Poliquin - Healthy. Lean. Strong.

Supplements Articles

Tweet Print

The Best Workout Supplement Just Got Better

Introducing BCAA Excellence 2.0, a more advanced form of a best-selling supplement

One of the unique features of the Poliquin Strength Institute is our shake-and-supplement bar. We have blenders for pre- and post-workout shakes of course, but we also have a shelf stacked with branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs). For over 15 years I have been using BCAAs during workouts with great results, both for myself and for my clients. It is not uncommon for my male clients using this protocol to gain nine pounds of lean body mass in just three weeks and my female clients to gain four pounds. It also shows promise in helping endurance athletes dramatically increase their performance. That’s the good news – and the better news is that I found a way to make BCAAs even better.

Based on extensive feedback from PICP coaches and PPC members, we have introduced a reformulation of our branched-chain, amino acid product BCAA Excellence. Before getting into how I improved the formula, let’s review why I am so sold on BCAAs.

The ABCs of BCAAs
Protein is broken down into organic compounds called amino acids. There are 13 amino acids that are considered essential, in that they cannot be produced from other substances including other amino acids, and 12 that are considered nonessential. A protein is considered complete when it has the appropriate quantities of amino acids for optimal absorption. Meat and fish are considered complete proteins; foods such as beans or rice are considered incomplete proteins because they are lacking in certain amino acids. As such, vegetarians need to pay special attention to combining their food groups so that their amino acid profiles complement each other – a good food combo, for example, is rice combined with either beans or chickpeas. Incidentally, the legendary Bill Pearl was a bodybuilder who was able to succeed as a vegetarian.

Three essential amino acids belong to the BCAA group: leucine, isoleucine and valine. What’s also unique about BCAAs is that as opposed to other amino acids that are broken down by the liver, BCAAs can be broken down by the muscles as an energy source. For athletes who are trying to build muscle, these amino acids are especially important because they compose about one third of the body’s skeletal muscle. For example, in one Italian study on natural bodybuilders, it was found that taking 0.2 grams of BCAAs per kg of bodyweight 30 minutes before workouts and 30 minutes after workouts resulted in greater increases in lean body mass and strength in the bench press and squat.

Upon the advice of Drs. Eric Serrano and Mauro Di Pasquale, two medical experts with extensive backgrounds in functional medicine, I have been recommending for the past 15 years that you take the BCAAs while you train to increase lean body mass. Here are nine reasons that BCAAs are so effective.

1.  Leucine is an important regulator of protein synthesis through reducing protein degradation.

2.  BCAAs promote protein synthesis in fat-free body mass.

3.  BCAAs consumed during training raise both growth hormone and insulin, a combination that increases anti-catabolism and anabolism.

4.  Using BCAAs prior to a workout prevents a decrease in post-workout testosterone levels and allows testosterone levels to increase following exercise.

5.  BCAAs have an anti-catabolic effect by favoring a better testosterone/cortisol ratio.

6.  BCAAs reduce an exercise-induced increase in the muscle concentration of the nonessential amino acid tyrosine and the essential amino acid phenylalanine, resulting in a decreased net rate of protein degradation during exercise.

7.  BCAAs decrease bodyfat. This is especially true with visceral fat, which is the fat that accumulates inside the abdomen and results in that “beer gut” look.

8.  BCAAs prevent muscle loss at high altitudes. Muscle catabolism is greater at high altitudes, which is why I am perplexed as to why USA Weightlifting decided to put its Olympic Training Center in the high altitude of Colorado Springs, Colorado.

9.  BCAAS prevent muscle fatigue during exercise. One of the causes of fatigue during exercise is the enhanced conversion of the amino acid tryptophan into 5-HTP, which makes you drowsy and fatigued. In fact, 5-HTP is often recommended as a supplement to enhance sleep, particularly for fibromyalgia patients, a group that often suffers from insomnia.

There are many other great benefits of using BCAA supplements. For example, using BCAAs during workouts can decrease post-workout soreness and can prolong endurance performance in the heat. Also, three separate studies found that using BCAAs during workouts may also improve exercise-induced declines in several aspects of mental functioning during training.

Now, as promised, here is how I made our BCAA supplement even better.

The New BCAA Combo
Formerly, my BCAA product was called BCAA Excellence, and now it’s called BCAA Excellence 2.0. The difference is that we’ve added the essential amino acid lysine to the formula to increase its anabolic effects.

The more sore you are, the more lysine you excrete, particularly if you have done loads of eccentric work. Research shows that adding lysine to BCAA formulas increases growth hormone production during exercise and improves the efficiency at which RNA is used to make protein, along with a lowering of protein degradation.

BCAA Excellence 2.0 is made with easy-to-digest capsules, not tablets, and has no fillers (just straight amino acids). We have an optimal ratio among the BCAAs with this formula per capsule:
 
L-leucine     375 mg
L-isoleucine    90 mg
L-Valine    90 mg
L-Lysine HCL    70 mg

How much BCAAs should you take? I recommend taking 0.44 gram per kilo of bodyweight for men and 0.28 for women. A kilo is 2.2 pounds. If you weigh 165 pounds and are male, that translates into 75 kilos, and 75 kilos x 0.44 equals 33 grams of BCAAs. Take the capsules throughout the workout, swallowing a few of them between sets. Don’t go OCD on me by using a spreadsheet on when exactly to take them. As long as you go through your dosage during the workout, you will do fine. If you are on a restricted budget, use at least 20 grams. Otherwise, don’t bother.

I always carry a bottle of BCAAs with me to prevent muscle catabolism, which can occur if breaks between meals are too long. If a meal is going to get delayed when your watch goes off, indicating it’s time to eat, get some water and take 10-20 capsules.

Some coaches have recommended taking BCAAs during traditional sleeping hours, waking during the night to take some tablets. In this case, the rationale is that a greater anabolic state will be created. That idea is completely worthless. Sleep should not be interrupted no matter what! As soon as you wake up for more than three seconds, you suppress completely the production of melatonin, the restorative, anti-aging hormone.

Regarding cost, 40 grams of BCAAs is about four dollars, which is cheaper than many of the protein drinks sold at gyms. At this great price and considering all the great benefits of taking these amino acids, BCAA Excellence 2.0 is a product that is hard for us to keep in stock. It’s that good!