It's odd that we just don't talk about Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA's) much, especially when you consider that almost all of us who write for Testosterone Nation use them. They're probably the one thing that's remained a constant in the lives of our coaches, from Charles Poliquin to Chad Waterbury to Christian Thibaudeau to John Berardi. Each of them — along with their clients — take large amounts of BCAA's every day. Next to protein powder, it's their primary supplement. Of course, I suppose it would be like a bunch of doctors discussing their stethoscopes. If something is a mainstay of your profession, it often gets taken for granted. That's too bad, because BCAA's are something that every lifter should be taking, if not daily, then at least during very specific training cycles. For those of you who have forgotten, the branched chain amino acids are named leucine, isoleucine, and valine. What sets them apart from other amino acids is that they have some very specific, very special properties. Obviously, we should all be using BCAAs! The only reasons why you might not have wanted to take them, prior to now, is the prohibitively high cost. Well, scratch that reason off your list, because we're puff-our-chest-out proud to introduce Biotest Branched-Chain Amino Acid Tablets! These BCAA are pure and they're high-quality, but I don't think you'd expect anything less from Biotest. There are 250 tablets in a bottle, which makes for a pretty hefty load; don't store this bottle on a wobbly shelf because it'll put a dent in your skull when it collapses. You just won't find quality BCAA like this anywhere, and you definitely couldn't find them at this great price. After looking at this area of science for a long time, we've come up with a recommended dosage, which, on non-training days, is 4-6 tablets taken three times per day, between meals. On training days, we recommend a total of 12-18 tablets taken before, during, and immediately after your workout. In other words, during a training session, you might take 6 before your workout; 6 during your workout when you visit the drinking fountain; and 6 right after your workout. However, to be frank, no one knows for sure exactly how much BCAA to use. The recommendations in the literature and among our coaches vary. The bench press/squat study I cited above used 18 grams of BCAA immediately before training and another 18 grams of BCAA immediately after training (based on a 200-pound athlete). That's quite a large amount, but most of our coaches have had phenomenal success using slightly smaller or even significantly smaller dosages. I asked a few of them how they use BCAA. Christian Thibaudeau's BCAA Protocols Christian Thibaudeau is on the high end of the scale, but the results speak for themselves: "Over the past year, I've had several clients gain up to 8 pounds of lean mass in 2 weeks using my protocol. While most of my clients don't gain 8 pounds in two weeks, most will gain an average of 1-2 pounds per week over the first 8 weeks of use." Here's what Christian recommends: 5 servings of 5-10 grams per day (i.e. about 4 to 8 Biotest BCAA tablets): 1. Upon waking up (especially if you engage in pre-breakfast cardio). 2. Between breakfast and lunch. 3. Between lunch and supper. 4. Mid-evening. 5. Before going to bed. "Each serving would ideally be 10 grams; that will give you the best gains by far. The results are very close to being drug-like, and I'm not one to say this lightly. I put my reputation on the line." Chad Waterbury's BCAA Protocols Chad Waterbury has devised several BCAA protocols for his clients, some as high as 20 grams per serving and some as low as 3 grams per serving. One of his favorites, though, is his "Mid-Sleep BCAA Protocol for Cutting or Bulking." "I've long stressed the importance of night-time feedings for growth and recovery. Problem is, most people don't want to get up in the middle of the night and have a protein shake. But with a good BCAA supplement, all they need to do is have the pills sitting next to their alarm clock with a glass of water. They wake up briefly, take the pills, and they're back asleep." Chad's nighttime protocol calls for 1.5 grams of BCAA per 25 pounds of lean body mass. In other words, a 200-pound man would take roughly 8 Biotest BCAA tablets upon awakening. Chad is also big on using BCAA for cutting, for which he prescribes 0.75 grams of BCAA per 25 pounds of LBM four times a day, between meals. (That equals about 4 Biotest BCAA tablets 4 times a day, for the prototypical 200-pound man.) John Berardi's BCAA Protocols While Christian and Chad probably represent two ends of the BCAA dose spectrum, nutritionist John Berardi's preferences lie somewhere in the middle. For muscle gain or athletic performance, John recommends: Non-Training Days: 4 Biotest BCAA tablets (roughly 5 grams), 2 or 3 times a day, split evenly throughout the day. Training days: 4 Biotest BCAA tablets upon waking, 4 tablets during training, and 4 tablets after training, the two latter doses being in addition to a serving of Biotest's Surge. However, John also has a pretty interesting protocol that he uses on himself every couple of years to get super ripped. Get this, John Berardi, Mr. "Massive Eating" himself, will occasionally go on a stint where he eats 3 meals a day, totaling about 2,000 calories, interspersed with three 10-gram "feedings" of BCAA. The large amounts of BCAA offset any potential muscle loss from the fairly severe bout of calorie restriction. As you can see, the recommended dosages vary. However, I think it's absolutely clear that BCAA are a valuable and indispensable tool.