Amino acids are important compounds that perform many different tasks in the human body, such as improving physical activity and helping develop muscles. Of the 20 different amino acids, 9 are called essential amino acids. This means they aren’t made in the body and must be consumed. Many exercise enthusiasts turn to increased protein consumption to gain essential amino acids. However, that’s only the tip of the iceberg.
Protein is made up of several amino acids that are broken down, redistributed, and used throughout the body, but some are more beneficial than others when it comes to fitness.
Three amino acids particularly important to workouts are leucine, isoleucine, and valine. These are known as branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs). The name “branched-chain” refers to their chemical structure. These essential amino acids are usually found in dairy products, eggs, and meat. They are also available in powdered supplement form.
But are BCCAs really important to working out? Let’s take a closer look at how these amino acids work for athletes.
The Benefits of Branched-chain Amino Acids
There are several proven benefits from BCAAs when it comes to working out, athletic training, and extreme sports:
- Increased Muscle Growth – BCAAs play an important role in muscle growth. Leucine, in particular, helps regulate and boost muscle protein synthesis after workouts to help improve muscle growth and strength.
- Improved Recovery – The increase in muscle protein BCAAs provide helps you recover from your workouts faster. Recovery is essential to progress and improved recovery means you can get back to physical activity sooner and with renewed vigor.
- Prevent Muscle Wasting – Exercise and extreme physical activity can damage muscles. Endurance athletes or those who exercise at a caloric deficit may end up breaking down their muscles for much-needed fuel. BCAAs help protect muscle fiber from damage and prevent muscle wasting.
- Reduced Muscle Soreness – By improving post-exercise recovery and helping prevent muscle damage, BCAAs also help decrease the length and severity of muscle soreness.
- Reduced Fatigue – BCAAs have been shown to help decrease fatigue that comes with extreme workouts. This is due to their ability to prevent the body’s natural creation of tryptophan, which happens when BCAA levels drop. Tryptophan becomes serotonin, and causes tiredness and mental fatigue.
- Improved Performance – With decreased tryptophan levels and fatigue, BCAAs can help promote mental focus and boost performance while working out.
Should I Take a Powdered BCAAs Supplement?
After looking at all the benefits BCAAs provide endurance athletes and workout enthusiasts, it is definitely worth taking a powdered BCAAs supplement to ensure the body has enough essential amino acids before and after intense physical activity. This will help the body reach maximum productivity and reduce soreness and muscle damage. Plus, with a powdered supplement, athletes can be sure of the amount of BCAAs they are getting with every serving, ensuring their BCAAs levels are properly maintained.
But with so many different supplements available in the market, how do you choose the BCAAs supplement that works best for you? In this review, we’ll take a closer look at Gnarly Nutrition’s Gnarly BCAAs and see if this supplement could be your new perfect workout partner.
Gnarly BCAAS
Gnarly BCCAs is made by Gnarly Nutrition, a company that specializes in all-natural sports nutrition. Their focus is producing supplements that don’t contain GMOs, artificial sweeteners, or hormones.
Gnarly BCCAS is an all-natural vegan supplement that provides you with a strong dose of essential amino acids during and after intense workout sessions or sports activities. Unlike other supplements that get their amino acids from animal products, Gnarly BCAAs is 100% vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, and has no artificial ingredients.
It’s available in three flavors: Berry Lemonade, Tropical Punch, and Lemon Lime. They also have both naturally-caffeinated and decaf variants. Some athletes shared that the pop of caffeine, which is about 35mg and taken from green tea leaves, helps provide them with an added boost.
How Do I Use Gnarly BCAAS?
Each serving of Gnarly BCCAs provides 5 grams of essential BCAAs: 2.5 grams of leucine, 1.25 grams of isoleucine, and 1.25 grams of valine. The servings are very light so they won’t weigh you down while working out. They are also absorbed quickly into the system and provide quick results.
When consuming the product, just mix one scoop of the powder into 12-16oz of water or your favorite shake base, blend thoroughly, and consume. You can consume Gnarly BCAAs any time throughout the day. However, for best results, it should be consumed 15-20 minutes before and after every workout. This ensures that your body has enough essential amino acids before and after physical activity to help boost your performance, promote muscle growth, decrease muscle soreness and fatigue, and increase turnaround time.
Gnarly BCCAS is the perfect product for athletes who want to supplement their workouts with calculated doses of essential amino acids.
The reviews from consumers have been overwhelmingly positive, praising the product’s effectiveness and delicious flavors.
We have been doing CrossFit for over a year now and we know the muscle soreness and fatigue your body can reach. Since we have started using Gnarly BCAAs constantly, we have noticed much less muscle soreness and fatigue. This product allows us to get back to the gym the very next day.
Betty P.
After hearing about BCCA's from a couple of pro climbers I thought I'd give them a try. I have seen a significant difference in faster recovery times and longer sessions. HIGHLY recommended if you want to recover faster and have longer workouts. We drink the caffeinated version before and during and the non-caffeinated version after.
Brad B.
Conclusion
The benefits that essential amino acids provide to workout enthusiasts and endurance athletes are undeniable. Investing in a reliable powdered supplement product is definitely worth it and can change how you approach and recover from heavy physical activity. The Gnarly BCCAS product is not only effective, but provides athletes with a BCCA supplement option that is all-natural, vegan, and delicious.