Protein shakes

i use this stuff called physique and its for after work outs. but i use it before and during. I guess as long as you use it you should be good

i like it after a work out, and carbs before. thats just me though.

What ones are best? Is there really a benefit to them over other protein sources? Are there any good non-dairy ones?

It is better to get it from non powder sources. But it is hard to do that sometimes because it would require way too much meat or other sources. Its for convenience :]

......don't mind me, I'm just waiting for a certain shakeology pusher to show up....*quietly takes seat in corner*

Studies suggest that it may be better after for assimilation of proteins.

That depends on what sort of workout you're doing. If it's a strength workout, then yeah. Cardio, don't bother.

As for the before/after ordeal? Take it 2 hours before the workout, and don't eat anything in that time. Drink plenty of water though. The 2 hour period allows your body to digest the pre-workout food thoroughly so it's prepared for the workout. Working out with food in your stomach is a bad idea.

Take your recovery food/drink within 30 minutes after your workout. the reasons for this are pretty obvious.

During the workout, only drink water, unless you're going for more than 1 hour. If it's shorter, you're not burning enough calories to ingest any extras. If you take in calories while doing a short workout, then you'll actually reduce the effectiveness of the workout (in terms of weight loss) because you'll just be burning what you take in, as opposed to burning what's already in your body. If you go for more than 1 hour (of hard workout - you gotta be sweating) then you'll use up more than what you body has stored, so you need to take in something to compensate. 1L of Gatorade(130cal)/hour is a good base point to start with.

Also, IMO, protein shakes are a complete waste of money! Your body will never be able to digest processed "food" as well as it can real food! A glass of 1% of skim milk will produce better results than a straight-up protein shake! need more protein than that? Try a ham sandwich, or tuna even! Real food > any imitation.

Also, IMO, protein shakes are a complete waste of money! Your body will never be able to digest processed "food" as well as it can real food! A glass of 1% of skim milk will produce better results than a straight-up protein shake! need more protein than that? Try a ham sandwich, or tuna even! Real food > any imitation.

Dollar for dollar, they are the cheapest source of protein available. Also, I wouldn't exactly consider a highly processed, sodium filled food like 'ham' or a ham sandwich to be a better source of protein than a protein shake.

Also, studies have shown that whey / casein are highly digestible proteins.... Just because a food is processed doesn't automatically make it undigestible. Would you apply the same standard to greek style yogurt? Of course not.

Bottom line with protein shakes is that they help you hit your daily macros....nothing more, nothing less. Hitting your daily protein requirements is FAR more important than obsessing over when to have your protein shake to stave off the dreaded post-workout muscle catabolism.

As an example, I was able to hit 200 grams of protein today (feel free to view my diary). It would have been difficult to do so without the 50 grams of protein I got from my morning shot of Monster Milk.