Amino Acids
Understanding How Amino Acids Relate to Sports
Essential amino acids are an important part of the human body. They are ingested through the diet by consuming proteins from legumes, meat, seafood and the like or by amino acid supplementation.
It is considered an “essential amino acid” because a person cannot survive without its presence in his or her diet. Amino acids fulfill various metabolic functions in the body. They work as a building block of proteins, antioxidant, neurotransmitter, hormones’ precursors and other body constituents.
Amino acids are found in red meat, dairy products and other protein-containing foods. Amino acid supplementation can help since certain amino acids including lysine, Arginine, methionine, phenylalanine, Ornithine and Histidine stimulate the release of insulin, hormones and glucocorticoids, which promotes the body’s anabolic process. BCAAs (branched-chain amino acids) supplementations are the source of amino acids isoleucine, Valine and Leucine.
Normally, humans cannot synthesize the number of amino acids needed in one’s body. Therefore, you have to ingest them from vitamins to maintain proper health and athletic performance. A typical person cannot consume the .8 grams of protein for every kilogram of body weight needed for an ample supply of amino acids.
The typical diet today contains an average of 1.2 grams of protein for every kilogram of body weight. However, people who are physically active, such as bodybuilders, power athletes, weightlifters and endurance athletes need larger amounts of amino acids to fill 2.2 grams of protein.
Since it is impossible to stuff this much amount of amino acids into the body from diet alone, supplementation can definitely fill this need.
Amino acids are associated with sports since they are involved in various metabolic pathways, which greatly affect your exercise metabolism. Accordingly, there have been various studies suggesting that athletes involved in extensive training require extra protein in their diet.
Amino acids for athletic performance have been a hot topic in the world of professional sports because of its three benefits:
1) Amino acids build muscles – The muscle tissues contain two important proteins – myosin and actin. These proteins are made up of isoleucine, Valine and Leucine, also known as the BCAAs. If you include branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) in you diet, from either supplements or food, it increases raw materials of your muscle tissues, which in turn, contributes to muscle building.
2) Amino acids increase stamina – When a person performs strenuous physical activities, his or her body automatically decomposes proteins and use up BCAAs to compensate for the lack of energy source.
Several studies show that intense physical activities such as cross-country marathons could damage your muscle tissues. However, this can be prevented by replenishing the needed BCAA in the body before or during participating in intense sports activities.
BCAA supplements can help significantly in giving room for energy sources, which allows your body to hold stamina for longer periods. Moreover, taking the required amount of amino acids could help speed up the recovery of damaged muscles, preventing muscle soreness, fatigue and other symptoms of muscle damage.
3) Amino acids improve recovery from fatigue – Branched-chain amino acids also helps in suppressing lactic acid production. This is particularly important for athletes and physically active people since lactic acid is a fatigue-causing substance.
When a person exercises continuously, his or her lactic acid blood levels increases, which results in the decrease of pH in muscles. This results in a sudden difficulty to contract muscles.
Amino acid supplements can replenish your body’s BCAAs, inhibiting the elevation of lactic acid blood levels, even if you’re performing intense exercises.
4) Amino acid supplementation reduces mental fatigue – Your physical performance relies greatly on concentration and willpower. When the amount of neurotransmitter called serotonin increases in your brain, your will power decreases.
This main cause of this scenario is due to the raw material of serotonin called tryptophan, an essential amino acid. When you perform extensive training continuously, this essential amino acid is transferred to your brain, which leads to the production of serotonin. If you take amino acid supplements, it prevents a great portion of tryptophan to enter your brain, which suppresses serotonin production.
These are the reasons why amino acid supplements can enhance both your mental and physical performance. Experience an increase in mental clarity, reduce the risks of infections due to exercise stress and improve athletic performance even under extreme conditions by incorporating amino acid supplements into your diet.
If this is your first time visiting Nutrition for Athletes, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Sports Supplements for Bodybuilders
Bodybuilding is not just a man’s thing anymore. In fact, bodybuilding is gaining popularity nowadays among women. All over the world, bodybuilding competitions are held for both men and women. There are television body fitness shows that target bodybuilders. Even the very popular magazine Sports Illustrated is now having female bodybuilders as their cover models.
Lifting weights is the perfect routine for bodybuilders in order to achieve hypertrophy or muscle growth. These strenuous and high intensity activities promote the strengthening of muscles. The suitable weight-lifting program is accompanied by a specialize nutrition with high amounts of protein. Rest is also an important aspect of bodybuilding.
Because bodybuilders undergo high intensity trainings, their bodies have special needs. The body’s special nutritional requirement must be met, not only to optimize the bodybuilding workout, but also to prevent serious accidents.
Due to the high levels of muscle growth and repair, bodybuilders require between 500 to 1000 calories (roughly 2000 to 4000 kilojoules) more than their recommended daily amount while at the same time attempting to increase lean body mass.
This is achieved by taking in 5 to 7 full meals daily at regular intervals of 2 to 3 hours. This split of food intake allows for greater availability of nutrients in addition to assisting in fat loss.
In addition to a well-planned diet, bodybuilders can choose from a wide array of bodybuilding supplements on the market, depending on their needs. These bodybuilding products are referred to as diet supplements.
Keep note that in gaining muscles, it is really not necessary to take in supplements. However, these supplements will aid in hastening muscle development. The various types of bodybuilding products are classified as diet supplements.
Some bodybuilders would be “stacking” or combining the different bodybuilding supplements for faster results. Some of these products may prove harmful on their own or when “stacked”. The most popular bodybuilding supplements would be the following:
• Glutamine - Glutamine, which is the most abundant amino acids found in muscles, inhibits muscle wasting and helps muscles improve faster.
• Creatine - Creatine is good for muscle development because it increases the body’s ATP that is the main source of muscle energy. This increase in energy enables the bodybuilder to perform longer and endure more strenuous workouts. The different types of creatine are micronized creatine, creatine monohydrate and creatine formulas, which are mixed with other stuffs like dextrose and amino acids.
• Multivitamins - Deficiencies in minerals and vitamins can hamper the gains of workouts. Sufficient intake of multivitamins is essential in gaining muscle mass. Vitamins aid in converting food into energy while minerals ensure that the brain receives the correct signals from the body.
• HMB - The HMB supplement is a metabolite of leucine, an essential amino acid, which has a positive effect on muscle gain and even fat loss.
• Zinc and Magnesium Aspartate (ZMA)- This combination of vitamins and minerals has been reported to increase testosterone levels and improve sleep and recovery.
• Prohormones - Prohormones work like anabolic steroids- they increase anabolic hormones but with less risks for side effects.
• Protein-rich products or meal replacement products are available such as protein bars and protein shakes. Both are consumed in replacement of whole meals. These products are low in fat, rich in vitamins and minerals, have moderate amounts of carbohydrates and packed with high quality protein. Protein is made up of amino acids, which are the basic building blocks of muscles. Other forms of protein would be whey, egg or albumen, casein and soy.
The demand for bodybuilding supplements is increasing as more and more types and brands are being developed. Unfortunately, a lot of manufacturers make false claims with regards to the product safety and effectiveness. It is always best to take precaution in choosing the supplement.
Remember that the US Food and Drugs Administration does not provide oversight for these bodybuilding supplements. Meaning, the safety of these products is not always guaranteed due to the lack of an agency that can control and check these products.
And keep in mind that no amount of supplements will gain you results without a strict workout regimen and a proper diet. So if you want to achieve that fabulous body, sweat it out! The natural way, is always the perfect and most effective way.
-
Sponsors
