My new trainer recommends 2.5g of BCAAs before and after a PT workout. On mornings where I plan to only do cardio for the day, she told me to take 5g first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach. I went to The Vitamin Shoppe today after work, and bought some unflavored powder. I tried to mix some into water and taste the “unflavored” mixture, and it was pretty gross. But, what are BCAAs, and why would I want to take them?

All through the magic of google, I’ve come to some conclusions on what BCAAs are. BCAA stands for Branched-Chain Amino Acids. They are used by many body builders as a supplement that helps promote lean muscle mass and reduce muscle soreness after workouts. Many have attested to the fact they get energy from taking BCAAs before and during extra long workouts. But here’s a link to the good ole wikipedia on it. And here’s another link to one of the better articles I found on it: WebMD and admittedly when I click on the additional tabs and read more about it, I’m less certain about it. However, I am willing to try new things, and will see how this goes.

I will definitely write about it if I do see anything vastly different once I start taking it regularly. Hopefully it will either be unnoticeable, or a positive influence on my overall health (nothing negative).

Bottom line: I still don’t know whether BCAAs will do anything for me. I’ve been taking whey protein for a while as a supplement, and can’t necessarily tell whether or not it’s doing anything… same can be said about the glucosamine I take for joint health. I’m not 100% sure supplements really do anything for me, but I take them and try to have faith they’re doing something positive in my body.