Anyone know about BCAAs to reduce muscle soreness after a workout?

[upsidedowncatfish]

I heard from some folks that taking BCAAs can reduce muscle soreness after resistance workouts, but I have always been skeptical of supplements. I've recently been increasing my time spent working out as apparently 4 hours of working out/week was getting me nowhere in the weight loss department.

Over the past 8 months I have improved my overall endurance, strength, and flexibility tremendously through kickboxing, tae bo, and lots of walking. My diet is very healthy and balanced, but I have not dropped my calorie intake below my BMR, hoping that just adding exercise would be enough. My BMR is 1450. Of course, I have lost no weight whatsoever, but have managed to drop 1.5 inches out of my waist. I guess I could go ahead and drop 250 out of my intake, but I really enjoy exercising so I would just rather do more exercising (I know I'll probably have to drop some calories out of my intake anyway, eventually, unless I win the lottery and can just spend all day exercising). The problem this causes is that each time I increase the amount of exercising I do - especially any resistance/weight training, I get super sore for a couple or three days (which is totally normal, I know). I would like to be able to bounce back a little faster so I don't have to miss any of my classes (as of now: boxing, pilates, and a body sculpting class).

Hence the recommendations a couple of classmates gave me for using BCAAs. But as I said...I'm instantly suspicious of all supplements.

Anyone had experience using these?

[stikfigure]

undenatured whey protein is a great source of BCAAs and it's true that amino acids taken within a certain time of a workout can really help with muscle recovery.

[upsidedowncatfish]

Thanks! Maybe I'll give it a try.