Of the few supplements I use, BCAAs are maybe the most important. They are the fuel behind my workouts, and in my opinion, an absolute necessity while on the Anabolic Diet. I originally started using BCAAs upon the recommendation of Christian Thibaudeau and Charles Poliquin over at T-Nation.com.
I dose pretty heavily on BCAAs before, during, and after workouts. I will also sometimes have some BCAAs throughout the day, depending on my current goals. The drawback to all of this?
BCAAs are expensive. Unless you know the trick to getting them cheaper.
There are two different kinds of BCAA supplements used: capsule and powder. I opt strictly for the powder. I buy a combination of generic BCAA powder, which is absolutely retched and putrid in taste but very cheap in price, and Scivation X-Tend flavored powder, which tastes like grown-up Kool-Aid.
What I do to lower the price of my BCAAs should be fairly obvious now. I use one small scoop of the X-Tend — which, again, is VERY sweet but also zero-carb — and mix it with a tablespoon or more of the generic powder, all in a shaker bottle of water. The X-Tend masks the disgusting flavor of the generic powder and, in fact, makes it somewhat
palatable.
This makes mega-dosing BCAAs very easy, very cheap, and in fact, pretty tasty.