BCAA Vs Creatine | Which One is Better?

Fitness supplements are rendered incomplete without BCAA and Creatine. Bodybuilders and athletes often use them for muscle output and recovery. But people often forget about their differences, which is why they take their time to determine which option is better for them.

In a nutshell, creatine is for those who are looking to increase muscle size and power. On the other hand, BCAAs are for those who want better recovery and muscle repair. But there are several other differences.

Today, it’s a battle: BCAA Vs. Creatine. But before directly heading towards comparison, let’s discuss BCAA and Creatine individually.

 

What is BCAA?

BCAA (Branched Chain Amino Acids) combines three essential amino acids—leucine, isoleucine, and valine.

They become essential to consume through diet and supplements as our bodies do not produce essential amino acids.

While doing an intense workout, BCAAs helps preserve the glycogen stores, which further helps in fuelling our muscles. In simpler words, BCAAs directly get utilized as fuel by our body which helps in building more lean muscle mass and preserving muscle breakdown.

You can easily get BCAA in powders and tablets in the market and consume it with water. Now, let’s have a look at the benefits of BCAA.

Benefits of BCAA

1. Leucine in BCAA helps promote muscle protein synthesis and burn fat that becomes essential for building muscle strength.
2. Isoleucine in BCAA helps in boosting immunity and protein metabolism and maintains blood glucose levels.
3. Valinein BCAA helps in boosting the energy levels in the body. Also, it helps in repairing muscles and building muscles.
4. It also improves aerobic and anaerobic performance during an intense and productive workout.
5. Besides the physical, BCAAs also help in ensuring greater mental focus during the workout.

Here comes the most important question, i.e., whether BCAA is suitable for you or not? Let’s find out.

 

When is BCAA Supplementation Favorable?

BCAAs are the most suited supplements in the following situations:

1. You should go for BCAA if you want to reduce fat without reducing lean muscle mass.
2. If you are a vegetarian or too busy in your life, which affects your diet, then you should take BCAA. (Vegetarian because amino acids are primarily present in animal diet)
3. When you are doing intense and productive workouts such as cardio, aerobics, weight lifting, etc., you should consume BCAA before the training.

So, overall if you want to reduce fat and increase the strength of your muscles, then BCAA is the most favorable for you.

 

What is Creatine?

Unlike BCAAs, Creatine is a substance that is naturally present in our muscles. Creatine constitutes three non-essential amino acids—arginine, glycine, and methionine.

Our body produces all three amino acids; this is why they are non-essential amino acids. Our muscles store Creatine in Creatine Phosphate, which gets used as energy fuel for the body.

Athletes and bodybuilders often use Creatine to increase muscle strength and improve athletes’ performance.

Creatine plays a crucial role in re-producing ATP (the primary source of energy in our body), thus helping in improving strength and endurance during exercise.

Benefits of Creatine

1. Arginine in Creatine helps in improving exercise performance and fast recovery of muscles.
2. Glycinein Creatine helps in promoting muscle growth and enhances muscle size.
3. Methioninein Creatine has anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties that help in increasing performance during intense workouts.
4. Unlike synthesizing muscles, Creatine provides more endurance and becomes an easy source of muscle energy.
5. It also improves alertness, attention, and memory power, thus improving overall brain power.

Now, let’s have a look at whether it is favorable for you or not.

 

When is Creatine Supplementation Favorable?

Although Creatine and BCAA are favorable in some situations, there are many circumstances when Creatine is preferable.

Such circumstances are as follows:

1. If you are doing heavy and long workouts to increase muscle mass and strength, you need the energy that Creatine can provide.
2. Suppose you want big, bulky muscles, then you should go for Creatine as it draws water into the muscles. It helps muscles to look big and also provides strength to muscles.

So, overall, when you want to gain big muscles like bodybuilders and want energy and strength, you should prefer Creatine.

Now, let’s move to the main topic; which is one better?

 

BCAA Vs. Creatine | Who Has Won the Battle?

The time has come to reveal the results of today’s battle! Dum-Da-Dum-Dum (Drums are rolling!)

And the winner is No one! Unfortunately, it’s a tie. Both BCAA and Creatine have many benefits.

On the one hand, BCAA offers essential amino acids for those having low protein intake and boosts their muscle protein synthesis; on the other hand, Creatine provides rapid energy to bodybuilders and those doing heavy workouts.

While BCAA is best for bodybuilders, cross-fitters, and rowers who want to gain endurance and strength, Creatine is best for boxers, powerlifters, and sprinters who need instant energy in their bodies for doing the workout.

So, the answer to the question—which one is better—depends on many factors such as dietary intake, type of workout, duration of exercise, etc.

Overall, both are effective in improving muscle strength, energy levels, and performance during workouts.

 

The Bottom Line

While concluding our article, we suggest you take both BCAA and Creatine together. Both resemble similarities but work differently in our bodies.

BCAA and Creatine form powerful supplements for gaining power, endurance, energy and muscle strength, and mass. However, it depends on you; after all, you know yourself better than anyone else!