Hybrid Athletes: How to Maintain Lean Muscle While Endurance Training

Hybrid athletes often aim to build and maintain lean muscle while also improving endurance. However, this can be challenging, especially when you're pushing through intense aerobic workouts that can last 1-2 hours, multiple times per week. During these sessions, the body’s natural response is to break down muscle tissue (catabolism) to create usable energy. So, how can you prevent this muscle loss? The answer lies in proper protein and amino acid intake.

Pure EAAs to the Rescue

During long endurance training sessions, your body will eventually resort to amino acids to fuel your performance.  Unfortunately, the primary source of amino acids in the body is muscle, in other words, your body will catabolize your own muscle in order to obtain usable amino acids. Of course, this is why endurance athletes visibly have less muscle mass than non endurance athletes, like sprinters for example. Enter atplabs Pure EAAs (Essential Amino Acids): a direct source of amino acids that prevents your body from catabolizing muscle.

Why Not Just Use Protein Powder Mid-Workout?

While protein powder is a common source of amino acids, it’s not the most efficient option during workouts. Protein is complex and takes time and digestive effort to break down into usable amino acids (it requires stomach acid and enzymes). In contrast, atplabs Pure EAAs are instantized - which means they can immediately enter circulation and be used as fuel because they don’t require digestion. This makes EAAs far more effective during intense training sessions!

Additionally, Pure EAAs are fermented and 100% vegan, providing a clean, fast, and effective option to maintain both endurance and strength.