NPL manages to do an amazing job when it comes to creating products that have individualized profiles. These include beta alanine, citrulline, glutamine, etc. The product we will examine today is NPL’s 100% Leucine – another individualized ingredient that is absolutely vital to the muscle gaining goal.
About the product:
For those who are not sure, leucine is one of three branched chain amino acids. It is also the main component of this chain and an absolutely invaluable component in the muscle building formula. Leucine is an activator of the protein known as mTOR. As a result of this activation MPS or muscle protein synthesis is then induced. It is so vital for muscle protein synthesis that an amount of 5g of leucine is enough to outstrip the effectiveness of a regular 5g BCAA mixture.
Therefore, in terms of its place in amino acid pool, Leucine is considered to be the most valuable out of the main 3 that you will find in most products. Finding a BCAA product with a good ration of leucine is key when looking for a good BCAA, but if you eat a diet that is low on leucine (such as a plant based diet), you will need to supplement with leucine and a product like this would easily do the trick.
Usability:
Many people will say that if your diet has enough protein in it, then buying a BCAA product is a waste of money. This is both true and false. If you look at the overall events in a day when talking about muscle protein synthesis and muscle protein breakdown, these two events happen almost simultaneously. If I oversimplify the end result, if your net muscle protein synthesis exceeds your net muscle protein breakdown, then you will gain muscle and vice versa (remember this is an oversimplification).
Muscle protein synthesis also requires an amount of 2.1g – 3g of leucine in order to reach its activation point. Once this activation point is triggered, muscle protein synthesis lasts for periods of about 3 hours before it dips below its activation point. If you are trying to gain muscle or even just retain it while cutting, then eating an adequate amount of protein as well as timing your leucine intake into these 3-4 hour periods, then you will most likely see a good steady flow of muscle protein synthesis.
Dosages:
NPL 100% Pure Leucine has a serving suggestion of 5g. However, if you are really serious about the game, I would suggest having 2-3g with a meal spaced out every 3-4 hours. This seems like a bit much but if you are buying 100% pure leucine then its safe to assume that you are serious about your goals in the gym.
Rating:
In terms of its usefulness, this product gets a 4/5 for me. When done correctly, a product like this can serious give you the edge when it comes to gaining muscle.