Welcome to the Get Fit Guys quick and dirty tips to get moving and shape up.

My name is Brock Armstrong and I am the Get Fit Guy.

Amino acids do things like enhance your workout performance, promote recovery and help build muscle.

But do we need to buy supplements of amino acids to keep on hand during our workouts?

Well, that's what we're going to talk about today. Okay, let's start with the basics.

The most common muscle building supplement there is can be found right in your fridge,

and it's called protein. When you eat protein, your body breaks the protein

down into amino acids. Those amino acids are used to repair and grow your new muscle fibers.

When you consume an adequate amount of protein, your body will experience something called

a positive balance of nitrogen. Now, nitrogen balance is just a measure

of protein metabolism, and it may sound complicated, but it simply means that if the intake of nitrogen

into your body is greater than the loss of nitrogen from your body, there is an increase in the

total body pool of protein. Now, this balance signals

your body to get itself into an anabolic or muscle building state. Now, here's an interesting

side note. Periods of growth in children and hypothyroidism, tissue repair, and pregnancy are also associated with a positive nitrogen balance.

Now on the other side, people who don't have access to sufficient amounts of protein,

well, they can experience muscle atrophy and muscle wasting.

The U.S. recommended daily allowance, or RDA, for protein, is 0.36 grams per pound.

And you may have heard reports saying that Americans eat far more protein than is required,

but as my fellow quick and dirty tipper, the nutrition diva, pointed out in an article,

well, that isn't exactly true, and I'll link to her article

in the show notes for this episode over at quick and dirty tips.com slash get fit guy.

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