Micronutrients & recovery
BCAA supplementation (500mg Leucine/250mg Isoleucine/250mg Valine daily) significantly reduces Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) and perceived fatigue in women undergoing resistance training, with effects exceeding those in men.
If you are a female recreational weightlifter, taking a BCAA supplement containing 2.5g Leucine, 1.25g Isoleucine, and 1.25g Valine daily may significantly reduce your muscle soreness and perceived fatigue after workouts compared to not taking them. This allows for better recovery between sessions. Men in this study saw greater strength gains but less specific recovery benefit from BCAAs compared to women.
Notable findings include significant improvements in muscle recovery, as indicated by reduced DOMS, particularly in women who showed a decrement of 18.1 ± 9.4 mm compared to 0.8 ± 1.2 mm in the placebo group... Fatigue perception was also significantly lower in the BCAA group, with women reporting a greater decrease (2.6 ± 1.5 scores) compared to the placebo group (0.6 ± 0.7 scores).
Why this rating
Randomized controlled trial with adequate sample size (n=100), blinding, and statistical significance, though limited to recreational weightlifters.
Source
Sex-Based Effects of Branched-Chain Amino Acids on Strength Training Performance and Body Composition
Antonella Muscella et al. · Sports · 2024
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