For which athletes is BCAA an important supplement?

Do you know what BCAAs are and what they can do for you? In this blog, we will tell you all about BCAA and its benefits. You will also find out which athletes it is wise to take the supplement for. Check it out!

What is BCAA?

BCAA stands for Branched-chain amino acids, in Dutch: branched-chain amino acids. The supplement contains the three essential amino acids: leucine, isoleucine and valine. The fact that they are essential amino acids means that your body does not produce them itself. You therefore have to get these amino acids from your diet or supplements. Since amino acids are building blocks for muscle protein, BCAAs are important for muscle building.

The benefits of BCAAs

The main advantages of BCAAs are:

• It stimulates protein synthesis and muscle mass building;
• Reduces muscle breakdown;
• Reduces muscle pain after training.

BCAA if you want to lose weight

Are you in the process of losing weight or dry training? Then BCAA is a good supplement to use. You are in a calorie deficit, losing fat, but probably also some muscle mass. To maintain your muscle mass, BCAA is a useful supplement to support you in this. This supplement stimulates the building of muscle mass and reduces breakdown in the process. This way, you will lose as little muscle mass as possible while losing weight.

BCAA against muscle pain

Are you an athlete who suffers from muscle pain easily? BCAAs can help you with this. This supplement helps your muscles recover faster after a (heavy) work-out. This allows you to train the same muscle groups again faster. You will also notice that muscle building is accelerated, because you can train more often and more effectively.

A good supplement for vegan athletes

If you follow a vegan diet, BCAA can be an important supplement for you. For a vegan athlete, it is more difficult to get enough essential amino acids. This is because plant-based food has a less complete amino acid composition. To still get enough amino acids, you can vegan BCAA take and/or occasional protein shake drink.