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I've recently bought BCAA powder, monohydrate creatine and whey protein, and I'm wondering if I'm able to take BCAA together with the whey protein or creatine? I've heard from people you should take BCAA with an empty stomach, some even said you shouldn't take it together with protein.

This was my plan of taking BCAA

Pre-workout:  BCAA   & Whey protein
Post-workout: Gainer & Creatine

Is this OK? Or should I switch so it's BCAA + Creatine on pre-workout?

edit

I'm going to bulk for 7 months, and my daily calorie intake is around 3500.

My stats are: Weight=76kg(167 lbs), length=176cm(5 f 9)

The reason why i bought BCAA is because i've heard from my brother it's a great supplement to get gains. The creatine and whey protein i've taken for a year now.

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    Thanks for that question. I'm really interested too! As a swimmer I "use" nothing before swimming to have empty stomach (sometimes some grape sugar, before or during). I took BCAA + sugar after workout and Whey protein once I'm at home (about 20 minutes after workout). Can answerer discuss my supplement diet too, please? (@Community -- maybe should I raise another specific question?)
    – tsykora
    Commented Jul 29, 2013 at 9:25
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    For those who don't know what BCAA means, "Branched-chain Amino Acid". Please use full form at least in one place. I didn't know it before googling.
    – Freakyuser
    Commented Jul 29, 2013 at 11:25
  • You haven't really told us much about your diet, or your goals. Why have you decided you need these supplements?
    – user2861
    Commented Jul 29, 2013 at 23:43
  • @LegoStormtroopr I've edited with more information about my goals+stats
    – Anton
    Commented Jul 30, 2013 at 7:44
  • I take bcaa’s 3 to 4 times a day. Mostly in between protein shakes. I take all these essential and none essential amino acids 4 times a day. Beta Alanine 6g a day, citruline/maleate 12g a day, bcaa 4g before and after workout. Arginine 6g a day, mucuna pririens 10g a day, GABA 5g before bedtime and 2g 3 times a day. Of course I take between 5-10g of creatine a day. Also I take whey protein between meals and take a protein blend before bedtime. I also take Ecdysterols 500- 2000mg a day for 3 weeks and off one week.
    – James
    Commented Aug 6, 2018 at 1:23

4 Answers 4

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Yes, I don't see why not. Some protein shakes combine the two (or all three). Some samples: Hydro Builder (Protein + creatine) and Hydro Whey (Protein + BCAA) (mirror).

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  • Thanks for the answer and thanks for the links, considering buying Hydro Whey next time i buy protein now :)
    – Anton
    Commented Jul 30, 2013 at 9:52
  • Both mix pretty well which is an important factor for me because I hate clumpy shakes. :)
    – Ron
    Commented Jul 30, 2013 at 10:37
  • The first link is broken.
    – Franck Dernoncourt
    Commented May 1, 2017 at 15:48
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Although the two can be taken together, there is no merit on using them both when an adequate amount of whey protein is ingested.

This pretty much boils down to the fact that an adequate anount of whey protein already contains enough BCAAs to reap the benefits. Of the BCAAs, leucine in particular is potent in stimulating muscle protein synthesis (MPS) due to its role in the mTOR pathway. As we know from trials, adding leucine to adequate amounts of proteins does nothing further to promote MPS. However, I'm unaware of any trials adding BCAAs to adequate amount of proteins, but on the other hand there is no reason to assume that they add something in that context

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  • Could you elaborate why?
    – Baarn
    Commented Oct 5, 2013 at 17:36
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    Pretty much boils down to the fact that an adequate anount of whey protein already contains enough BCAAs to reap the benefits. Of the BCAAs, leucine in particular is potent in stimulating muscle protein synthesis (MPS) due to its role in the mTOR pathway. As we know from trials, adding leucine to adequate amounts of proteins does nothing further to promote MPS. However, I'm unaware of any trials adding BCAAs to adequate amount of proteins, but on the other hand there is no reason to assume that they add something in that context.
    – pbond
    Commented Oct 7, 2013 at 16:44
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Ok so just a few things since this is a very popular post and I believe it is important people know what they are doing.

You could absolutely take creatine post workout because it would probably still work, however the pre workout benefits are much more significant since creatine gives you "extra energie" to perform your reps.

Second thing, weight gainers are in my opinion junk. It's mostly sugars and in combination with a flavoured whey protein and a mediocre diet could probably lead to diabetes.

And finally the thing with not taking your BCAA's with your whey is that they're basically the same thing. I'm not really sure about when to take your BCAA's though as i've not experimented/researched that myself.

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  • The creatine you use is from days ago, otherwise you wouldn't need a loading phase. There is no evidence that creatine and timing matters, except to take 5g a day.
    – Eric
    Commented Jan 21, 2015 at 16:10
  • Sounds very reasonable!!
    – Gordijn_forsale
    Commented Feb 1, 2015 at 18:15
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BCAA is just another way for supplement companies to make money. remember: BCAA are amino acids which are the buidling blocks of protein so ALL whey protein shakes/supplements have some amount of BCAA in them already being that PROTEIN is made out of amino acids or BCAA so to answer your question...

YES you can take BCAA with whey but why bother since BCAA are already in the whey protien!?

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  • One thing that makes difference to me is that protein powder always tastes "heavy" whereas BCCAs are always tastier, personally they give me an energy boost during the workout but I wish I could just use protein but vanilla/chocolate gets very boring very fast
    – Moseleyi
    Commented Jan 13, 2019 at 21:53

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