Strength training can benefit your health in many ways and is an excellent way to shape and sculpt your body to give you a trim, athletic look. But strength training is more than just weight lifting and working out.
You have to give your body what it needs to build and maintain muscle mass. For bodybuilders, diets high in protein and amino acids are crucial to building well-defined muscles and increasing muscle size.
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About Amino Acids
There are thousands of proteins in the human body, and those proteins are made up of 20 different amino acids. Nine of the 20 amino acids are considered essential amino acids because your body can’t make them. The nine essential amino acids come from your diet.
Three of the nine essential amino acids, leucine, isoleucine, and valine, are called branch chain amino acids(BCAAs). BCAAs are found in food high in protein like eggs, meat, and dairy products. BCAAS are the same amino acids you find in bodybuilding supplements.
Why Amino Acids are Crucial to Muscle Growth
You have to give your body the right materials to build muscles. Just as you need wood and bricks to build a house, your body needs protein to build muscle. Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, so you can see why they’re so important for muscle growth.
The BCAA leucine stimulates muscle protein synthesis, which is the process of making muscle tissue. One study showed that people who consumed 5.6 grams of BCAAs after a muscle-building or resistance workout had a 22 percent increase in protein synthesis.
Three Benefits of Protein Powder Supplements
Protein powder supplements are an excellent source of BCAAs. Whey Isolate Protein Powder is ideal for people who want a protein powder without the added fat, lactose, and carbs found in non-whey powders. To get the most gain from whey protein powder, you have to buy a high-quality brand. According to the experts at Legion Athletics, “Whey protein isolate is the highest quality whey you can buy.”
To help you meet your fitness and bodybuilding goals, here are three benefits of using whey isolate protein powder.
Faster and Greater Muscle Growth
The goal of resistance training is to build muscle. But whether you’re a bodybuilder, track runner, or want to more defined muscle for a better look and appearance, whey protein powder can help your body build muscle faster and increase muscle growth by increasing muscle protein synthesis.
Decreased Muscle Soreness
BCAAs have been shown to help reduce muscle damage during resistance training, reducing the muscle soreness that usually occurs 12 to 24 hours after a workout.
Less Exercise Fatigue
During a workout, your muscles use BCAAs, which lowers the levels of BCAAs in your blood. Lower BCAA levels in your blood increase the levels of tryptophan, an essential amino acid, in your brain.
Tryptophan is converted into serotonin, a brain chemical that’s believed to contribute to fatigue during exercise. By supplementing your BCAAs with a whey protein isolate powder, you can help maintain higher BCAAs in your bloodstream, which can help reduce exercise fatigue by keeping tryptophan levels low.
The Bottom Line
BCAAs are not only crucial to muscle growth; they’re vital if you want to build muscle. Whey and other protein drinks, powders, and other supplements have been proven to help increase muscle growth.
While most people get enough BCAAs through their diets, athletes and bodybuilders can benefit from protein and amino acid supplements for faster and more significant muscle growth.