Is It OK to Drink BCAAs Without Working Out?

It’s become widely accepted among those concerned with fitness that BCAAs are a potent source of nutritional support. In recent years, these compounds have gained significant popularity, thanks to their beneficial effects and fast bioavailability, but questions still remain regarding the best way to integrate them into your exercise regimen. While many of these questions still linger around other types of supplements – for instance, the question of whether you should take your supplement before, during, or after a workout – the fact that BCAA supplements are relatively new means that they face more questions than most products. One query that many people have is whether it is OK to drink BCAAs without working out. To learn more, keep reading as the team at aminoVITAL® addresses this topic.

Why Drink BCAAs When Working Out?

Fitness fanatics who use BCAAs report a wide array of benefits granted by this advanced type of supplement – benefits backed by the science surrounding these compounds. Taken together, these effects make it clear why so many people have turned to BCAAs as their go-to fitness supplement when working out.

One of the most immediate reasons to drink BCAAs when working out is the boost of energy they bring. It’s a little-known fact that the body can use amino acids for energy when it needs to, such as during periods of intense physical activity. Through the process of gluconeogenesis, these amino acids are converted into glucose, which powers everything from the muscles to the brain. BCAAs can provide steady, consistent energy without the jitters and inevitable crash that come with stimulant-based supplements, and they take effect quickly, too.

Another benefit of using BCAAs while working out is that they provide a substantial boost to the process of muscle protein synthesis (MPS). Once you’re done working out, your muscles are typically in pretty rough shape, thanks to the strain placed on them when working out; in addition to the physical stress of resistance exercise, the muscles can be broken down by the body for use as a fuel source. To reverse this damage, the body engages MPS, producing new muscle tissue that’s used to heal the damaged areas and reinforce them with extra mass, which is how your muscles grow after exercise. However, this process requires the use of certain resources – namely amino acids – to function, and the body only has so much of those available. By drinking BCAAs during or after a workout, you can provide your body with the supplies it needs to maximize muscle growth and hasten the healing process.

And for those plagued by fatigue when working out, BCAAs can help by limiting the movement of tryptophan (another amino acid) into the brain. Once there, tryptophan turns into serotonin, a neurotransmitter linked to the onset of central nervous system fatigue – a condition that hinders exercise performance. Because tryptophan has to compete with BCAAs to enter the brain, keeping the levels of BCAAs in the bloodstream steady – by, say, drinking BCAAs when working out – maintains an important check on tryptophan uptake, fighting fatigue in the process.

Are There Benefits to Drinking BCAAs Without Working Out?

Considering how effective BCAAs can be in helping with workouts, it’s no wonder why people often ask whether they can expect those same benefits anytime, even without working out. Unfortunately, the answer is generally no (with one exception that we’ll discuss below). The benefits of BCAAs are directly linked to exercise, either because the amino acids provide resources for the body, such as fuel or materials to build new cells, or because they limit some negative consequence of working out, such as damage to the muscles or the onset of fatigue. This means that drinking BCAAs without working out won’t provide much in the way of results, except in a few specific circumstances.

The advantages of using BCAAs as a pre-workout still apply in the absence of exercise, since the energy BCAAs provide can be capitalized on whether you head to the gym or not. Anytime you need a boost, simply down a BCAA drink mix and feel the amino acids and B vitamins do their work; best of all, BCAAs lack the downsides of caffeine and other stimulants, so you won’t have to worry about losing steam an hour later.

In addition, those who exert themselves through the course of their daily activities may benefit from BCAAs as well. If you have a physically demanding job that leaves you sore or dehydrated, the electrolytes and amino acids in a BCAA supplement may help in dealing with those issues. While the advantages of amino acid supplements may be centered on improving the outcomes associated with exercise, that doesn’t mean that they can’t help with other forms of activity, too.

Drink a Fast-Acting BCAA Supplement the Next Time You Work Out

If you exercise frequently and are looking for ways to increase your gains, speed up your recovery times, and reduce your level of soreness after working out, consider the lean and efficient BCAA supplements available from aminoVITAL®. All our products are made with high-quality vegan BCAAs, and they contain very few calories and – in most cases – no sugar at all. Because amino acids require less digestion than whole proteins, BCAA supplements take effect up to three times faster than whey. To learn more about these powerful products and how they can help you reach your health and fitness goals, visit aminoVITAL® online or call (888) 264-6673 today.