My Go-To BCAA Breakfast

[MidwestBeast]

Several months back, I transitioned into working out first thing in the morning. This is after years and years of lifting in the afternoons, when the last time I'd worked out upon rising (save for a random blip before a roadtrip vacation or something like that) had been back in college.

Needless to say, it took some getting used to! But I can happily say now that I won't be going back. I love working out first thing in the morning. In fact, now if I miss a morning session for some reason (wanted to sleep in, had a conference, etc.), I find it near impossible to make myself get in there in the afternoon or evening! Not to mention the endorphin rush first thing in the morning to carry me through the day is great. But, I digress...

In addition to this change, I'm also someone who is on a prescription of levothyroxine for my sluggish thyroid due to Hashimoto's autoimmune disorder. Only reason that's important is you have to wait some time before eating after you take it. I don't like working out without at least consuming something, so BCAAs were the obvious choice for me.

There are a lot of BCAA products out there and many of them are good. I honestly just kind of stumbled onto this one as I was trying different ones that we carried in the Muscle Research store and I was more than pleasantly surprised after I took my first taste. But before I get to that, the profile is important, too:

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You've got your onslaught of B-vitamins, along with D and E. This isn't terribly important to me, as my multi-vitamin covers my bases here, but the B-vitamins in this particular case are a nice touch. You've also got sodium and magnesium, which would make this a wonderful choice for intra-workout use, as well. You've got 5g BCAAs at the standard 2:1:1 ratio, accompanied by glutamine (2g) and lysine (1.25g). Perhaps the most surprising part, to me, was the inclusion of the L-Alanine (1g) and the HICA (1g). I absolutely love HICA and that just makes this product for me. I got my first real taste of HICA with MyoSynergy and then saw it in Strafe, as well as Ergonine -- all solid products. So any chance I get to utilize HICA, you better bet I will.

Now, onto the taste:

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The MR Store currently sells orange and piña colada as the 2 flavor options. I have yet to try the latter, but I went with orange. I was thrilled when I took my first sip and actually tasted not orange, but orange creamsicle. Delicious! Now after some playing around, I realized the amount of water plays a role in whether or not it tastes like this or just a watered down orange, but if you do it right, it is just a wonderful taste.

Anywho, I can't recommend this product (and especially this flavor) enough. If you're someone who trains fasted, I would encourage you to try out a scoop of AminoFuze prior to your sessions and see what types of improvements you notice. I enjoy waking up at 5 AM when I get to sip on this and then work my way onto my pre-workout as I start to head into the gym (speaking of pre-workout, there's a pretty good one that just came back... ).

 

[hurrican3]

i dont think ill ever be a workout upon rising type of guy lol.Ive tried it all and about midday works best for me, if i can manage to fit in that time.This product has a kick ass profile, thanks for bringing it to everyone's attention midwest,its deff one of the better bcaa products out there !

 

[raw33man]

aye bro, mind using larger fonts?... can't really see

 

[beastmode121]

I use Xtend, does the job well

 

[inertia99]

I use Xtend, does the job well

Same here. Wouldn't mind giving something like this a try though. I could only dream to do anything other than pouring a couple cups of java early, like that.

 

[Dvo36]

I love starting my day off in the gym. I was always an afternoon guy until a couple of years ago. I usually get there at 6am and it's nice and quiet. It definitely sets the tone for the day.

 

[Seymour Butts]

I'm the same way. I hit the gym first thing in the AM around 5:30. Makes me have a great day. I tried a few times to workout after work, and I just didn't have the motivation or energy.
I mix ON's Pro BCAA in my pre work out, than two scoops of the ON with two scoops of carbs (about 80 grams) during my workout. This seams to work good for me.

 

[inertia99]

I'm the same way. I hit the gym first thing in the AM around 5:30. Makes me have a great day. I tried a few times to workout after work, and I just didn't have the motivation or energy.
I mix ON's Pro BCAA in my pre work out, than two scoops of the ON with two scoops of carbs (about 80 grams) during my workout. This seams to work good for me.

Can I ask how long it took you to get into that rhythm ? Mornings are rough for me and working out just isnt in the plan. I can see getting over this eventually.

 

[Giants83]

Can I ask how long it took you to get into that rhythm ? Mornings are rough for me and working out just isnt in the plan. I can see getting over this eventually.

I work 12 hour night shifts sometimes up to 6 days a week so my only option is to lift before work. I'm at the gym within an hour of waking. Now even on my days off I'm there bright and early. Getting there late is not an option. I'd say it took me about a month or so to find my rhythm. My alarm goes off I hit the ground running. Sometimes it's hard but I usually snap out of it pretty fast.

 

[inertia99]

I work 12 hour night shifts sometimes up to 6 days a week so my only option is to lift before work. I'm at the gym within an hour of waking. Now even on my days off I'm there bright and early. Getting there late is not an option. I'd say it took me about a month or so to find my rhythm. My alarm goes off I hit the ground running. Sometimes it's hard but I usually snap out of it pretty fast.

Funny you say that. I work the night shift but I wake up at about noon and want to avoid the lunch rush. I may give this a try on cardio days. Thanks for the tip. Im a grumpy mofo in the morning.

 

[buck]

I used to work out first thing in the morming. But found I do better after letting the body wake/warm up and have fueled myself up a couple times. If I am not training real heavy then it makes less of a difference though.

 

[Giants83]

Funny you say that. I work the night shift but I wake up at about noon and want to avoid the lunch rush. I may give this a try on cardio days. Thanks for the tip. Im a grumpy mofo in the morning.

I use to be a morning person but not these days. First thing I do when I wake is take like a half a scoop of my Hyde and a scoop of MD. Wakes me up pretty good. Then about a half hour or so it's a bowl of cream of rice and a shake and or eggs depending on how much time I have. Load my water bottle with BCAAs and hit the road. We are creatures of habit. Do something enough it becomes part of us. I find I sleep better now too. After a 12 hour shift and a workout I for the most part have no problem falling asleep.

 

[Giants83]

I used to work out first thing in the morming. But found I do better after letting the body wake/warm up and have fueled myself up a couple times. If I am not training real heavy then it makes less of a difference though.

I use to notice a significant difference in the intensity of my training but as long as I eat a good breakfast I have no problem training hard and heavy. Then I have the rest of my night to feed myself. It actually works out very well for me. To each their own though. It's whatever works for you that matters.

 

[Dens228]

I've trained first thing in the morning for years.
Until recently I would drink a pre with either BCAA's or EAA's and then an intra with EAA's.

Now I drink a 50/50 split of casein/whey, 25 grams right when I wake up.
10 grams EAA's with my pre about 30-45 minutes later and then IntraMD during.

 

[Elvia1023]

I used to work for GSN when they only had NitroNOX and that is an amazing product. It would surprise me if this was any different. I will definitely order a few tubs if shipping is ok. Infact is you haven't sent my PumpJuice yet can I add this on and I will pay the extra? Their product with carbs added looks amazing but the cost effectiveness is not there for me by a long way.

 

[Seymour Butts]

Can I ask how long it took you to get into that rhythm ? Mornings are rough for me and working out just isnt in the plan. I can see getting over this eventually.

I started in the mornings when I started lifting, so I got used to it very quickly. Like I said, I do my pre workout, get a great pump going, and feel fantastic for the rest of the work day. I missed my morning routine a couple times, and went after work. Besides the crowd, the kids hanging out on the equipment doing nothing but bullshitting, I could just not get motivated or have the energy after a full day of work.
Mornings work best for me, but I'm pretty sure I'm in that small crowd of morning lifters.

 

[MidwestBeast]

I use Xtend, does the job well

Same here. Wouldn't mind giving something like this a try though. I could only dream to do anything other than pouring a couple cups of java early, like that.

What's the flavoring like these days on Xtend?

That was one of the first ever (if not THE first ever) BCAA product I used years back. It wasn't bad at all, but some of the stuff now tastes so much better in retrospect. It's also not as gritty as that was.

For amino flavoring, I'd say my favorites are probably this AminoFuze (I love orange creamsicle flavored things lol) and USP's ModernBCAAs -- I have an orange mango (I think that's the combo) that's delightful.

 

[MidwestBeast]

I love starting my day off in the gym. I was always an afternoon guy until a couple of years ago. I usually get there at 6am and it's nice and quiet. It definitely sets the tone for the day.

I'm the same way. I hit the gym first thing in the AM around 5:30. Makes me have a great day. I tried a few times to workout after work, and I just didn't have the motivation or energy.
I mix ON's Pro BCAA in my pre work out, than two scoops of the ON with two scoops of carbs (about 80 grams) during my workout. This seams to work good for me.

The gym I go to is pretty big in actual physical square footage and there are maybe 20 of us total (and probably 5 of them are only up on the cardio equipment while the rest of us are down on the main floor with the weights) at 5 AM. It's amazing. Good group of guys and no waiting on equipment.

 

[MidwestBeast]

Can I ask how long it took you to get into that rhythm ? Mornings are rough for me and working out just isnt in the plan. I can see getting over this eventually.

I hadn't trained (regularly) in the morning since I was in high school for baseball. I hated it then (and also didn't know dick about nutrition, so I'd barely eat all day because of that which obviously didn't help matters).

I've been at my current job for over 6 years now and my habit had been lifting right after work every day around 4 PM. I felt good after having eaten a couple meals and I'm just not a morning person, either.

Every once in a while, I'd have a conference or something that would keep me from being able to lift if I didn't go before work (I joined a local volunteer fire department in August and logged my 150 hours in a recruit class over the fall that was primarily 6-10PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays with occasional weekends). That, in particular, made me shift over to lifting in the AM on those days because I refused to skip lifting.

I was talking to a buddy who I knew from the gym we both went to before it closed down and I never saw him at my current one since he lifted in the mornings. He was asking if I was switching over to mornings and I was like nah, just because of these commitments for the couple days. We started talking about stuff and one of his big reasons for the AM was because of kids. We don't have any yet, but we're trying for our first. I hadn't thought much about it, but it made sense. My wife is a teacher and gets off work at 3; most days I got off work and lifted, I wasn't home til 6:30 best case and often times 7:30. I started thinking about the time I wouldn't get to spend with her and the kid and really liked the idea of making the change.

So that's how it kind of got sparked for me, but I will say, I absolutely love it, now. I feel so much more accomplished and I love that at the end of my work day, the worst thing I'm looking at (from an energy stand point; because I love lifting) is having some errands to run or some yardwork/projects at the house. I can fall asleep by 9 PM and not feel bad about it. It's great.

I use to be a morning person but not these days. First thing I do when I wake is take like a half a scoop of my Hyde and a scoop of MD. Wakes me up pretty good. Then about a half hour or so it's a bowl of cream of rice and a shake and or eggs depending on how much time I have. Load my water bottle with BCAAs and hit the road. We are creatures of habit. Do something enough it becomes part of us. I find I sleep better now too. After a 12 hour shift and a workout I for the most part have no problem falling asleep.

Agreed 100% about habit. Took me a couple weeks to get used to it and now I hate when I'm thrown off track lol.

I use to notice a significant difference in the intensity of my training but as long as I eat a good breakfast I have no problem training hard and heavy. Then I have the rest of my night to feed myself. It actually works out very well for me. To each their own though. It's whatever works for you that matters.

The only thing that screws me is squats on this (and just an overall heavy leg day). If I'm doing volume work, it's no problem, but if I'm going all out heavy, I have to do my leg work on a Saturday most of the time. My normal leg day is Friday, so I just hit 2 a days on Saturday with my delts/traps (in fact that's what I'm doing tomorrow because this is my heavy week). Other than that, though, I notice no decrease in performance whatsoever.

I started in the mornings when I started lifting, so I got used to it very quickly. Like I said, I do my pre workout, get a great pump going, and feel fantastic for the rest of the work day. I missed my morning routine a couple times, and went after work. Besides the crowd, the kids hanging out on the equipment doing nothing but bullshitting, I could just not get motivated or have the energy after a full day of work.
Mornings work best for me, but I'm pretty sure I'm in that small crowd of morning lifters.

I woke up feeling kind of sick yesterday, so I ended up sleeping in and had to lift after work. I feel so much rage compared to my normal mornings lol. For the exact reasons you mentioned. I just want to stiff-arm people. GET OUT OF MY WAY, LITTLE TWEENS!