Say you are fueling your muscles with BCAAs during a workout (mega dosing, even).
What incentive does your body - specifically, your muscles - have in soaking up glycogen POST workout, if the during the workout your body has been running off of BCAAs for the most part?
I am not saying it doesn’t happen, but am curious if the rate of glycogen replenishment is affected post-workout by having your body not tap into your muscle glycogen stores as much during workout by way of BCAA consumption.
I say this because I would feel that body is more likely to address glycogen stores if it has been ‘handling’ those same stores for fuel immediately prior to the consumption of carbs.
Im confused… erm i HOPE you do have PRE Workout Nutriton… which would consist of roughly the same stuff POST workout… so the BCAA’s in the middle would not really figure much into the Glycogen Replenishment.
Of course i could be totally wrong… but isn’t Glycogen VASTLY overrated and we don’t expend nearly as much as we think we do during the workout.
I think Mr. Berardi did an article on it a while back.
I haven’t seen where BCAA were Glycogen sparing but, more so for muscle sparing usually in caloric deficits. I believe glycogen and bcaa work via two different pathways.
BCAA used for recovery/building blocks for new muscle, where as, glycogen is used directly for energy. I would assume glycogen is a lot more efficient than BCAA b/c your body would be more likely to use the glycogen first and then maybe tap into BCAA if need be.
The process involved in breaking down aminos for glycogen, gluconeogenisis, is a pretty inefficient way for the body to produce glycogen. So, I would assume your body would not want to undergo said gluconeogenisis thus, using glycogen first!
[quote]MUthrows94 wrote:
I haven’t seen where BCAA were Glycogen sparing but, more so for muscle sparing usually in caloric deficits. I believe glycogen and bcaa work via two different pathways.
BCAA used for recovery/building blocks for new muscle, where as, glycogen is used directly for energy. I would assume glycogen is a lot more efficient than BCAA b/c your body would be more likely to use the glycogen first and then maybe tap into BCAA if need be.
The process involved in breaking down aminos for glycogen, gluconeogenisis, is a pretty inefficient way for the body to produce glycogen. So, I would assume your body would not want to undergo said gluconeogenisis thus, using glycogen first! [/quote]
[quote]London Runner wrote:
MUthrows94 wrote:
I haven’t seen where BCAA were Glycogen sparing but, more so for muscle sparing usually in caloric deficits. I believe glycogen and bcaa work via two different pathways.
BCAA used for recovery/building blocks for new muscle, where as, glycogen is used directly for energy. I would assume glycogen is a lot more efficient than BCAA b/c your body would be more likely to use the glycogen first and then maybe tap into BCAA if need be.
The process involved in breaking down aminos for glycogen, gluconeogenisis, is a pretty inefficient way for the body to produce glycogen. So, I would assume your body would not want to undergo said gluconeogenisis thus, using glycogen first!
That’s a bloody good reply!
LR[/quote]
I agree, but I still have yet to understand the peri-workout vs pre-workout benefit. Also I think a better question would be in all these pre and peri-woukout shakes, there is carbs, which would in fact limit the amount of carbs used up in the muscle, or perhaps it wouldn’t, but maybe the carbs are replenished in such a way that your muscles never get really empty, they always have a new stream of carbs coming in. I have no idea if it is similar, but I know that if you constantly charge a battery, without letting it get totally depleted, you cut the life of the battery and cause it to hold less and less of a charge. Sing the human body is adaptive, I think pushing them to the limit with a completely carb (glycogen) depleting workout would cause them to react to that stress and do something about it, either gaining efficiency, or volume or both. Just my hunch though.
That is what I am saying, that the more depleted your muscles the greater the uptake of glycogen (gradient). At least, that is what I think would happen.
Isn’t that what happens when you are in a severely fasted state, too? Don’t you experience a bigger surge of leptin or growth hormone when you finally do consume something?
And I thought BCAAs were consumed because they can be more immediately used as fuel than muscle glycogen. Looks like I was wrong.