How to Take Amino Acids With Protein Shakes

If you are serious about building muscle, you will have looked into protein shakes and realized their importance. They can not only help you build muscle mass, but they can help you retain it for longer and help reduce recovery times after even the most intense of training sessions.

What you may not already know, however, is how vital amino acids also are for all the things mentioned above and more. Ensuring that you get enough amino acids can help you to reap the rewards of all your hard work even quicker than increasing your protein intake alone.

Taking amino acids and protein shakes is the perfect combination to help you build up plenty of muscle mass and lose weight without any of the usual problems, such as muscle stiffness and soreness, the morning after a big training session.

Why take amino acids?

For those who have never really considered how vital amino acids are for your body and your workout, there are several reasons given below that explain precisely what they can offer you:

Increased muscle mass quicker and reduced recovery time

If you want to build muscle mass quickly, you must start taking amino acid supplements. Amino acids are responsible for the repairing and regrowth of damaged muscle tissue.

Since you are tearing your muscle tissue every time you go out running or lifting weights – particularly if you have not appropriately stretched – you will need to introduce different amino acids into your body to repair your muscles as quickly as possible. This will keep you moving for longer so that you will gain a higher fitness level in a shorter time span.

Weight loss

Taking amino acids has been linked with a quicker pace of losing weight when combined with a good diet and exercise regime. Weight loss, particularly around the abdominal area, has been reported with increased intake of specific amino acids, whether in supplement form or ingested through food.

Energy and mood boosts

Amino acids can prevent natural boosts for your energy and mood. Certain amino acids help increase the production of certain neurotransmitters in the brain, improving your mood and making you mentally fitter to go out and train.

If you want a natural boost before or during your training session, you can take certain amino acids that can naturally increase your energy levels. This can make the training sessions that much easier to face each day, particularly if you tackle exercise every day: after all, sometimes the biggest block to becoming fit and healthy is the mental and emotional one.

How can you take amino acids with your protein shakes?

Most good protein shakes have amino acids already added since they work together to repair damaged muscle and build muscle mass throughout the body.

However, if no amino acids have been added or if you feel as though you are not getting enough (and since there are so many different types of amino acids, it is unlikely that your particular brand protein shake has included them all), then you may need to look into other ways to introduce these sorts of amino acids into your body. Several methods are outlined below:

Eat the right foods

There are plenty of foods out there that are naturally full of all sorts of different amino acids. Foods such as meats – particularly lean beef, pork, and poultry, as well as certain types of fish – are high in the necessary protein and amino acids. If you can introduce more of these into your diet, you will quickly start seeing the results.

If you are vegetarian and do not want to eat meat to increase your protein intake, you should consider increasing your daily intake of foodstuffs such as eggs and dairy. For example, even in a small amount of cheese or yogurt, there is a great deal of protein and amino acids.

Certain grains, such as quinoa, are full of essential amino acids for vegans or people who are lactose intolerant.

Take amino acid supplements.

Amino acid supplements come in all different shapes and sizes. Since there are so many kinds of amino acids that you could take, you will need to look into the ones that will best benefit you, as well as those that your protein shake does not already contain, so that you are getting a good range and an excellent balance of amino acids.

Remember to ask yourself what you need and want from these amino acids – do you want an energy boost? Do you want to gain muscle mass fast? Do you want to speed up muscle repair after a training session? Whichever one you decide upon, you must select the correct amino acid to do the job and then invest in the relevant supplements, mainly if your protein shake does not already contain it.

Look into protein bars and shakes.

If you are serious about your training, you will already be taking a protein shake and perhaps even eating protein bars. As mentioned previously, however, the best protein bars and shakes out there will already have amino acids in them.

Do some research and decide whether you want to change your brand or stick with your current one. If yours does not, you must switch brands and find one that does. However, even if your brand has amino acids, you should always check to ensure they are the right ones for you.

Taking a protein shake and other amino acid supplements is a good idea if you want great results quickly.