Supplementation Pt. 2 Intra Workout

Alright you beautiful people, just as I promised.  Sorry that I have not gotten anything up here in a while, been a hell of a last couple of weeks.  I promise I will be getting more regular with my posts, both on the home page and all of my sub pages.

On a lighter note, it is time to talk about intra workout nutrition...or what you should take during your workout. The two primary supplements that we will be discussing here are going to be your Branched Chain Amino Acids(BCAAS) and your fast digesting Carbohydrates. One of these is going to keep the muscles going and essentially prevent muscle breakdown during a longer bout of intense exercise, while the other is going to keep the body fueled and keep energy levels high to prevent too much fatigue during an exercise bout. Now let's look at these two products individually and break down exactly how they work at keeping the body going during your weight room session.

An article from the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research expresses the result of a study performed where 10 resistance trained male participants were given carbohydrates in addition to(in combination with) BCAAS during their workouts. After a bout of resistance training it is very common for REE(Resting Energy Expenditure) to increase and RER(Respiratory Exchange Ratio) to decrease. REE is the amount of calories required  by the body for a 24 hour period at resting conditions and RER is the ratio between the amount of CO2 exhaled and O2 inhaled in each breath. After a seven day trial of six grams of Amino Acids and 58 grams of Carbohydrates with three sets of 6 reps at 75% of of a 1 rep Max lift, with splits of upper body and lower body days it was determined that an amino acid and carbohydrate combination was far more effective than just a carbohydrate supplement.  When the amino acids were combined with the carbohydrates REE was increased by roughly 7% more than when just carbohydrates were used.

Basically what this article is stating is that when amino acids are used in conjunction with the carbohydrate supplement the result may be a noticeable increase in energy utilization during the post exercise period.  Because of an increase in energy utilization post exercise this could consequently result in the decrease of overall body fat composition. So for those of you who are wishing to continue to push harder throughout your workouts and to continue burning fat and expending energy even when your workout is over I would highly recommend taking a BCAA supplement with a Carbohydrate supplement during your resistance routines. These products are generally sold separately and are either flavorless so you can add them to any drink or they may come in a fruit punch or orange flavor so just add to some water.  They are very easy to drink and are easily digestible.  They are also pretty easy on your pocket book at about $15 a piece.  These are some of the cheapest and most effective supplements you can buy. So go get em!!

FINS UP!!