My Take On Evolve's Prolong (BCAA's)

Sports supplements are a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide, there for, most of the time you’ll walk into a store and have a selection of hundreds of different products that, according to labels, do more or less the same thing.

You listen to what the salesman has to say but unfortunately, allot of the time, these salesman are target driven.  

Hence why, in my opinion, the “Smaller” independent supplement stores are a better option. Yes, I do happen to own a few myself which is why I know that we need to sell stuff that works so that our smaller client base, trusts us and comes back, Never mind the fact that I’m a bad salesman in the way that I cannot sell something I know doesn’t work.

Anyway, the point of this was to discuss one of my favourite products that actually works! Evolve Nutrition’s Prolong, It just so happens that this is our bestselling Intra/post workout as well, beating other really good products we have.

I currently use it when I go mountain biking and when I play indoor soccer, I’m not the fittest person at the moment so I can really feel the help it gives me. I have gone riding once without it and that was the first and last time!

Ok, so let’s take a look into some of the ingredients that makes this product so awesome!

Let’s get a bit scientific and discuss what happens on a molecular level. Muscle loss occurs because the body increases protein breakdown (Catabolism) in order to free amino acids stored in the muscle, for energy. To make things worse, catabolism is compounded by the fact that levels of protein synthesis will also decrease due to reduced energy intake. Basically,

Muscle mass = Rate of protein synthesis – Rate of catabolism

• When the rate of protein synthesis equals the rate of breakdown, you don’t gain or lose anything.
• If the rate of break down exceeds the rate of protein synthesis, you lose muscle.
• So trying to gain/maintain muscle, the rate of protein synthesis needs to increase the rate of breakdown.

So to assist with the whole process, you need BCAA’s, Particularly Leucine, as it stimulates protein synthesis, and might do so to a greater extent than a normal protein on its own, BCAA’s also help reduce the rate of protein breakdown.

A side note: Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAAs) refers to three amino acids: Leucine, Isoleucine, and Valine.

What makes BCAA’s such as Prolong even better, they increase training intensity, serotonin is also increased during the workout, making you feel happier and having the perception of being less fatigued, which might cause you to train harder.

Many people say that you can just consume whey in order to get your serving of BCAA’s. The problem here is that these BCAA’s are peptide bound to other amino acids, so your body will need to digest everything and then absorb the BCAA’s to get them into the bloodstream and this might take several hours.

BCAA’s such as the ones in Prolong are free form, meaning your body doesn’t need to digest anything to absorb them into the blood stream, so they can get to work allot faster. Free Form BCAA’s are an immediate energy source, as they bypass your liver and gut and go directly into the bloodstream, making it a good energy source.

Valine & Isoleucine are considered glycogenic amino acids, meaning they can be converted to glucose & serve as another important energy source during training, fighting off fatigue.

L-Glutamine in my opinion is a very under rated product, it assists in protein synthesis as well as muscle recovery but besides those points salesman generally sell it on, It is often used in many medical treatments such as Chemotherapy which can reduce glutamine levels in the body, increasing the possibility of catabolism. Glutamine helps with joint/muscle pain and protects the immune system and digestive system during and after Chemo.

If the body uses more Glutamine then the muscles can produce (during Stressful times), catabolism can occur, so by taking Glutamine, you keep the stores up, helping prevent catabolism.

L-Citrulline malate helps fight fatigue by helping the body recycle lactic acid. It also helps the body get rid of ammonia. The PH levels in muscles decreases during intense exercise, when the PH drops and becomes more acidic, fatigue begins to set in.

LONGER WORKOUTS, LESS SORENESS, BETTER RECOVERY

THE 9 ESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS - Quick Review

Histidine - Used for improving digestion.

Lysine - Next to the maintenance and manufacture of muscle protein, Lysine plays a role in revitalizing the body to combat fatigue and overtraining and it maintains a positive nitrogen balance, creating an anabolic environment within the body.

Phenylalanine - Apart from motivation and extra Vitamin D, Phenylalanine is of the use because of the nerve upgrading which will allow for maximal contraction and relaxation of the muscles. The DL-form is often supplemented as an endurance enhancer. Because of the toxicity level, this is never done long-term.

Methionine - Fat metabolization, better digestion and anti-oxidizing properties make this a valuable compound.

Threonine - Absorption of protein, maintenance of muscle and important to good health.

Trytophan - An α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins.

BCAA'S - LEUCINE, ISOLEUCINE, VALINE (Only these 3 make up BCAA's)

11 Non-Essential Amino Acids

Amino Acids that your body can produce itself.

Minimum daily intake