Back when I was a bodybuilder, we consumed amino acids like they were jelly beans! Of course, we couldn’t eat jelly beans, so it seemed a pretty crappy trade-off. Today we know so much more about amino acids. BCAA’s are amino acids that include leucine, isoleucine and valine. Unlike the other amino acids, these little guys bypass the liver and go straight to doing their jobs, which of course is repairing muscle. Taking BCAA’s prior to your workout is a great idea. I would even consider mixing your BCAA’s with your water to drink during exercise. This way your muscle has what it takes when it starts to repair immediately after your workout. I also like to take arginine and onithine prior to my workout. Both of these aminos help drive nitric oxide production. This helps the muscles to relax and promotes more blood flow into the muscle, allowing oxygen, nutrients and red blood cells to the muscle site.  Add this to your routine and you will see results pretty quickly – and you will feel a pretty healthy pump during your resistance training.

Keep checking our blogs for my next post on glutamine.