3 Significant Benefits of EAAs for Physique Athletes

EAAs have been the craze for quite some time now as more and more people swap out their tried-and-true BCAA supplements with something that can promote even more muscle growth and faster recovery. This, however, isn’t to diminish the importance of BCAAs. For some reason, since EAAs hit the scene, people dismiss the importance of BCAAs and, in a sense, demonize them as if they are worthless and a waste of money. They still play a pivotal role and are part of what you get through EAAs (essential amino acids).

Due to the misinformation out there from both sides of the EAAs and BCAAs camps, let’s look at the facts and help describe the benefits of EAAs for physique athletes (or anyone who trains extremely hard and is looking to improve their physique).

Why Supplement with EAAs or Even Any Amino Acid for That Matter? 

When looking at amino acids, they are the building blocks of protein. If you want to build any type of lean muscle mass, you require amino acids in order to help repair and rebuild torn-down muscle fibers from training sessions, along with other benefits we will dive into shortly. 

The reason EAAs are so vital is that the body cannot make them on its own. Therefore, something such as a supplement would need to be implemented. For the longest time, BCAAs have been used to help with recovery. However, it has been found that while BCAAs are important, you have the ability to further increase the benefits and results when you combine all nine essential amino acids versus just the three BCAAs (leucine, isoleucine, valine). 

Related Article: BCAA and EAA Supplements — Can They Co-Exist and Compliment Each Other?

In fact, research has shown that individuals who supplemented with EAAs had a 50% increase in muscle protein synthesis compared to those who only used BCAAs. What this translates to is the ability to add more quality lean muscle tissue when using EAAs. If muscle growth (or preservation) is something you’re looking to achieve, this research is incredibly profound in helping you achieve your physique goals.

What Makes Up Essential Amino Acids? 

In total, there are nine essential amino acids. Each of the EAAs has its own role and benefit, which plays a part in the benefits found in the next section. 

The nine essential amino acids found in EAA supplements include:

1. Leucine
2. Isoleucine
3. Valine
4. Lysine
5. Histidine
6. Threonine
7. Tryptophan
8. Methionine
9. Phenylalanine

3 Benefits of EAAs for Physique Athletes 

One thing that separates EAAs from other supplements out on the market is that you can use them whenever you wish. You can toss them in with your pre-workout supplement, you can sip on them during your workout, or you can use them post-workout. No matter what you decide on, you’re going to achieve some pretty amazing benefits. 

Additionally, you can take things a step further by sipping on EAAs throughout the day to support your recovery efforts. This can be a fantastic replacement if you are used to drinking sugary beverages throughout the day and are looking for a better alternative.

What can you experience through the use of EAAs, and how can they help physique athletes?

1. Enhance Muscle Tissue Growth 

While not always being the case, physique athletes may find they have a more athletic build, drastically different from bodybuilders who possess insane amounts of lean muscle tissue. In an effort to improve their look, physique athletes need to focus on adding lean muscle tissue while still staying lean and maintain an aesthetic look.

Something you want to take place when you’re trying to add lean muscle tissue is to stimulate mTOR. mTOR plays a role in flipping the switch to increase protein synthesis. EAAs can effectively kickstart mTOR and start the muscle-building process.

2. Help Preserve Lean Muscle 

One of the hardest things for a physique athlete to do is diet down for a show and maintain their lean mass without burning off their hard-earned muscle tissue during long cardio sessions. Thanks to EAAs, physique athletes can stay in an anabolic state, even when in a caloric deficit. 

This is important because in many cases, athletes who restrict their calories end up turning catabolic and, in their effort to get deep lines and expose their muscle separation, they end up losing some of the muscle mass they just gained in the off-season.

EAAs can also increase IGF-1 levels, which can allow physique athletes the ability not only to increase their lean muscle tissue but also help preserve it when dieting down and stripping away body fat. This is beneficial as the more muscle mass they can maintain, the better their metabolism is able to function – helping them burn even more calories (and even while they’re resting).

Supplementing with EAAs may furthermore help reduce cortisol levels in the body and support healthy and normalized testosterone levels. By reducing cortisol, you can better manage ghrelin (a hunger hormone) along with estrogen (which, when elevated, can cause you to store body fat more easily while diminishing testosterone levels) and may allow you the ability to more easily drop body fat while dieting.

3. Improve Sleep Quality & Recovery

Better sleep quality and recovery go hand-in-hand. If you can get the recommended minimum of seven hours of sleep each night, you’ll put yourself in a good position to maximize your results. 

Those who include EAAs in their supplement regimen have found that it can help them get better sleep at night, thanks to tryptophan being one of the essential amino acids. Tryptophan can help produce melatonin which is a crucial element of helping you fall asleep.

Sleep is a means for your body to relax, rest, recover, and repair from the demanding day you just put yourself through. Not getting enough sleep can drastically reduce your ability to see the results you desire. 

A lack of sleep can cause cortisol levels to rise, which can increase hunger and cause you to put yourself in a caloric. Combine that with estrogen also increasing due to sleep deprivation, and you created the perfect storm for weight gain and body fat accumulation. 

Keeping EAAs in your supplement regimen is a great way to help alleviate and dismiss many of these physique-destroying issues.

Achieve Your Physique Goals Faster Than You’ve Ever Imagined!

The addition of EAAs into a physique athletes’ arsenal can make drastic improvements to not only their overall muscle mass but their conditioning as well. You could argue that supplementing with EAAs gives you an almost unfair advantage simply due to the fact that you’re helping unlock new muscle growth while also being able to preserve your gains when dieting. 

If you’re looking for the highest quality EAAs on the market, Evogen Nutrition Amino K.E.M. or Naturally Sweetened Amino K.E.M. is the answer. Not only does Evogen Nutrition Amino K.E.M. contain all nine essential amino acids, but it also provides you with a hydration volume matrix to help you maintain proper hydration and fluid balance, as well as the scientifically-backed powerhouse S7™ that has been shown to help increase nitric oxide by as much as 230%.   

Evogen Nutrition Amino K.E.M. is the only supplement physique athletes should reach for when looking for the best EAAs on the market. But you don’t have to take our word for it. Try it for yourself and experience what 24x Olympia winning coach, Hany Rambod, gives to his pro athletes!