Would leucine by itself be as effective at preserving muscle as BCAAs?

Bilskirnir

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Wondering about this since I can get bulk leucine for a decent amount cheaper than bulk BCAAs. Would it be as effective at preserving muscle on a cut though or should I just go with straight BCAAs? I won't be cutting until beginning of September but I want to get everything together, I have everything I'm going to use except one of those and maybe Suppress C if I decide to add that.
 
RickRock13

RickRock13

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Luecine is by far the most important and running straight luecine would probably be ok to help feed the muscle, but you may get a little more protein synthesis with BCAA vs Luecine alone
 
rxp1997

rxp1997

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thats what i dont understand... leucine is key to triggering protein synthesis, and some people say thats all you need. but if you trigger protein synthesis, dont you need amino substrates to feed the synthesis, or is leucine substrate enough?
 

Bilskirnir

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I will be on a very strict protein every 2-3 hours except for when I work which it could be up to 4 hours during that time. Keeping that in mind would protein synthesis really be hindered any noticeable amount? This will be my first serious cut (going for 10%, at 16 or so now), so I definitely want to do it the best way possible while minimizing muscle loss considering I just put on about 22 lbs on a cycle.
 

soontobbeast

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I will be on a very strict protein every 2-3 hours except for when I work which it could be up to 4 hours during that time. Keeping that in mind would protein synthesis really be hindered any noticeable amount? This will be my first serious cut (going for 10%, at 16 or so now), so I definitely want to do it the best way possible while minimizing muscle loss considering I just put on about 22 lbs on a cycle.
if you're eating whole foods every 2-3 hours you don't need BCAAs/leucine to preserve muscle.

adding food on an already full stomach , you will have a steady stream of aminos.

meat takes alot longer than 3 hours to digest.......especially on a full stomach ( frequent meals).

personally, i maintain muscle eating 2-3 times a day max.

so does rickrock and the rest of the crew using leangains
 
RickRock13

RickRock13

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I agree if you ate eating that often throughout the day, then BCAA intake is not as crucial as if you were fasting or had longer times between meals. Taking in animos with meals is a good idea though and will give you that extra protein synthesis. In your situation, I don't think there would be a difference at all if you went with luecine or BCAA. So just supplement with Luecine like you planned if that is what you want to do.
 

Bilskirnir

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Cool, thanks guys. I'll mainly be using it intra workout and added to a drink at work so I can sip on it throughout my shift.
 

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