Muscle wasting or breakdown occurs when protein breakdown exceeds muscle protein synthesis. The balance between muscle protein breakdown and synthesis determines the amount of protein in muscle ( 26). Muscle proteins are constantly broken down and rebuilt (synthesized). However, this decrease in fatigue is unlikely to translate to improvements in exercise performance ( 24, 25).ĭecreasing exercise-induced fatigue, but they are unlikely to improve exerciseīCAAs can help prevent muscle wasting or breakdown. In two studies, participants who supplemented with BCAAs improved their mental focus during exercise, which is thought to result from the fatigue-reducing effect of BCAAs ( 22, 23). In your brain, tryptophan is converted to serotonin, a brain chemical that is thought to contribute to the development of fatigue during exercise ( 19, 20, 21). When blood levels of BCAAs decline, levels of the essential amino acid tryptophan in your brain increase ( 18). Your muscles use BCAAs during exercise, causing levels in your blood to decrease. How quickly you tire depends on several factors, including exercise intensity and duration, environmental conditions and your nutrition and fitness level ( 17). Just as BCAAs may help decrease muscle soreness from exercise, they may also help reduce exercise-induced fatigue.Įveryone experiences fatigue and exhaustion from exercise at some point. May decrease muscle soreness by reducing damage in exercised muscles. Therefore, supplementing with BCAAs, especially before exercise, may speed up recovery time ( 15, 16). In one study, people who supplemented with BCAAs before a squat exercise experienced reduced DOMS and muscle fatigue compared to the placebo group ( 14). Several studies show that BCAAs decrease protein breakdown during exercise and decrease levels of creatine kinase, which is an indicator of muscle damage ( 11, 12, 13) While the exact cause of DOMS is not clearly understood, researchers believe it’s the result of tiny tears in the muscles after exercise ( 9, 10).īCAAs have been shown to decrease muscle damage, which may help reduce the length and severity of DOMS. This soreness is called delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), which develops 12 to 24 hours after exercise and can last up to 72 hours ( 8). It’s not uncommon to feel sore a day or two after a workout, especially if your exercise routine is new. Some research suggests BCAAs can help decrease muscle soreness after a workout. However, your muscles require all the essential amino Therefore, while BCAAs can increase muscle protein synthesis, they can’t do so maximally without the other essential amino acids, such as those found in whey protein or other complete protein sources ( 6, 7). Whey protein contains all the essential amino acids needed to build muscle. That being said, this increase in muscle protein synthesis is approximately 50% less than what was observed in other studies where people consumed a whey protein shake containing a similar amount of BCAAs ( 4, 5). In one study, people who consumed a drink with 5.6 grams of BCAAs after their resistance workout had a 22% greater increase in muscle protein synthesis compared to those who consumed a placebo drink ( 3). The BCAA leucine activates a certain pathway in the body that stimulates muscle protein synthesis, which is the process of making muscle ( 1, 2). One of the most popular uses of BCAAs is to increase muscle growth.
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