What are BCAA's? (Branched Chain Amino Acids)

Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA)

Among the most beneficial and effective supplements in any sports nutrition program are branched chain amino acids. These are the essential aminos leucine, isoleucine, and valine which make up 1/3 of muscle protein. The loss of BCAA's increase dramatically with both endurance and strength exercise. If these are not available in the body, it would be sourced from muscle protein, with the accompanying destruction of muscle.

Although these supplements have been around for a long time and the scientific understanding in the exercise performance benefits of BCAA supplementation is rich many people don't know exactly how they exert their effects or how and when to use them properly. The best time to take BCAA is 1-2 hours prior to your workout, which spares muscle BCAA and testosterone, and also increases testosterone after training. As a guideline to determine your intake of BCAA's, see Table 1:

Table 1 - Protein Supplements

Protein supplements come in these forms:
Body Weights (kg)	Leucine (grams)	Valine (grams)	Isoleucine (grams)
40	2.4	2.0	0.8
50	3.0	2.5	1.0
60	3.6	3.0	1.2
70	4.2	3.5	1.4
80	4.8	4.0	1.6
90	5.4	4.5	1.8
100	6.0	5.0	2.0
110	6.6	5.5	2.2
120	7.2	6.0	2.4