All week long, we’ve looked at the amazing results NUTRISHOP Chico customer Jennifer Bretney was able to get with some hard work and the proper supplementation plan. Jennifer severely injured both knees, was told she’d never run again, and eight weeks after her last surgery she’s back in the gym — plus, she didn’t lose any muscle mass while her knees recovered!

Jennifer’s recovery is so impressive, we wanted to share with the rest of our customers the benefits of the supplements she took as part of her recovery regimen. We looked at GLUTACOR and PRO7EIN SYNTHESIS the past couple days; today, we will highlight IBCAA, one of Jennifer’s staple supplements as she recovered from her surgeries.

IBCAA is an instanized branched-chain amino acid product featured leucine, valine and isoleucine, the “big three” amino acids responsible for muscle maintenance. The amino acids leucine, valine and isoleucine are all considered “essential” amino acids — meaning your body does not produce them, instead relying on your own dietary intake. But when you work out, your muscles go into a catabolic state, using up the amino acids that are readily available within the muscle itself. This is one of the reasons your muscles get fatigued and weak as you continue to lift; you’re purposely tearing them down and your body is doing what it needs to in order to stop that process.

In Jennifer’s case, her muscles would have become fatigued and weak from the opposite — non-use. Because her knees severely limited the amount of work she could do with her legs, it was crucial for her body to have a steady supply of branched-chain amino acids. If you go back and look at Jennifer’s supplementation recovery plan, you’ll see just how often she was downing IBCAA — at least three times a day, an aggressive recovery schedule but one that was necessary. The muscles’ natural tendency, whether over- or under-worked, is to break down tissue for fuel.

Having a surplus of amino acids stops this, since they are metabolized in the muscles and not in the liver. Once your system absorbs them, they go straight to the muscles in demand and begin to work. Exercise Prescription online points out that “amino acids will be used for protein synthesis, which is optimal for advanced human performance.” It continues to state that “BCAAs are of essential importance to athletes due to their ability to alleviate any deficiencies the body alone cannot produce.”

Jennifer’s story is an extreme one in the case of muscle tissue being converted to fuel, but make no mistake, it does happen with everyone. If your long workouts or cardio sessions are doing more harm than good by robbing you of your muscle mass because of insufficient amino acid levels, you’ll never see the results you’re after. IBCAAs kept Jennifer’s muscle tone while she couldn’t use it — imagine how it can help a fully healthy athlete!