Forums >Health and Nutrition>Amino Acids before a long run
I recently was listening to a Ben Green Field Fitness podcast - http://www.bengreenfieldfitness.com/category/podcast/ . he mentioned taking Aminio Acid Supplements before a long run to prevent or reduce the amount of muscle breakdown. Anyone ever hear of this ? Or try it ?
I have been for about the past month drinking a Whey protein powder shake AFTER my long runs and it seems to have helped my recovery.
Any thoughts or opinions on the Amino Acids before a long run?
What's the point?
Isn't the entire purpose of running to break it down ever so nicely so that it can then rebuild itself stronger, faster, smarter, whatever?
I'm not a physio guy, but I really have to wonder about people pushing supplements for nonexistent problems.
There are something like 20 types of amino acids that go into making proteins. The body does not provide all of them; some need to come from diet. Theoretically, your muscles may not be building themselves optimally if you are lacking amino acids. Will supplementing this make a difference for you? Hard to tell.
I'd say save your money. Put towards your next pair of shoes.
I'm not a physiologist either but I think the protien supplements are way over hyped. (I didn't listen to the podcast but the guy appears to have something to gain from Hammer Nutrition)
A good solid well balanced diet should provide you everything you need. I do believe that there is a "Better" time for certain nutrients but the body is also pretty resourceful and has a way of compensating.
Feeling the growl again
Are you training for marathons and shorter, or ultras?
If the former, forget all this fueling/supplementing crap. You need to train your body to run low and run on what it has stored. For virtually all your training, fueling is not very useful. Particularly not long-term fuels like amino acids. IMHO amino acid intake will NOT prevent muscle breakdown; that is a result of the trauma, NOT a result of a lack of building blocks to repair the damage.
Ultras are another story. I'm no expert in the mix you need but some protein supplementation is useful in 50-milers and beyond.
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
I didn't hear anything in that podcast about amino acid supplements before a long run. They did discuss whether supplements with amino acid reduce muscle breakdown during the workout. The biggest concept they seemed to be supporting during their discussion was to not consume anything for 3 hours prior to the long workout. Is there a part of the podcast that I'm missing?
Once the transcript of the podcast is uploaded I'll see if I can cpy and paste where he mentions taking Aminos before a long run. However, based on the responses - thanks all - it doesnt seem to make muh sense for my training to bother with them.
A Saucy Wench
I played around with BCAA supplements for awhile for lifting. I would not recommend for before a long run. Or a short run. Or before any kind of workout at all. Unless you like throwing up while running. ymmv
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"When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7