Adding Amino Acid Powder to improve exercise performance and reduce protein and muscle breakdown during intense exercise.
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52 Weeks for Health and Fitness Success #13; Amino Acid Powder with A Healthy Life For Me.
For Week 13 of my 52 Tips for Health and Fitness Success I wanted to share that I have started using Amino Acid Powder during my workouts. If you are strength training to gain lean healthy muscle to shape your body, or you fight fatigue during or after your workouts you might want to consider taking an amino acid powder.
Some people use branched-chain amino acids to prevent fatigue and improve concentration. Athletes use branched-chain amino acids to improve exercise performance and reduce protein and muscle breakdown during intense exercise.
‘A lot of misconceptions exist about the muscle contraction and the use of energy substrates during heavy high intensity weight training. When performing your training using repetitive power workouts a substantial portion of your energy comes from non-carbohydrate sources. When your muscles contract they use stores of adenosine triphosphate (ATP, a substance vital to the energy processes of all our living cells) for the first few seconds. The compound used to immediately replenish these stores is creatine phosphate (CP). This is how the supplement creatine, became so popular to bodybuilders and strength trained athletes. Creatine is made from three amino acids: arginine, methionine and glycine. To keep our CP and ATP levels high, these amino acids must be kept elevated in our blood stream. The amino acids in creatine supplements can be supplied by foods in our diet but the process of elevating these amino acids takes a great deal of time in digestion, and also would be accompanied by fats and carbohydrates which may or may not be desired. So the use of free form amino acids, either alone or in combination with creatine supplements can provide direct source of energy for power and strength.’ -Lawrenson, Doug “The Importance of Amino Acids”muscleandstrength.com
What are Amino Acids?
Amino acids are the building blocks of protein and also muscle tissue. They also play a major part in physiological processes relating to our energy, recovery, mood, brain function, muscle and strength gains, and also in our quest for fat loss.
How do Amino Acids work?
The theory is that they can help prevent the breakdown of muscle tissue during intense exercise.
Branched-chain amino acids stimulate the building of protein in muscle and possibly reduce muscle breakdown. Branched-chain amino acids seem to prevent faulty message transmission in the brain cells of people with advanced liver disease, mania, tardive dyskinesia, and anorexia.
Are Amino Acid Powders safe?
Healthcare providers give branched-chain amino acids intravenously (by IV) for sudden brain swelling due to liver disease and also when the body has been under extreme stress, for example after serious injury or widespread infection.
When should you take Amino Acid Powder?
They work best if taken before during and after workout, studies have shown that taking during and after exercise can reduce muscle breakdown, while taking them before resistance training reduces delayed onset muscle soreness
Who do I use Amino Acid Powders?
I have chosen to use BSN Amino X Fruit Punch Powder. It calls for one scoop to 6-8 ounces of water, that is way to strong for me and I put 1 scoop in my 30 ounce water bottle and consume it throughout my workout.
5 natural sources of amino acids
Eggs offer a full range of essential amino acids as well as plenty of liver-protecting choline.
Salmon provides essential amino acids and a dose of healthy polyunsaturated fats.
Soy beans are a rare plant-based source of essential amino acids and also provide heart-healthy monounsaturated fats.
Beef is a complete protein source that has all the essential amino acids as well as a dose of muscle-boosting creatine.
Turkey provides all the essential amino acids plus high levels of immunity-boosting selenium.
References: Amino acids. Barry Finnin, PHD. and Samual Peters . Exercise physiology. 5th Edition, William D, McArdle. Frank I Katch, Victor L Katch.
Protein power. Thank you Amy for this post.
Excellent information! I am going to purchase Amino Acid Powder asap.