Furyan Reviews: Branch Chain Amino Acids

           I have mentioned in the past about how supplements can improve your bodybuilding experience. Just like yesterday’s article, if you are coming in late, here is a simple breakdown. Think of your nutrition as a castle wall. The nutrients from food are the big blocks of granite that form the wall. Supplements are the mortar that holds everything together. It fills in the gaps between the stones, binds everything together, and keeps that wall upright when those rousey mongorians come to tear down your chitty wall. Supplements on their own do little but when mixed together, they make that wall strong.

           My list of supplements is pretty small. I take Vitamin B, E & fish oil for my metabolism and my heart, Vitamin C for my immune system, and CLAs and Green Tea Extract to help me burn fat. While I got away from it recently, I have returned to having a whey protein shake when I get home after my workout, and I do a casein protein shake before bed.

           Now, the Whey Protein shake is fortified with BCAAs but I only use one scoop, so I am not getting the full recommended dosage that the company recommends which is three scoops. The human body can only absorb about 30 grams of protein in a sitting so to me, that is just protein overkill to get their full dosage of BCAAs.

           So why not just take BCAAs? So a few weeks ago, that is what I started.

           Amino Acids are very important to bodybuilding because they provide two essential things that we are looking for. Muscle retention and fat loss. Back in the day, professional bodybuilder Frank Zane was known as “The Chemist” because he was a big believer in amino acids and other supplementation. And let’s face facts. Google Image Search “Frank Zane.” The man’s physique is darn near perfect and his contest weight was usually around 185 pounds. It would be amazing to shrink down to that size and have his muscle definition. So if it works for Zane, I thought I would give it a try.

           I opted for the BPI Sports brand of Best Aminos which you blend into water. Most people acquire the necessary amino acids through food. In order for this to occur, you have to eat the food, it has to get processed by your body, and then pumped into your blood stream. The benefit of adding Amino Acids through supplement is that the fuel gets absorbed directly into your blood stream. Your body then utilizes them as fuel while you are working out to stimulate your muscle growth. They offer a fruit punch blend that if you mix with the right amount of water is pretty tasty.

           There is a series of debates as far as when you should consume these. I take mine about 10 minutes before I hit the gym. (My commute time is very short.) On average, I would say that my workouts last approximately 75 to 90 minutes. If I was going in for a four hour session, taking the amino acids the middle of your workout would be very beneficial. But I don’t have that kind of stamina and the last thing that I want to do is stop in the middle of my workout, mix up a batch of the stuff, swig it, and keep going. Taking it to start is just a more viable option for me. 

           Now, there are a lot of supplements that claim they will make you stronger. This is not the case. You don’t just take them and instantly become stronger. You take them, you gain energy and fuel, and you get 10 reps where you normally might have only mustered 9. Those extra reps and that ability to go harder is what make you stronger.

           I started my week with trying some new chest routines which I thought would have left me pretty sore. That was on Monday. I did a second chest day on Wednesday. And on Friday I added several sets of Incline Push-Ups with my arm routines. My soreness afterwards feels considerably less that it should be. I like to believe that is because of the amino acids.

           So I feel that BCAAs are definitely something I will continue to add to my supplements. I can tell you what oligopeptides do. I have not researched that far ahead yet. But I like them. Do your research and they might help you out too.

 

Furyan Reviews: Six Star Casein Protein

           Today, I am reviewing Six Star Pro Nutrition’s Elite Series Casein Protein Triple Chocolate Dietary Supplement. The stats on the product come from purchasing it at Walmart.

           What Is It & Why Do I Need It? In the nutrition section at Walmart there is Whey Protein, Whey Isolate, and Casein Protein. It is easy to wonder what exactly does what.

           Whey protein is a supplement taken 30 minutes after your workout in order to help you build muscle. It is specifically designed to be absorbed and digested very quickly. If whey protein is the vitamin C that you put under your tongue to be absorbed into your body rapidly, casein protein is a slow release capsule that gives you medicine over hours.

           Casein protein is absorbed and processed very slowly into your system. The purpose of casein is to give you a slow release of protein over the course of eight hours, so you take it just before you go to bed. Your body absorbs the protein as you sleep, so you are building muscle and you also wake up feeling less famished because you have been slowly “eating” over eight hours.

           Benefits and Cost Analysis: Walmart’s standard price is $19.97 or 62.4 cents per ounce. According to the labels, there are approximately 26 scoops per package, so using this five days a week while training is going to get you a month’s worth of product.

           Each scoop offers 20 grams of protein and if you take it with 1 cup of milk (they suggest 10 oz. per scoop), that is 8 more grams of protein for a total of… carry the one… denominator… 28 grams! 28 grams is pretty much a whole other meal, so if you are looking to bump your protein numbers up, this is a pretty solid way to do it. Now, of course the packaging suggests that you take two scoops for optimal results but I sometimes think that they list that just so you are using twice as much product and Six Star can make more money.

           Just the casein protein is 120 calories (with only 1 gram of fat), so this is a pretty clean way to stack protein into your diet, especially if you use skim or 1% milk.

           Ryan’s Review: Compared to Body Fortress’ Whey Powder, Six Star’s blend is very billowy and light. It smells nice when you open the container and, once blended, it actually has a very nice taste to it. I expected it to be rather “mediciny” for a reason I cannot explain. It is a chocolate lover’s dream. There is probably a reason why it is only sold in chocolate. Who is choosing vanilla or strawberry over chocolate? Taliban members, that’s who. 

           I have not had the nerve to try to hand stir this stuff because the last time I tried that with whey powder, the results were not pleasant. The looseness of the powder does make it someone difficult to blend. I often see clumps of unmixed product on the sides of the blender. So put your milk in first, then the powder. I am not certain if the results are psychosomatic or if they are genuine. I can tell you that when I wake up in the morning, I do not feel as hungry.

           Plus, you can almost fake yourself out into believing that this is a very thin milkshake. It is chocolaty (which I love) and knowing that I am going to have that “treat” at 10 p.m. often keeps me from indulging in something sweet after dinner.

           The only real drawback to adding in this supplement is that I am hand washing my blender twice a night now (once for my whey protein after my workout and then once at 10 o’clock at night).

           I want it clear though. This is not a meal supplement. You don’t take this instead of having dinner. You have this in addition to your dinner. I am very pleased with the results so far and while this is one more thing I have to buy every month, I feel it is a solid addition to my nutrition plan and I am going to stick with it.

Furyan Reviews: Body Fortress Whey Protein Powder

           Protein, protein, protein… It is an essential building block for muscle. And every gram that you can add to your diet is a benefit. So, what is a great way to help recover from your workout? And what are all these powders that they sell in the “Nutrition” section at Walmart? Well, let’s do a breakdown. And for that today, I am reviewing Body Fortress’s Super Advanced Whey Protein Powder.  

           What Is It & Why Do I Need It? Whey Protein provides your body with protein which helps you build muscle. Because of the chemical makeup of the product, it is absorbed very quickly by your body. They are saying it is roughly 15-minute absorption to get into your blood stream. Body Fortress’ formula also gives you amino acids which helps support lean muscle and recovery from your exercise.  The trick with this stuff is that you have a window of between 15 minutes and 45 minutes to drink it while your body is screaming for recovery from your workout. The BCAAs (Branch Chain Amino Acids) aid in that recovery.

           Benefits and Cost Analysis: You can see on the packaging that they are touting 60 gram of premium protein and 9 grams of BCAAs. However, it should be noted that a recent study from the University of Texas (Boomer Sooner!) found that consuming 90 grams of protein at one meal provides the same benefit as eating 30 grams. Study author Douglas Paddon-Jones, Ph.D. likened it to a gas tank: "There's only so much you can put in to maximize performance; the rest is spillover."

           So while the labels will tell you that using two or even three scoops is the optimum choice (to get their recommended dosage of BCAAs), my theory is that you are just really need one. Because the benefits of getting 9 grams of BCAAs don’t seem to outweigh the negative effect of chugging down 100+ grams of protein.

           If you only use one scoop, you can make one tub of this stuff last a month. My evening commute home from the gym is about 20 minutes. I get home drink a shake, strip out of my gear, and then I am ready for dinner, where I am going to have more protein. So even though the packaging labels out for 1 and 2 scoops, you can just get away with one scoop, which is going to get you 20 grams of protein just on its own, plus the protein from the milk (8 to 16 grams). 36 grams of protein is basically a fourth meal in one drink. And according to the medical study, anything much beyond that is not going to be optimized.   

           Ryan’s Review: I choose the Body Fortress brand because that is as close as you can get to generic. It is always the cheapest on the shelves at Walmart. As of the time of this writing, it is $17.98 for a 2-pound tub (which equals out to 56.2-cents per ounce). Schwarzenegger has a brand that he has developed with MusclePharm but it is more expensive and with less product. It is a little leaner in calories and a little more in protein but is more expensive. (It was around $22.00 for 1.5 pounds.) At the end of the day, it was more expensive for less product. There are other brands that are also expensive (Muscle Milk, EAS, Six Star, etc.). But I am more than happy with Body Fortress.

           My personal recommendation is the chocolate. The chocolate peanut butter cup was okay but it was just inferior in taste. And I am not a big vanilla fan. Maybe one of these days I will try it. However, when I am presented with an option I always choose chocolate over vanilla. But get a blender. Hand stirred is gross. And I have not been brave enough to try it in water. I just do one scoop per shake and if I do 5 shakes a week, one bottle can last a month. From this one shake, I get 20 grams of protein plus the protein from the milk, so that is almost the protein totals for a whole other meal in one shake.

           It is not a bad tasty. It is chocolaty as you would expect. The more you drink of it, the more you like it. It is an excellent addition to add to your regiment that is not insanely expensive. Hopefully, by reading this review, you understand how and why to use it. Now, drink up!