If you are in a hurry and just want to find out what the best BCAA for men is, then I’d recommend the MuscleTech Pro Series MyoBuild 4x Amino-BCCA as the best one.
Branched chain amino acids, otherwise dubbed BCAA, are much-needed nutrients to help build protein in muscle and much more.
You can get more from foods, but the best BCAA for men tend to come in supplement form. We reviewed five top-selling products to find the best one for your workout needs.
Here are the top BCAA supplements we’ll be reviewing:
- Old School Labs Vintage Build 3-in-1 Essential Muscle Builder
- BPI Sports Best BCAA Shredded
- MuscleTech Pro Series MyoBuild 4x Amino-BCAA
- Optimum Nutrition Mega-Size BCAA Capsules
- Scivation Xtend BCAA Powder
BCAA for Men – Buyer’s Guide
Since our bodies cannot create these essential amino acids, supplements are important if you want to see real improvement in your physique and workout routine.
Of course, it’s still vital to balance it all with proper nutrition.
If you need help discovering the best BCAA for men, the following guide should teach you more about the benefits of BCAA supplements, what sort of features to look for, and more.
How BCAA Benefits Your Workout
There’s a reason BCAA is popular. It can benefit you, and subsequently your workout, in a number of ways.
Muscle Growth and Gains
BCAA plays an important role in building muscle. It’s the leucine in it that activates a pathway to stimulate muscle protein synthesis, thus creating muscle.
This process of creating new muscle protein is also known as “gains”.
Reduce Workout Fatigue
You’re probably going to run into fatigue at some point during your exercise.
An increase of BCAA during your workout can lower the levels of tryptophan that’s produced. Tryptophan can produce serotonin, which can contribute to fatigue.
By using BCAA to reduce tryptophan, you may not feel the usual fatigue-inducing effects from a heavy workout.
Decrease Muscle Soreness
While it cuts down on fatigue, BCAA can also help with muscle soreness.
It’s typical for those of you who may have just begun exercising to experience delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) if you jump into a difficult workout.
BCAA has the ability to decrease protein breakdown as well as muscle damage.
Types of BCAAs
BCAA supplements are available in two different forms: pills or capsules and powders.
Pills and Capsules
The BCAA that come in a pill or capsule form tend to be quicker to take as all you have to do is pop the recommended amount in your mouth and take a quick drink.
However, they aren’t the most popular way to get your BCAA intake.
This is largely due to the fact that you have to take quite a few of them in order to get a good dose. They also may not digest as fast, which can limit the absorption rate.
Powders
Taking BCAA in powder form is common.
Many BCAA powders today are processed with various flavors unlike when they were first created as unflavored powder.
They usually digest faster than their capsule counterparts, so the absorption rate may be better, allowing you to feel the effects quicker.
What to Look for in BCAA Supplements
If you are going for BCAA powders, it may best to find some that dissolve well. This way, it won’t be difficult to drink.
A powder with good flavor can help also.
For those of you leaning toward pills, then they should be easier to take. Capsules tend to go down well as they’re simpler to swallow.
Regardless of if you’re taking the powder or the capsules, take a look at the ingredients. More importantly, look for the ratio of leucine, to isoleucine, to valine.
Typically, quality BCAA supplements have a 2:1:1 ratio as it tends to provide an ideal level of protein synthesis. However, some do offer a 4:1:1 ratio instead.
One of the major differences between the two is that the 4:1:1 does provide more leucine to help improve your gains.
As for other ingredients, some may feel more comfortable taking something that uses natural ingredients for health purposes.
Also, if you’re interested in your BCAA having more benefits such as caffeine for energy, look for that as well.
Top 5 Best BCAA for Men – Reviewed
Old School Labs Vintage Build 3-in-1 Essential Muscle Builder
Old School Labs Vintage Build 3-in-1 Essential Muscle Builder is made with natural, premium ingredients that are vegetarian-safe.
It has a trio of muscle building ingredients—BCAA, creatine, and L-glutamine—to help build muscle, improve endurance, and more.
This powder offers a low dose of 5g of BCAA, but they’re more effective at around 7g or so. You might just have to raise the recommended dose somewhat to get more benefits from the supplement.
In general, this powder mixes relatively well. It’s available in two flavors: fresh berries and lemon lime.
However, it may not be the best tasting drink, and it may even help if there were a greater variety of flavors to choose from.
No matter, you can know that the powder is consistently made high in quality as it is always third-party tested.
Pros
- May greatly enhance endurance for a more beneficial workout
- Made from vegetarian-friendly ingredients
- Good quality control as it’s third-party tested
Cons
- Doses are low
- Might benefit from having additional flavor options
BPI Sports Best BCAA Shredded
BPI Sports Best BCAA Shredded aims to burn up stored fat to give you energy while building up muscle with BCAAs.
Carnitine works alongside the BCAAs to give you a powder that may boost your energy levels and enhancing muscle protein synthesis so you can push for harder workouts and see more gains.
All of this may also help improve your overall athletic performance since you gain endurance to push your exercise time longer.
This is done without using any stimulants.
When it comes to using this powder, you can choose from five different flavors. Such a variety might be beneficial if you want to experiment around with various tastes.
Though they are known to taste rather well, not everyone may appreciate the artificial sweeteners found.
Also, the powder itself doesn’t always seem to have the best consistency.
This might make it tough to mix so that it all dissolves, so it may be best to take some time when stirring this into your drink.
Pros
- Offers a variety of good-tasting flavor options
- Provides an energy boost without using stimulants
- Can improve your recovery times
Cons
- May lack good consistency, sometimes making it difficult to mix
- Uses some artificial and other ingredients that may not be needed
MuscleTech Pro Series MyoBuild 4x Amino-BCAA
With the MuscleTech Pro Series MyoBuild 4x Amino-BCAA, you can take something that may improve your post-workout recovery most of all thanks largely to the 4:1:1 ratio of BCAAs.
There are also studies that show this powder, formulated with a 4g dose of L-leucine, to increase your strength by 40%
Many see this as the best BCAA for men that combine electrolytes with BCAAs to improve your recovery.
This replenishes what you lose during your routine to make the post-workout experience easier to get through.
It also aims to fight off catabolism, which is the breakdown of your muscles.
Though this only comes in a single flavor, it may taste well enough to some, but too sweet to others. It may come down to personal taste as to whether or not you can tolerate it.
Pros
- Can assist in increasing strength at a fast pace
- Provides electrolytes to help with post-workout recovery
- Double the servings of BCAAs
Cons
- The flavor can be overly strong for some people
- Bottom can have a chalky texture
Optimum Nutrition Mega-Size BCAA Capsules
Unlike the powders on our list, the Optimum Nutrition Mega-Size BCAA comes in capsules that offer a good 2:1:1 ratio of BCAAs without any mixing, flavors, or coloring found in the powder supplements.
Instead, you can take the capsules with any drink and move right on with your day.
Admittedly, there is a low dose in the individual capsules, so you must take a good deal of them in order to receive enough to feel any affects.
Taking that many pills can be off-putting to some.
They don’t use any artificial ingredients or flavors, however.
It’s also effective at providing you with enough energy to get through your workout as well as cut down on your muscle damage for a better recovery.
You can get all of this in an inexpensive package too.
Pros
- Relatively quick to take
- Doesn’t use any artificial ingredients, flavors, sweeteners
- Provides a good 2:1:1 ratio of BCAAs
Cons
- Some may find the large capsules hard to swallow
- Requires you to take a lot of capsules for a single serving
Scivation Xtend BCAA Powder
Scivation Xtend BCAA Powder is an affordable means of gaining necessary BCAAs for muscle recovery, strength, and better endurance.
It comes in 16 flavors, so you have more than enough to choose from.
However, they can lean toward artificial-like, and not all taste high in quality.
No matter, the powder goes in well and mixes well so you may not have to worry about any chalk-like taste or texture.
The ingredients used makes the powder Keto-friendly if that’s a necessity for you.
There are also plenty of electrolytes found that coordinate well with the BCAAs. These can further improve your post-workout recovery period.
Pros
- Powder mixes up easily for a quick dissolve
- Does well at helping you fight off fatigue while exercising
- Uses a high amount of electrolytes
Cons
- Uses a good deal of artificial flavoring
- Can lack quality control when it comes to its flavors
Final Thoughts
Adding a dose of BCAA to your workout can help improve your muscle strength, decrease fatigue and muscle breakdown, and better your recovery.
In our opinion, among the supplements on our list, we see the MuscleTech Pro Series MyoBuild 4x Amino-BCCA to be the best BCAA for men.
It offers 4:1:1 ratio of BCAAs so that you receive a good dosing to achieve better endurance, greater recoveries, and the ability to improve your gains.
The added electrolytes helps with the recovery even more.
There are even studies that show you can see an improvement in your strength by 40%.
It dissolves relatively well also, so it’s easy enough to use and take so that you can see the benefits during and after your workout.
