Benefits of Using Amino Acids before and after Your Workouts

Amino acids are an essential part of a healthy diet. They interact with proteins in the body in such a way that they create a source of energy.

Particular amino acids – glucogenic amino acids – can be made into glucose inside your body, providing another essential energy source.

For this reason, ensuring that you take your daily dose of amino acids can help you with your workouts.

However, instead of relying on your regular meals to provide you with enough amino acids to get you through your daily run, weight lifting sessions, or sports matches, consider investing in amino acid supplements.

They can give you a natural and completely healthy boost to your energy levels with no extra stress.

You need not worry about your meals or the nutritional value of the snacks you eat; for instance, you need to make sure that you take your amino acid supplements every day and will soon feel the benefits.

What are ‘essential’ and ‘non-essential’ amino acids?

There are two different sorts of amino acids. The first, ‘essential’ amino acids, are the ones that are often contained in your foods and are the ones that cannot be made (or ‘synthesized’) by the body.

This is why you need to ensure you get enough of them by taking supplements or ensuring that the food you eat is packed full of your daily dose. There are also various ‘non-essential’ amino acids.

The body can create these without further help from the food you eat or the supplements you ingest.

There are nine essential amino acids that the human body cannot synthesize: histidine, threonine, valine, lysine, phenylalanine, leucine, isoleucine, methionine, and tryptophan.

These are the amino acids that you will need to make sure that you get from other sources.

You do not need to get the non-essential amino acids – tyrosine, proline, glycine, taurine, glutamate, aspartate, arginine, serine, alanine, and cysteine – as your body can create these, so long as you are getting enough of the essential minerals and vitamins.

Why should you take amino acids before and after your workouts?

Amino acids have an effect before, during, and after any workout. You should take your supplements or protein shakes (which are packed full of essential amino acids) both before and after your workout if you possibly can.

Before

If you take your amino acids before your workout, you will immediately start seeing the benefits. You will feel a boost in your energy levels, allowing you to work out more efficiently for longer.

Additionally, taking your amino acid supplements causes leucine, valine, and isoleucine to be broken down in the liver.

This can help it to be driven to your muscles. Since these are the natural elements that aid muscle protein synthesis, which can make your muscles feel stronger and more elastic and make them work better whatever you are doing, whether it is running, weight lifting, or any other combination of exercises.

During

Most experts would advise you to continue ingesting amino acids throughout your workout.

Taking a protein shake with you when you are working out is an excellent way to ensure that you continue taking essential amino acids throughout your workout.

These can continue to stimulate the release of isoleucine, leucine, and valie to the muscles from the liver, making your muscles work efficiently throughout your entire workout.

Just make sure that you do not attempt to work out on an empty stomach: the amino acids will not be assimilated into your system as quickly if you are drinking protein shakes without anything else accompanying them.

Taking in amino acids during your workout can also help break down your muscles after your exercise (see below).

After

Taking amino acids after your workout can help reduce the pain you often feel after intense exercise. Amino acids help to maintain the health of muscle tissue as well as encourage regrowth.

When you exercise, you inevitably tear your muscles, causing them to ache for extended periods after any training.

This is not necessarily unhealthy, but it is sub-optimal, making different workouts uncomfortable and more difficult. It can, however, be prevented.

Taking amino acids after your workout will help prevent everyday aches and pains that often accompany any exercise.

What are the other benefits of using amino acids?

There are other benefits to using amino acids before and after your workout. You should try to make taking amino acids a regular occurrence.

Once a day, at least, you should take amino acid supplements to help you get the essential amino acids your body needs to function correctly.

Besides the benefits listed above – the extra energy and the reduction in muscle pain after exercise – there are a few different reasons to consider introducing amino acid supplements into your daily routine:

1- Retaining muscle mass – when you exercise, drinking protein shakes is a great way to ensure that you can see the results of your hard work quicker.

Taking amino acids can also help you retain the muscle mass you gain from working out.

2- Fat loss around the abdomen when you are exercising, you are a) hoping to gain muscle and b) hoping to burn fat.

Not only can amino acids help you retain muscle mass, but they can also help with losing fat, particularly around the abdominal area. There are studies to suggest that amino acids may even help to speed up your metabolism.

Making amino acids part of your exercise routine is essential. Remember to take them before, during, and after every one of your workouts.