Friday, February 23, 2018

Advantages of Amino Acids

Branched chain amino acid supplements, commonly referred to as BCAA's, are very popular with athletes these days, who are searching for ways to increase lean mass and performance. The branched chain amino acids are Valine, Leucine, and Iso-leucine. One popular idea is that BCAA's can move through the blood to the brain and decrease the production of serotonin in the brain's interior, thereby lowering mental fatigue by reducing the amount of serotonin, which can create a sense of tiredness. A fair amount of scientific research supports this hypothesis. These amino acids have a specialized shaped that allows them to be used in ways that other amino acids could only dream about. The primary reason that people turn to amino acid supplements, though, has to do with muscle growth. Leucine, in particular, has been shown to regulate and improve muscle protein synthesis after exercise.

More people take branch chain amino acid supplements to support their workout and these are the advantages while taking them:

Greater Fat Burn
For those trying to lose some body fat, or athletes training on a low-carb diet, then, BCAAs will help your body make the switch to depending on fat for fuel.

 Reduced Fatigue
BCAAs have demonstrated the ability to ward off the mental fatigue that sometimes accompanies long workouts. Primarily, this is because the relationship between low BCAAs and tryptophan. Normally, when your BCAA levels drop, your body produces more tryptophan which then becomes serotonin in your brain and leads to feelings of tiredness and mental fatigue. Branch chain amino acid supplements prevent this process.

Increased Mental Focus
By keeping the tryptophan monster away, amino acid supplements improve your short term memory and processing abilities.

Muscle Sparing
Exercise damages your muscles. Usually, this damage is exactly what your body needs to rebuild and get stronger. Endurance athletes and those who routinely exercise in a fasted state or at a caloric deficit are especially at risk here. BCAAs however, protects your muscle fibers from suffering too much muscle damage.

Improved Recovery
This ability to increase muscle protein synthesis and guard your muscles   means that you can recover from your workouts faster, getting back to your routine with less downtime. Ensuring that your recovery is complete and vital to making progress.

Reduced Muscle Soreness
The reduced damage and improved recovery has also been shown to limit the soreness that generally sets in after a strenuous workout.

Improved Performance in Sports
Your body will respond better to your workouts and your mind will operate more efficiently during the actual event, allowing you to maintain your focus and make better decisions.

Your BCAA needs depend on a number of factors, including your size and the intensity of your workouts, which is why it’s a good idea to talk to an expert before taking branch chain amino acid supplements and making any drastic changes to your diet. If you’re just getting started or looking for a bit of a boost, timing your meals around your workouts and proper discipline can be a good start.

Friday, February 16, 2018

The Key Factor of Post Workouts

The foods that you eat after a workout helps replace the nutrients your body uses during strenuous activities. Eating after a hard training session is very important because your body must repair the damage you’ve done to your muscles. In fact, it’s the damage-repair cycle that contributes to build stronger muscles in the long run. Your post workout meal can reflect to the pre-workout meal, though you can probably be a bit more liberal with your carbohydrate intake. Sport professionals recommends a 3-1 to 4-1 ratio of carbs to protein in your post workout nutrition because these carbs help your muscles absorb the protein better. Drinking whey protein shake which is easy to digest, can help your muscles recover fast. Eat your meals within an hour of your workout.

Keep in mind that a post workout nutrition is the meal eaten after working out. This post workout meal is important for helping your body recover and repair. Eating a proper post workout meal will help with the following:
  • It reduces muscle fatigue and soreness
  • It replenishes muscle glycogen or stored energy that was used in your workout
  • It increases muscle protein synthesis and reduce the muscle protein breakdown caused by exercise
What your body is trying to tell you is you’ve used up the fuel your muscles had before and now the tank is empty. You need to fuel up and your fuel is food more specifically, particular nutrients for your body needs. Your body needs the right fuel at the right time in order to repair itself and begin this adaptation. Without it, your body will feel weak under the stress and this is why post workout nutrition is very crucial. How you take meals is up to you, some people prefer to drink their post workout meal for convenience but you could just as easily eat solid food. Both options are valid and one is not necessarily better than the other.

Also, the post workout meals play a key role in the effectiveness of those workouts:
  • What you eat before your workout is a factor for fueling the workout itself and maximizing your performance throughout your workout.
  • What you eat after your workout is important for the recovery process which begins as soon as your workout ends and ensuring that your body has all of it needs in order to recover, adapt and improve your body.
Many people think that eating fat after a workout slows down digestion and inhibits the absorption of nutrients. While fat might slow down the absorption of your post-workout meal and it will not reduce its benefits to your body.  Another study showed that even when ingesting a high-fat meal after working out, muscle glycogen synthesis was not affected. It might be a good point to limit the amount of fat you eat after exercise, but having some fat in your post workout meal will not affect your recovery.


Basically, post workout nutrition can be a useful tool when training but it is not the defining factor for the typical gym goer who is interested in building muscle or losing fat for aesthetic and health purposes. The fact is there are factors of bigger importance such as total calorie intake and macronutrients which are much easier to stick to and have a greater overall effect on body composition in the long-term of your journey.

Monday, February 12, 2018

Basic Ingredients of Supplements

Probably the biggest benefit of buying a pre-workout supplement online is that they improve your ability to train harder more efficiently and also the convenience of delivering at your door step one click away. Whether you are trying to lose weight or to build muscle mass, pre-workout supplements help you operate at peak efficiency by making sure that you are locked in, that you feel good, and that you have the energy, power, and stamina to dominate your workout. These supplements have boomed in popularity among gym-goers because they’re formulated with ingredients and compounds, such as caffeine, beta-alanine and BCAAs, that can lead to better workouts. Most supplements come in powder form that you mix with water and consume in the half-hour before your training session so the compounds can get to work in your system to improve mental and physical performance.

Ingredients in Pre-Workout Supplements

Caffeine
Caffeine gives an energy boost and acts as a stimulant. It lowers your perceived rate of exertion, increases fat burning, improves mental concentration and focus, aids with faster recovery, indirectly helps with weight loss, and increases performance and efficiency. It also gives you that amazing feeling of being ready to do anything at that certain point.

Beta-alinine
Beta-alinine is an amino acid that allows you to train harder and longer by reducing muscle sores and fatigue.

Branched-chain Amino Acids (BCAAs)
Branched-chain amino acids are a group of amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, and valine) that helps with muscle growth and recovery. They prevent current muscle tissue from disintegrating, and they ensure that new tissue grows bigger and stronger. These three key ingredients combined with the many other ingredients of pre-workout supplements, helps to keep you at the top of your condition during workouts. Pre-workout supplements have quickly emerged to be a major asset to any gym-freak or fitness professional. They act as a spark that can ignite your workouts, allowing you to become a more efficient and better performing individual of yourself.
By supplementing pre-workout supplements, it ensures that you have a long lasting muscle building. The bigger the pump, the more Nitric Oxide production.

Creatine along with caffeine and other proprietary blends is responsible for that long lasting power. Focus is usually assisted by the B-Vitamins and caffeine. The timing of your meal is also an important factor of pre-exercise nutrition. To maximize the results of your training, try to eat a complete meal containing carbs, protein and fat before you exercise. However, in some cases you may not be able to get in a full meal 2 to 3 hours before working out. Experts recommended to consume a full meal 2 to 3 hours before your workout. For meals eaten sooner before your workout, choose simpler carbs and some protein.


The mental aspect and concentration of your program is a huge factor of your success, and making sure you stay locked in and focused is imperative to optimizing your results. Buying a pre-workout supplement online helps prevent you from becoming mentally strained after working out. This is largely due to the caffeine portion of the supplement.