Amino Supplements for Muscle Recovery

Whenever you walk into a supplement store you'll be able to find a wide range of Amino Acid products that are specially formulated and claim to have the "Superior" formula. I would have to say that most online sites offer 20-30 different products that range widely, so how do you pick the product that will not only protect your lean muscle but also help in recovery? Many people look to the ratio of 3 main indigence (L-Leucine, L-Valine, L-Isolecuine) with the ratio being shown as such: [4:1:1] , [8:1:1], [12:1:1]. These represent the amount of grams per ingredient as they relate to each other.  The magic formula that seems to be referred to most is the 4:1:1 ratio.

Other things to look for is a product that has glutamine added in as well to because it acts as a muscle volumizer and helps stimula protein synthesis (Muscle repair and building).

Once you've found the formula that meets your requirements, do you go with the powder format or the pill format? I personally like the powder format because i believe that your body is able to absorb more of the amino acids that have been dissolved in water compared to a solid pill format. Companies also make flavored powder BCAA which are incredible and taste like juice without any added sugar. The pill format of most Amino Acid products require you to take 6 to 8 pills per serving, so keep that in mind if you want to be swallowing that many pills at a time. In the end i do believe that both forms work and it's a matter or preference.  

Products I Strongly Recommend:
Powder: Allmax AminoCore (Caribbean Tropical  Punch Incredible!)
Pills: Optimum Nutrition BCAA 1000
**Remember if you purchase from Bulldog Nutrition, enter "csfit" and receive 10% off your entire order**

Properties of Each BCAA (Taken from Inner Armour)

L-Leucine is by far the most powerful of the 3 BCAA's as it cannot convert to energy. This muscle building superstar is strictly ketogenic, so it is used to triggr muscle protein synthesis (growth).

L-Valine while essential, is strictly glucogenic and can also be converted to glucose for energy during workout.

L-Isoleucine while essential, is both glucogenic and ketogenic, and can be converted to glucose for energy during workout.