Amino Acids and Exercise When exercising, muscle can only be created if all essential amino acids are available in sufficient quantities for growth. If just one is missing, this anabolic process cannot be completed. If one is in short supply, less lean mass can be created. Amino acids are utilized by the body through one of two kinds of processes: anabolism, which refers to the processes whereby the body builds more complicated molecules out of smaller building blocks, and catabolism, meaning the breakdown of complex substances into simpler ones often used to meet energy demands.
