]

Thanks dude.

So you dont believe BCAAs are worth taking? Or you recommend keep taking them Pre?

And i believe milk has something like 2.1g of leucine in 3 cups. I may stop taking bcaas and drink more milk.

[Tavis G]

And i eat nuts like they are going out of style.

[Larry Roseman]

If you have them already it doesn't hurt to use them. Otherwise they will just go bad eventually.

They are going to help most on days you expect to work hard, or start new exercises.

 

But yes, there is enough BCAA to work the same way in whey protein, milk or in meat and in other complete proteins. 

 

Nuts do have tons of fat calories, so after a point that could be a problem. The first few hundred calories shouldn't be a problem.. Might want to limit to half a cup a day or some such amount. 

 

Kinda have to look at your diet as a whole, see the macronutrient breakdown. I suggest that you use a food tracking

application like fitday.com or myfitnesspal.com for a week and see what it says. You just have to enter what you eat and the amounts. Keep a little log on your phone during the day if you are out, as sometimes it's hard to recall everything.

[Blairbob]

 

And i believe milk has something like 2.1g of leucine in 3 cups. I may stop taking bcaas and drink more milk.

Thing is you will see that 3g of Leucine is what is preferred to spike the hormone release and maintain it for 3-4 hours. Which is 4 cups of milk. Milk also digests rather slowly around 3-4g/hr. This is why recommended dose of whey is 30g.

If you are getting plenty of protein in your diet, you are getting plenty of BCAA's.

[Joshua Naterman]

Whey protein is cheaper than BCAAs, and will have the same effect. However, if you love your BCAAs then just take 10-ish grams 5-15 minutes pre-workout. Otherwise, have 20-30g of whey pre-workout. Same time frame is fine.

[Tavis G]

I love my branched chains. It seems like it helps my recovery if i take it pre workout. Oh and BTW, i have seen some studies that show whole milk is just as effective if not more effective tham whey protein for recovery. I think it was on strong lifts.com where it had the links. Just type in milk post workout and go to stronglifts for the links.

[Joshua Naterman]

I am very familiar with the milk studies, and they are excellent. There are many options for PWO protein that are all excellent, including chicken breasts

[Daniel Burnham]

The biggest thing that makes milk more effective is the carbs in combo with protein.

[Tavis G]

But the carbs are just sugar. Is the simple sugar good PWO?

[Daniel Burnham]

YES YES YES! If you read basically anything josh has written in the past few years on pwo nutrition you will learn that.

[Tavis G]

I drink 4 cups of the stuff PWO. A lot of carbs and leucine.

[Deins Drengers]

Whey protein is cheaper than BCAAs, and will have the same effect. However, if you love your BCAAs then just take 10-ish grams 5-15 minutes pre-workout. Otherwise, have 20-30g of whey pre-workout. Same time frame is fine.

Isn't it like - The BCAA's should be taken 5-10 min pre workout and then right after the workout ?

[Joshua Naterman]

Just get your protein. You guys are honestly wasting your time worrying about 5 minutes. I wouldn't tell you this if it were a pile of crap, you know.

 

Have some before the workout, and a full 30g of protein right after the workout, with carbs. That's all you need to do.