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Plant-based bodybuilders will be happy to
know that vegan BCAA is now available.
What Is BCAA?
The branched-chain
amino acids (BCAA) are leucine, isoleucine, and valine. They are considered
essential amino acids because human beings cannot survive unless these are
present in a daily diet. And of course, plant-based bodybuilders and athletes can’t build
muscle without them.
Vegan
BCAA is entirely plant-based, whereas standard formulas
might actually have some, if not all, of their aminos sourced from duck
feathers or human hair. NOW Foods and CleanMachine have vegan BCAA (others are listed at the bottom
of this article).
BCAA are the primary force behind muscle
repair and building.
They
have multiple properties that enhance the growth process above and beyond
normal amino acids.
5 Benefits of Vegan BCAA
They not
only stimulate muscle growth, but they also create an anabolic environment in
the body, providing energy to muscles and helping the body burn fat and build
muscle simultaneously, as well as improve recovery and reduce muscle soreness.
1. Boost Hormones
Of all
the methods we provide each month to help you get big, boosting the levels
of hormones in your body that lead to muscle growth while minimizing those that
chew it up might seem overly complicated. But when combined with resistance
training, BCAA supplementation increases testosterone and reduces cortisol to
create a favorable anabolic environment.
We also
know from studies that leucine stimulates insulin release, further increasing
the capacity for growth.
2. Nutrient Partitioning
The
benefits to your “get-ripped” phase don’t stop at preserving muscle.
Branched-chain aminos have also been associated with the simultaneous reduction
of fat and the growth of muscle in a phenomenon known as nutrient partitioning,
which may be the most promising of all the recent findings on BCAA. In this
scenario, BCAA are stealing energy from fat cells and giving it to
undernourished muscle tissue.
3. Fuel for Your Muscles
Leaning
out is a balancing act of losing fat and keeping muscle, usually involving a
calorie-restricted diet. This mild state of starvation means you’re often in an
energy deficit, which can induce an alarming amount of muscle shrinkage because
catabolic enzymes will break down muscle protein just to get to the BCAA.
Cautionary Tale: A while back, I made the mistake
of trying to lean out through drinking raw vegetable juices, living off veggies
and protein shakes, and not supplementing BCAA. I dropped almost 15 pounds of
muscle in four weeks. Do you know how long it took me to build that? Much
longer than four weeks.
This
happened because there wasn’t enough fuel for my muscles while training (even
though I trained light during this time), resulting in an energy shortage. If I
had taken these supplemental aminos, they would have filled the energy-gaps to
avoid the reduced muscle growth and shrinkage. To make things worse, I only
lost seven pounds of fat. Not a good trade off!
4. Pain Killers for Muscle Soreness
You’ve
no doubt experienced soreness after training that grew worse as the days
progressed, known as delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Although there are
different schools of thought as to why that happens, BCAA seem to significantly
help reduce the condition.
5. Recover Faster, Train Harder
Let’s
point out the obvious: the faster you recover from a workout, the more quickly
you can get back in the gym. Dr. Carwyn Sharp, professor of exercise physiology
at the College of Charleston, says he recommends BCAA to his athletes
before and after training because they enhance the repair and growth of muscle.
This
applies to everyone, regardless of whether your goal is size, power, or
endurance. “With optimal recovery, you can train with more volume and
intensity, which equates to greater adaptations,” he adds. In short, that means
more muscle growth.
Foods High in Amino Acids & Protein Diet
to Build & repair muscles
Vegan BCAA Supplements
Products available:
·
ALR
Industries Chain’d Out
·
CleanMachine
·
Dymatize
Elite Recoup BCAA
·
Gen-Tec
BCAA
·
MRM
BCAA+G
·
NOW
Foods BCAA
·
PVL
Maxx Essentials BCAA
·
Xtend
BCAA
How to Supplement
Most
vegans won’t be able to get enough BCAA sufficient
for building mass through food intake only. Vegetarian bodybuilders have the option of eating eggs, dairy, and whey protein powder, and
don’t necessarily need to take BCAA supplements (I don’t typically).
In
short:
·
Take
5-10 grams with breakfast
·
Take
5-10 grams immediately before, during, and immediately after training
·
Take
5-10 grams before bed
Note: Whey protein has the highest level of BCAA
compared to all other available types of protein powder.
Protein Powder, Creatine & BCAA's -
What You Need To Know
Food Sources of Vegan BCAA
Most
amino acids come from meat protein sources, and generally speaking, getting
enough aminos and protein is one of the more challenging aspects to bodybuilding as a vegetarian.
Here
is a quick list of how to get BCAA from protein-rich vegan food sources:
·
Leucine:
soybeans and lentils
·
Isoleucine:
almonds, cashews, and chickpeas
·
Valine:
peanuts, sesame seeds, and lentils
Author
Bio:
Chris
Willitts (creator of V3), is the founder and owner of Vegetarian Bodybuilding.
V3 Vegetarian Bodybuilding System
is a mixture of science and author’s advice, providing users with optimal diet and
exercise. This system is designed for vegans and vegetarians only.
A
lot of research has been put in this program. Furthermore, a lot of
professional bodybuilders and athletes tried and tested the program, praising its
progressiveness and efficiency.
The
program is about taking control of your own body and health according to your
potential and needs. And worry not; you’ll get plenty of proteins with this
system. It will boost you with energy, and you’ll feel just a strong as any
carnivore would (perhaps even stronger, depending on how much you invest in
your exercise). It avoids vitamins deficiency and provides you with a lot of
proteins, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Instead
of saying things like “I think a plant-based diet is good for athletes and
bodybuilders,” the V3
Vegetarian Bodybuilding System claims “I know a plant-based diet is good
for athletes and bodybuilders, and I have results to prove it.”
To
find out more, visit the website at V3 Bodybuilding –
Vegan Bodybuilding
