BCAAs

ethos · 19 Jan 2007 at 12:59

Hi Guys,

Any of you know a cheap place to get some BCAAs?

Cheapest I've found are the "Dymatize BCAA Complex 2200, 400 Caps" for £13... which is trade price.

ethos · 22 Jan 2007 at 20:08

Gave up on the idea of getting some BCAA's to be honest. To get good results I'm reading decent trainers suggesting 20-30grams a day. It's just going to cost waaaay too much.

Just ordered 10lb of unflavoured whey, 2kg of waxy maize and some zma though :cool:

ethos · 23 Jan 2007 at 07:14

Chong Warrior said:
Leucine on it's own is cheaper I just ordered 500g for under £14...

You think BCAA's are expensive but you'll spend your money on ZMA? You rate that stuff?

That's the cheapest I've seen it too, lasts aaages

ZMA works for me, my sleep quality is better etc.. and I know I'll get the desired effect with it.

I've never really taken bcaas on there own, but my protein intake is pretty damn high anyway. Based on taking 30g a day I'd need just under 1kg for a month which is £36 a month... on top of everything else I just can't justify that at the moment.

ethos · 23 Jan 2007 at 22:06

Chong Warrior said:
I've taken ZMA before and find I'll sleep better for first few days then it seems to wear off. I find Taurine works better and at around £2 for 100g it's very cheap I think all supplements effects can depend on how deficient you are when you start taking them? makes sence.

30g a day is a heck of a lot of BCAA's in my opinion, can I ask what you've based that intake on? 15g is enough to drink while you're training (or just before) and that's when you'll feel the most benefit. If you workout 3 times a week with weights that's roughly 50g weekly, less than £2 a week

Was based on a well know trainer online...

I also had found this information on L-leucine:

"If you administer leucine alone, protein synthesis rises for only 30 minutes, but if you provide other essential amino acids then protein synthesis remains elevated for at least 2 hours. Thus, they play a supporting role. Also leucine administered alone can lower the concentration of other amino acids, particular other BCAAs.

This is because leucine stimulates the enzyme which degrades all BCAAs. If given in the absence of other BCAAs, they will lower in concentration, and protein synthesis will lower with their decrease."

From Leucine's Effects on Muscle Growth and Body Composition - Questions/Answers and Practical Applications by Jacob Wilson, BSc. (Hons), MSc. CSCS, PhD Candidate

See this link for more on leucine. http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/...eucineindex.php

I was looking for something in between meals, L-leucine on it's own doesn't seem all that great.

ethos · 23 Jan 2007 at 22:37

Chong Warrior said:
Yeah that's why I mix it with BCAA's but if you're eating loads of other protein, like most bodybuilders do, then there shouldn't be a problem. 15g or so sipped on when training isn't going to unbalance things.

Not sure what you mean by looking for something inbetween meals? then I think that's where protein shakes come in handy?

If you're bulking then you won't miss BCAA's all that much, it's when you're trying to lose fat and maintain your hard earned muscle they come into their own

My pre/post workout nutrition is fine, this isn't what I was looking at for the bcaas/L Leucine for.

I tend to have a meal every 2.30/3 hours and was just looking for a little "fix" in between these times and had heard good things about bcaas. Maybe in a couple of payrises I can look into getting some

My protein intake is generally around 1/1.5g p/lb so is pretty high anyway.

Should get the maxy waize tomorrow, will be interested to see how it goes...

ethos · 23 Jan 2007 at 22:56

Chong Warrior said:
Yeah I think you're looking at them for the wrong thing.

This is what's in Vitargo isn't it? Had everyone raving on about it. Seems expensive to me (compared to my beloved oats @ 38p per kilo) but I've heard very good things about it, I'll ask in a month or so see what you how you found it

Well....

50g provides about 44g of carbs. So 1kg providing 20 servings of "44g of carbs". I train 4 days a week at the moment so 1kg would last me 5 weeks and it's only £5.99 a kg. So £1.20 a week!

I'll only be using it for postworkout, and will probably use the 50g serving providing 44g of carbs and add a couple scoops of protein. Although there are reports that some people are getting better results from a waxy maize serving, followed by protein 20 minutes later.

More expensive that oats, but used for a completely different purpose. For some reason I'm never too keen on getting carbs from dextrose/maltodextrin, even post workout.

ethos · 27 Jan 2007 at 17:39

Pigeon_Killer said:
Using the online price matcher at myprotein I managed to get the price down to just under £36 for 1kg. If you use one of the 5% discount codes you can get it even cheaper. Hope that helps

Out of interest what did you price match it with?

ethos · 27 Jan 2007 at 17:45

Pigeon_Killer said:
www.bulkpowders.co.uk

Wow, thanks for the quick reply! That is pretty damn cheap for 1kg. How much do you use per day Pigeon_Killer?

ethos · 27 Jan 2007 at 17:47

Doh! There's 5kg of waxy maize for £17, I paid like £12 for 2kg...At least I know for future!

ethos · 29 Jan 2007 at 17:27

I remember why I hate these tubs from myprotein... they are a pain in the ass to get off!!!!

Already put 5lb into a normal screw top tub, much better.

ethos · 29 Jan 2007 at 19:28

$loth said:
Off topic but who's are is in your sig ethos?

I find the MP tubs easy to get the top off :S

Arnie!

ethos · 29 Jan 2007 at 19:28

S7yl3s said:
There are different ones My brother just got one through a couple of days ago and it's much harder to get off than the ones I've had. Maybe they're making them more difficult to make them more tamper proof?

Yea, possibly. It's not that it's "hard" to get off. More the fact of much more hassle than just untwisting a normal tub. Plus after opening it loads of times I can see it not being that tight a fit...

ethos · 1 Feb 2007 at 17:48

Ended up ordering 1kg for £40 delivered of BCAA powder. Going to have a month and try and drop a bit of bodyfat so think they'll be worth the money!!

Only need to drop 3-4% so going to hammer it for a month and get back to normality as soon as I can!

ethos · 2 Feb 2007 at 23:59

Chong Warrior said:
What's your plan for using them? Dosage, timing, etc?

I think it'll probably be this on training days:

10g morning
5g between breakfast and meal 2
5g preworkout (slightly after meal4)
10g post workout with waxy maze, 2 scoops protein 20 minutes later
5g bedtime

And off days:

10g morning
5g between breakfast and meal 2
5g between meal 3 and meal 4
5g bedtime

So 35g on ON days, and 25g on non-training days. Should last about a month with 1kg.

ethos · 3 Feb 2007 at 13:17

Chong Warrior said:
Wow that's a lot! Are you using gear ethos?

Let us know how you get on with them

Nope, not on gear- 100% natural

I'm going to Paris in a week so will start the the BCAA and have a good month of clean diet and cardio after that. Will update this thread and tell you how I get on!

ethos · 16 Feb 2007 at 09:38

Ok, so the BCAA powder tastes like ass...

Tried mixing it with water, it's a no go. It's fine with orange juice but doesn't mix and stays in clumps. Any of you guys taken/take it, if so how do you have yours?

ethos · 16 Feb 2007 at 12:46

Chong Warrior said:
I take 5g soon as I wake up along with some grapefruit juice. I just put it straight onto my tongue and then wash it down, it much easier than trying to mix it. Carefull you don't breath in though, you don't want a lung full of powder.

For the gym I just throw 15g in my shaker and fill it up with water, by the time I get to the gym it's always fully dissolved

Yea, was thinking about the tongue and then downing some water with it. Do you end up tasting it much that way?

Hmm, so if I leave it in the water for say 5-10 minutes it WILL dissolve?

ethos · 16 Feb 2007 at 12:56

What would happen if you breathed the powder in? :eek:

Might give this a go later then, do you reckon the bcaa degrades at all being left in water for 10-15 minutes? Thinking that might be the way i'll do it.

ethos · 16 Feb 2007 at 13:19

Was this debate on a forum, I wouldn't mind a read if you have a link?

Going training in a bit (day off woop) so going to have some with oats/protein shake in a moment.

ethos · 16 Feb 2007 at 13:51

Chong Warrior said:
Spot the post from RUNOVERYOU who comes up with something to say that amino acids can actually dissolve in water.

Cool thanks for the link bud, Is it a good forum? Just had some bcaa with oats / protein + milk- can still taste it. Think it's going to be something I'll have to get used to!!

Will add 10g bcaa to my postworkout wazy maize shake (which is seems to be going fine by the way).