BCAA's for MMA Fighters

In the highly competitive sport of mixed martial arts, the difference between winning and loosing is often small. Combat athletes pay attention to every aspect of the fight game and now more then ever because of the immense popularity of the UFC, Strikeforce, WEC and Dream. Athletic performance and training to win is the goal not only for every MMA fighter, but also for any other competitive athlete. One great weapon for every athlete is the anabolic amino supplement Branch Chain Amino Acids. BCAA's consist of three essential amino acids leucine, valine, and isoleucine. BCAA sports supplements help rebuild muscles after intense exercise and stress. During training, you will burn up fat and stored carbohydrates as fuel, due to the extreme training methods that go along with mixed marital arts; our bodies will next turn to protein as fuel. When this happens our muscles will use up these aminos and that will cause our body to turn into a catabolic state, which leads to over training and possible injury. Amino acids and BCAA's offer many benefits to the MMA athlete that include:

· Muscle recovery
· Help prevent muscle catabolism
· Promote Protein synthesis
· Fuel workouts
· Boost Metabolism

Over the last ten years sports nutrition experts have found that you can increase the time of recovery by taking certain nutrients immediately following strenuous exercise. Experts agree that this could be the most important time for the athlete to supplement with a muscle recovery supplement like L-leucine, l-valine, and l-isoleucine. Amino acid supplements along with a combination of protein and fast acting carbohydrates help build muscle, increase testosterone, and help maintain a positive nitrogen balance for the athlete. Some other great recovery aids that work well with bcaa's are:

· L-glutamine
· ZMA
· Creatine
· HMB
· Beta alanine

Any sport where weight classes are involved translates to competitors training on limited amounts of calories. The supplement Branch Chain Amino Acids has been shown to lower overall bodyweight and a decrease in body fat percentage. Athletes have also experienced a reduction in abdominal adipose tissue. When training for a fight or competition on a low calorie diet, introducing BCAA's to your program may help you lose more weight without compromising your performance in the ring or cage. The best way for fighters to take BCAA's is to take it 30 minutes before training and one serving immediately after your workout. MMA athletes should shoot for 50mg of bcaa's per pound of body weight for maximum results.

Josh Rafferty

Josh was one of 16 fighters from across the United States to compete on The Ultimate Fighter Season 1, which airs on Spike TV still today. As a Mixed Martial Arts Veteran, Josh has had over 25 fights since 1998 and continues his career into 2009. Josh is also a coach and mentor to many amateur and professional fighters in his hometown of Cincinnati, OH.