Popular huh

Hey y'all!! This article will be covering some of the more popular supplements out there on the market. We'll be covering BCAA's, protein powder, multi-vitamins/minerals, and creatine. I'll kinda touch on some of the key points of these guys, and what to look for. This article does piggy back off another article I did. Where I discuss some general concepts of what we should be thinking about, if we do want to take any supplement. As always my goal is to empower y'all with the skills and knowledge to succeed.

So, let's get into it! Starting with BCAA's.

So, what are BCAA's? BCAA's are branch chain amino acids; of the 9 EAA's(essential amino acids) 3 are branch chain in structure. The 3 bad boys are: Leucine, isoleucine, and valine. Leucine is considered one of the bigger drivers of muscle protein synthesis(MPS). MPS is critical when it comes to augmenting lean muscle mass(growing or keeping muscle) and recovery. While Leucine will drive MPS signaling, it can't get the job done by itself. You need the other amino acids to form proper proteins and proper energy(ATP/calories).

A lot of BCAA's supplements just have the 3 branch chain amino acids. Which means we need to either get another supplement(EAA's/protein powder), or we need make sure our diet is locked in tight. While BCAA's can give an edge, they won't do all the work by themselves. We still need to train smart and have a decent diet.

Speaking of diet, animal based protein sources have more leucine than plant based proteins; making them a better option when it comes to building muscle. If building muscle is your main goal, then you should aim for about 0.05g leucine per a kg of body weight per a meal. Again, not just leucine alone. We need the proper energy(calories) and supporting amino acids. BCAA's are also pretty helpful for kick starting recovery, which is another key factor when it comes to building muscle. Not to mention recovery is key to any training program really.

Now, if you're in a pretty steep calorie deficit BCAA's and/or EAA's can help preserve muscle mass; without adding the extra calories protein powder would. Typically when we're in a calorie deficit we can lose muscle as quick as anything else, and we do not want that at all. Anyway, moving on we're gonna tackle creatine next.

Creatine comes in many forms, but the most popular form is creatine monohydrate. Creatine is naturally produced from 3 amino acids:

methionine, arginine, and glycine. Creatine affects energy production within the muscles, helping convert ADP to ATP. This can lead to changes in performance, which into leads to greater training adaptations. Some people even report a change in cognitive function.

Now, a lot of people think creatine needs to be "loaded", meaning we take a much higher dose for a week, and then dropping the dose to a lower maintenance level. That's not necessary, but it will speed up how quickly creatine will be saturated in the muscles. If you don't want to do a loading phase, take 5-10 grams a day depending on your size. If you do want to a loading phase, take 20g a day for 5-7 days and maintain with 5g a day after that.

Another thing we hear a lot when it comes to creatine is kidney health. As far as we know, if you have healthy kidneys there's no need to worry. If you do have any type of kidney problems, R.I.P dude. It's probably best to avoid creatine use at that point. People also worry about water weight while taking creatine. Just remember with water weight it goes as quickly as it comes. Next, we're gonna talk about protein powder for a sec.

I have mixed feelings when it comes to protein powder. On one hand it can be a useful tool in certain situations, but on the other hand it's easily abused. If you have a hard time hitting your protein goal, or you're pinched for time, then protein powder makes sense. If you're taking cause that's what gym bros do, or to replace a good quality meal, then maybe not the best idea. To each their own though, if that's what works for you then go for it.

It's important to know that not all protein powders are created equal, so take a bit of time to do your homework. Most protein powders come in 3 main forms; concentrates(80% protein), isolates(90% protein), and casein protein. The rest being some sort of filler. Concentrates and isolates are fast to absorb and be utilized. Whereas casein is absorbed slower over a longer period of time. Casein is often a byproduct of making whey protein, and will often be much cheaper than whey protein. However, most view casein protein as an lesser quality protein, which is partly true. I personally wouldn't waste the money on casein, or even concentrates for that matter. If you're gonna spend the money on protein powder just go for whey protein isolate. There used to be this misconception that you needed to have protein right after a training session, and that's simply not true. That's about all there is for me to say about protein powder; lets move on to our final topic multi-vitamins and minerals.

Vitamins and minerals are totally essential micro nutrients, that our bodies need to function properly, and sadly are often over looked. Ideally we should be getting as many vitamins and minerals through diet, not supplements. However, if you know you don't have the most well rounded diet, then maybe supplementing isn't such a bad idea.

There's just a few things to keep in mind. First is quality, second is quality, third is quality, there's one last thing I'm forgetting, oh yeah quality. Don't waste your money on a supplement with poor bioavailability. This is true with any of the supplements we talked about today. For whatever reason though, with vitamin and mineral supplements it seems to be much worse. Sadly it comes down to profit margins for these companies, who may or may not have your best interest in mind.

Also, the dose in some of these supplements isn't even enough to get the benefits we're after. Speaking of that, with most vitamins besides A,D,E, and K, you can go over and be safe. The reason being these 4 are stored in fat similar, instead of being excreted like B vitamins. Which means there is a chance of reaching toxicity levels; that can be somewhat of a stretch though. Minerals taken in excess can also lead to toxicity, but you gotta be hitting them pretty hard.

Congrats y'all!! You made it through another long af article and you're that much better for it! One last thing for y'all, do your research before taking any supplement. Think about why you're taking a supplement, and how it actually helps you. Make sure you're looking for that 3rd party testing label too. Please feel free to go and read the other article I did on supplements, to have a more complete picture on this topic.

Hopefully this has been some help to you, until next time y'all. Peace!