Breaking down BCAA’S for the rugby player
When an ordinary person looks at the term BCAA it can begin to get quite confusing about just what we are talking about. When it comes to a sports athlete looking at the term, they should have an idea of what it stands for and how they help but do they really understand the full effect of them?
We are of course discussing the use of branched chain amino acids and how they can help your performance over the hardship of a typical sporting season and training. With the Six Nations in full swing we shall look at how the use of branched chain aminos can help the efforts of a typical rugby player during a season of training and playing.
Let’s start by breaking down just what BCAA’S do for the body when taken alongside a well rounded and high protein laden diet. Amino acids are the essential building blocks of what helps build muscle within your body when protein synthesis occurs. This is a state where the body uses the existing aminos in order to build more muscle mass after working out and repairing the broken muscle fibres. Sometimes when you are cutting weight or on a controlled diet the body, in an effort to rebuild muscle quickly, this can eat into these stores of aminos. This is why it is important for you to have a large supply of amino acids within your system so that your body can continue to rebuild the muscles worked with an ample supply of proteins and the blocks of aminos to help this happen.
When you don’t have enough in your system you can begin to eat away at your existing supply of muscle which is known as an anabolic state. Taking amino acids massively helps to avoid this state and supply your body with more muscle building links meaning your hard work during training isn’t being eaten away by your hungry body.
Sports specific
So if you’re a rugby player and you’re into your season, then how can BCAA’S help you in your goals? Well for starters when playing rugby you need your muscle mass to be as high as possible and your body fat count to be pretty low. This should mean you’re eating high in protein meals and leaving out many high in fat foods, this type of dieting can potentially lead to an anabolic state as your body craves the feeding for more growth. BCAA’S can help avoid this as they crash the system with more building blocks for your body to feed on the high amounts of protein you’re taking in, meaning your training efforts aren’t going to waste and your muscle growth should continue to rise and rise.
Long term goals
With your rugby season being a hard and physical one it is imperative that you feed your body the correct amount of nutrients and foods not only for constant growth, but for the maintenance of your size and shape and general health. You will no doubt take a battering through one season and so your body will be looking for moments to repair more often than other sports. A diet loaded with branched chain aminos can help towards you giving your body the better chance of recovery between games and also maintaining a good physical shape and feeling.
Other factors
Alongside all this BCAA’S have been shown to help reduce the production of serotonin which can increase the feeling of fatigue. This is a good thing for the rugby player as you will no doubt be training hard through the week and then laying it all on the line for 80 minutes at the weekend. Any help you can get to feel better through the week is only a good thing. Another aspect of taking BCAA’S is that they help to reduce the feeling of muscle soreness which again helps to keep you going on training days and get you through a game weekend and out the other side feeling reasonable and fresher than before.
There are many positive factors to taking and including a top quality BCAA formula in your diet and supplement intake. Many formulas come in powdered form and can be quickly thrown into existing protein shakes and creatine shakes, making the addition and simple and easy one. So if you’ve noticed that your training efforts are being hit by fatigue or soreness from your training or you come out of your league games feeling jaded then add a top quality BCAA formula to your intake and start to feel the benefit of what they can offer. You won’t turn back once you and the results will speak for themselves, so get out there and do the damn thing!