Have you ever heard this conversation at the gym or while hanging out with friends?
Wow! You look amazing – what is it you are doing and how can I gain more muscle like that (pointing at fit person)
Some of us have heard this conversation before, thought it, or said it out loud ourselves. So what is it that certain people do differently that allows them to more easily gain muscle from their hard work in the gym? Yes, taking a protein shake post workout is one piece…but the common person doesn’t always know that there is more to it than just that.
Branch chain amino acids (BCAA’s), are the building blocks for muscle. These are naturally occurring in animal based proteins, and in many of the whey protein shakes that people take after working out. But is that enough? For many people seeking to gain muscle, more BCAA’s must be consumed outside of our post-workout protein shake and animal proteins we eat at meals.
Why is it hard to eat the appropriate amount of BCAA’s instead of supplementation? While there are different goals for each and every person, in order to have optimal body composition, the majority of us do not have the genes it requires to eat the excess food and calories it must take in order to consume what our muscles need in order to grow, while keeping our body fat at healthy, optimal levels. You may say, why not eat less, and restrict ourselves of calories? Although in order to lose body fat, one must take a restricted, “burn more calories than you consume,” approach, with this comes uneducated decisions that lead to “weight loss”…aka…muscle loss. 
In the attempt to lose fat, but retain muscle, BCAA supplementation is critical. What does the ideal supplementation of BCAA’s look like? For the advanced athlete, 10 grams of BCAA’s every 2 hours is a must. One would have to have roughly 8-10oz of chicken every 2-3 hours in order to get this amount, or 5 whole eggs along with 5 egg whites. This is not plausible for the average person. For anyone who chooses not to indulge in vigorous activity, always, 5 grams of BCAA’s every 2-3 hours is still needed in order to preserve muscle, while eliminating fat. This still includes something to the degree of 4-5 oz of chicken or 2 eggs and 3 egg whites. Most Americans don’t have 3 meals a day, and over 50% of Americans skip breakfast. This is an immediate result as to why so many people may see what they want on the scale, but not what they want in the mirror. In this scenario, weight loss equals muscle loss, not fat loss.
So what do you do from here? You decide what BCAA supplementation program is right for you. A few highlights include:
- Advocare Catalyst (take 3 Amino Acid pills 15 minutes before working, first thing in the morning and right before bed)
- In order to not skip breakfast, try a meal replacement shake (good combo between protein, fats and carbs to break your morning fast from sleeping)
- For those working out consistently and hard, try muscle gain (consume 30 min before workouts and throughout the day up to three times)
Fouard Fitness 