BCAA Supplements for Sports Nutrition

Critical for muscle protein synthesis*

Branched-Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) are composed of three essential amino acids, valine, leucine, and isoleucine, which form the largest pool of essential amino acids in your body and that are present in high levels in muscle tissue.

If you’ve been dieting and exercising but just can’t seem to attain the muscle mass and tone you desire, BCAA supplements may be the missing link.*

How BCAAs work & why

Your body cannot directly use proteins obtained from the diet to build new muscle tissue. It needs to break them down to individual building blocks - amino acids - for countless purposes and functions.

As you exercise, your body burns mostly carbohydrates for energy. Once you’ve used your limited carbohydrate stores, what’s next on the energy menu? Muscle tissue. Your body will begin to break it down to utilize the amino acids contained within as an alternative energy source.

If you're not providing your body with the raw materials it needs during exercise, your body will break down its own muscle tissue to produce energy. The result is that you’re actually losing muscle instead of gaining it.

The key is to ensure that your body is synthesizing more protein than it’s taking from your muscles, and then, you’ll gain lean muscle mass instead of losing it.

BCAAs for pre- and post-workout supplementation

Because BCAAs can be used as fuel during exercise, BCAA supplementation can help to preserve existing muscle tissue, so athletes should take before and after exercise.*

BCAAs are added to many protein powders thanks to their ability to stimulate protein synthesis as well as optimize the capacity of cells to synthesize protein.* Utilize standalone BCAA products to create your own supplement stack or maximize targeted intake for superior sports nutrition.

Easy-to-swallow capsules are convenient before workouts or add BCAA powder to post-workout recovery smoothies*. BCAA Big 6 flavored powders are perfect for mixing up a sports drink during workouts.

All NOW^® Sports products are tested in our state-of-the-art, world-class laboratories, so you can rest assured you’re always getting sports nutrition products that are safe, potent and highly efficacious.