Protein after lifting?

No_Finish_Line

i think its greatest benefit is less soarness and more energy for the next workout.

djeffreys10

If you don't consume 2 grams of protein for every pound of body weight within 30 minutes of lifting, your workout is for naught. Not only will you have no gains, you will lose 7 pounds of lean body mass, gain 4 pounds of pure fat right in your abdomen. And you will get athletes foot, herpes, and clymidia.


For the love of gawd, don't miss your anabolic window!

lithezebra

You want to have amino acids available for muscle repair after you lift. That could mean eating protein before you work out, or immediately after. I prefer to eat afterward. It's more of a reward that way.

Sarahndipity30

Your trainer is speaking the language known as Bro, or spouting Broscience as it were. There is no such thing as nutrient timing provided you get the proper amount of protein for the day. 1g of protein per LB of body weight is a good number to use for both building muscle and as well for not losing too much muscle if you are at a caloric deficit.

edit: See this site for more info about how protein works in your system.

http://examine.com/faq/how-much-protein-can-i-eat-in-one-sitting.html

holy hell that is a lot of protein in my case. Ugh. i do good to get about 160g in a day and i struggle to do that, even with shakes. is this the same for women? just curious and ty for the infos.:glasses:

No_Finish_Line

Shoot. I just read something either last night or the night before in regards to carb timing that stated something about increased protein sythesis for 6 hours post workout.

most things i've read say a 4:1 or 3:1 carb to protein ratio is best, and within 30 min to 1/2 post workout.

i think the best thing to do is take advantage of the research on the chance that its of benefit and just make sure you don't otherwise over eat... thats basically hedging your bets.

No_Finish_Line

You want to have amino acids available for muscle repair after you lift. That could mean eating protein before you work out, or immediately after. I prefer to eat afterward. It's more of a reward that way.

i'd agree that with digestion time that eating before, during, or after should be pretty close to the same thing nutritionally/timing wise

whierd

Shoot. I just read something either last night or the night before in regards to carb timing that stated something about increased protein sythesis for 6 hours post workout.

most things i've read say a 4:1 or 3:1 carb to protein ratio is best, and within 30 min to 1/2 post workout.

i think the best thing to do is take advantage of the research on the chance that its of benefit and just make sure you don't otherwise over eat... thats basically hedging your bets.

I have read that a 1:1 carb:protein ratio is ideal, but nothing scientific that would support it. I will look around tonight.

And yes, the way I see it, I am going to consume X amount of protein that day regardless, and almost sure to have a protein shake, so why not drink it after my workout?

No_Finish_Line

Shoot. I just read something either last night or the night before in regards to carb timing that stated something about increased protein sythesis for 6 hours post workout.

most things i've read say a 4:1 or 3:1 carb to protein ratio is best, and within 30 min to 1/2 post workout.

i think the best thing to do is take advantage of the research on the chance that its of benefit and just make sure you don't otherwise over eat... thats basically hedging your bets.

I have read that a 1:1 carb:protein ratio is ideal, but nothing scientific that would support it. I will look around tonight.

And yes, the way I see it,

meh, just so long as you get them both. presumably the ideal ratio might be somewhat different for different metabolisms but that would be really spliting hairs. even the difference between 3:1 and 4:1 is probably splitting hairs

btw, chocolate milk is a 3:1 ratio, and was used as the post exercise drink in more then one of the studies i've read

Acg67

timing is not irrelevant. some beginners on this site take a small amount of science and distort it to the extreme. there are dozens of studies showing increased protein synthesis post workout.

Citation needed.

Google. mmmmk.

agreed, this ones been done to death on here.

Probably the best statement is that there is about as much evidence supporting post exercise nutrition as there are refuting it. But that could probably be said for a lot of things that are taken as fact in the fitness world or even science in general.

Its actually the carbs that your body needs, the protein helps the cells absorbs the carbs.

Its obvious that exercise depelets muscle glycogen, the question is does it really do you any good to get it immediately after exercise.

Anything i've actually read as research is more like anecdotal. They compare performance drop offs between workouts between a group having post exercise nutrtion and one not.

if i saw an atricle that actually supported or refuted it on a biochemical level that would be much better, but i probably wouldn't understand it.

Best thing to do IMO is to eat after and just make sure it fits into your calorie profile for the day. I'll almost always drink my homemade post exercise drink thats basically dextrose, maltodextrin and a whey isolate. but if i haven't been eating well that day i'll skip it.

Have at it

Carbohydrate does not augment exercise-induced protein accretion versus protein alone. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2011

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21131864

Disassociation between the effects of amino acids and insulin on signaling, ubiquitin ligases, and protein turnover in human muscle

http://ajpendo.physiology.org/content/295/3/E595.full

miqisha

I drink my protein shake after I work out. Could be mind over matter but I feel a 100 times better once I started doing that. Try different things and see what you prefer, however it was suggested by my instructor to get the protein shake in after

Good luck

DymonNdaRgh40

After any hard workout, it's advisable to consume a ratio of 2 carbs to 1 protein.

The protein will repair the muscles while the carbs will replenish the blood sugar burned through the workout.

Forget the powders and gels and expensive drinks, the perfect drink is already out there. It's low fat chocolate milk.

Yep! This is what I've learned through my research. After a long run, I'll have lowfat chocolate milk and on my weight lifting days I'll have either a protein bar, protein shake, greek yogurt or other protein of my choosing.

I never used to eat right after a workout and was at a plateau for awhile but I started losing again once I started having some form of protein right after my workouts.

Here's an article that has some good info...

http://beta.active.com/nutrition/articles/get-enough-protein-post-workout

japar

IMHO when you eat protein you get about 4 calories for every gram and same goes for carbs - more than double that for fat. As you do stuff you use those calories, and it seems obvious that the body has a preference of what kind of calorie it would like to burn if it was available (i.e. protein for muscle repair, carb for energy boost). I do not know exactly how each calorie, one-by-one, is synthesized (those stored in your body as body fat and those that are available as energy). Seems intuitive that body fat is last to go (via calorie deficit). Also seems inuitive that if muscles need protein to develop and heal (and they do) then you need to make sure that your body has protein available during muscle tear down and rest for repair purposes. In my reading it is obvious that the body can metabolize up to nearly a gram of protein per pound of body weight (more than that can over tax your digestive system). It also seems obvious that the body cannot take all of that protein in one meal - it needs to be divided through your day. If my goal is 210 grams of protein, I would try to balance my day (usually 5 or 6 meals/snacks that include protein) with protein throughout. This works out to protein intake every 2-3 hours or so. If you take protein that regularly, guess what? It will likely correlate with a workout and satisfy your protein/carb needs for both pre and post-workout. Also, remember to eat good food...other issues, like lactic acid build up are waiting to undermine your workouts too.

Showcase_Brodown

There could be something to the timing, although timing can't be nearly as important as getting enough (protein, carbs, calories, etc.).

On days I lift, I generally consume the majority of my calories (and protein) afterward. My preference.

toddis

I hear the window is pretty large, like 3 hours either way. That means if you eat 3 or 4 times a day and consume protein at each sitting, you're covered.

( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6wkDDnSKV0 ) links in captions.

Of course my memory is fuzzy.

paleojoe

Does not matter... just get it in within 24 hours. That bro-science nonsense is just to get you to buy supplements you don't need.

james6998

Why is it that one should consume protein right after heavy lifting? Is the timing that important? Is it necessary, or just a preference? I just wanted to know. And if you have any good articles, please post them so I can read them.

Protein shakes are very quick absorb protein, why most people tell you that your so called sweet spot is right after lifting when your muscles are craving. Honestly i do take protein right after my workout but i do not believe in this "sweet spot" for taking it. I just need something when i am done my workout and this fills the bill so to speak.

lithezebra

Does not matter... just get it in within 24 hours. That bro-science nonsense is just to get you to buy supplements you don't need.

I like to supplement with steak, or fish. I have read that timing matters, though most people who eat protein for lifting probably already have protein in the GI tract from an earlier meal, so in practice it's probably not a big issue.