What do you want? More money in your bank account? A hot fitness model by your side? A Ferrari? Whiter teeth? More muscle mass? OK, we can help deliver on the last choice, but as far as the rest my friend, you’re on your own.
Gaining muscle…the eternal bodybuilding aspiration, has been made easier with the advent of scientific findings. You have at your disposal an assortment of diet and supplement choices that will lead you closer to your physique goals. Creatine supplementation can increase muscle fiber size and improve strength and power. If you don’t eat enough protein you’d get ‘shrinkage’ worse than an octogenarian in the Florida sun. Let’s add another efficacious supplement to our list. Essential Amino Acids.
The essential amino acids or EAAs for short, are those amino acids that are not made by your body. Thus, you need to eat them! In fact, a study from Texas looked at how powerful the EAAs truly are. They took research subjects and had them do an exercise training bout that consisted of: 10 sets x 8 reps of leg press at 80% of their maximum and 8 sets x 8 reps of leg extensions at 80% of max. Rest interval between sets as ~2 minutes and the entire leg workout took about 45-50 minutes. Not exactly a typical leg day, but hey, it’s better than a fork in the eye.
So what did these brainiacs find?
Consuming a mixture of EAAs significantly increased blood levels of amino acids. But more importantly, total net phenylalanine uptake across the leg (an indicator of muscle protein gains!), was 158% greater when the EAAs were taken before versus after the training bout.
Interestingly, EAAs seem to exert a positive effect on protein metabolism without the presence of the other non-EAAs! For instance, a 40 gram solution of EAAs was found to improve net muscle protein balance thus indicating a possible anabolic effect.
And to further show the versatility of these amino acids, a study from the University of Nebraska has shown that supplementation with EAAs may have an ergogenic (performance-enhancing) effect. Scientists studied a group of women who consumed either 18 grams of EAAs or placebo daily for 6 weeks. Each woman performed a split-routine, multiple-set weight training regimen three times weekly as well as aerobic training three times weekly for 20 minutes per session. The results of this investigation showed no effect on body weight or body fat levels; however, treadmill time to exhaustion improved more in the EAA group (+12%) versus the placebo group (+4%). And although it was not quite statistically significant, total weight lifted by the EAA group improved (+20%) more than the placebo group (-6%).
So clearly, if you want to increase muscle protein gain (and maybe enhance performance), you may want to ingest EAAs; and mixing it with a high-glycemic index (GI) sugar might help as well.
Some might suggest eating whole foods is the same thing. WRONG! There are no whole foods that contain just the EAAs! In terms of efficiency, you’re better off consuming 6 grams of EAAs, then consuming whole protein.
Let me repeat. There are reasons why supplements are the better choice. The convenience factor is one of them. Also, there are no single foods that are purely essentially amino acids. And of course, there’s the issue of digestibility.
My advice to you: Consume the essential amino acids before training. It’ll stimulate muscle mass gain; but for those of you who have sensitive stomachs, make sure you have a post-workout beverage. That is, consume a post-workout meal right after training. Make it roughly 500 calories with roughly equal protein and carbs. Add the essential amino acids to the mix (no more than 6 grams) and perhaps some glutamine [5 g] (for immune support). Drop in a teaspoon of flax oil or peanut butter and you’re good to go.
References
1) Antonio J et al. Effects of exercise training and amino acid supplementation on body composition and physical performance in untrained women. Nutrition 16:1043-1046, 2000.
2) Rasmussen BB et al. An oral essential amino acid-carbohydrate supplement enhances muscle protein anabolism after resistance exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology. 88:386-392, 2000.
3) Tipton KD et al. Timing of amino acid-carbohydrate ingestion alters anabolic response of muscle to resistance exercise. American Journal of Physiology. 281:E197-E206, 2001.
4) Tipton KD et al. Nonessential amino acids are not necessary to stimulate net muscle protein synthesis in healthy volunteers. Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry. 10:89-95, 1999.
BIO
Jose Antonio, Ph.D. is the President of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) and is the Director of Exercise and Sports Nutrition Research at the Institute for Human Performance (IHP) in Boca Raton, FL. He is also the Chief Science Officer for Javalution (www.javalution.com) For more information on the ISSN (www.sportsnutritionsociety.org) IHP (www.ihpfit.com).
