workout/protein shake question

I was wondering the same thing. I have the strawberry and I mix one scoop with 8oz of 2% milk because I can't stand skim.

Here's my routine

Mon/Wed/Fri :
20 min elliptical high resistance
40 min weight training. I use 10 lb dumbells for all reps (don't live close to a gym so I have to improvise). In addition to the weights, I do Squats, lunges, pushups, ect.

Tue/Thur/Sat
Cardio - 30 to 60 mins

Here's my protein question: I just bought Body Fortress Advanced Whey Protein powder. I mix 1 scoop with 4 oz of skim milk. Together it has 30 grams of protein and 180 cals. Is this an ok mix? Also, iv'e been drinking it first thing when I get up (not much of a breakfast person so I do that instead). Is that ok, or should I drink it immediately before a workout??

Thanks In Advance
-Adriana

It's fine. When you drink the shake isn't critical, I would base your decision off of personal preference.

It's my understanding that protein shakes should be drank AFTER your workout to help rebuild muscle breakdown.

If your not a breakfast person then it sounds like you definitely made a smart decision. Since your body could be breaking down muscle by morning, getting that quick acting whey after waking up is perfect. Doesn't really matter when your drinking it through the day though. After workouts are a good time to consume your whey.

Just for the nerds, here's a good quote by Alan Aragon that should hopefully ease your concerns about whether or not you need to chug a whey shake and eat carbs right after you're done lifting. For perspective sake, this was a quote that he made in response to a forum post and I only mention it for context. Bolding one part for emphasis:



The postexercise "anabolic window" is a highly misused & abused concept. Preworkout nutrition all but cancels the urgency, unless you're an endurance athlete with multiple glycogen-depleting events in a single day. Getting down to brass tacks, a relatively recent study (Power et al. 2009) showed that a 45g dose of whey protein isolate takes appx 50 minutes to cause blood AA levels to peak. Resulting insulin levels, which peaked at 40 minutes after ingestion, remained at elevations known to max out the inhibition of muscle protein breakdown (15-30 mU/L) for 120 minutes after ingestion. This dose takes 3 hours for insulin & AA levels to return to baseline from the point of ingestion. The inclusion of carbs to this dose would cause AA & insulin levels to peak higher & stay elevated above baseline even longer.

So much for the anabolic peephole & the urgency to down AAs during your weight training workout; they are already seeping into circulation (& will continue to do so after your training bout is done). Even in the event that a preworkout meal is skipped, the anabolic effect of the postworkout meal is increased as a supercompensatory response (Deldicque et al, 2010). Moving on, another recent study (Staples et al, 2010) found that a substantial dose of carbohydrate (50g maltodextrin) added to 25g whey protein was unable to further increase postexercise net muscle protein balance compared to the protein dose without carbs. Again, this is not to say that adding carbs at this point is counterproductive, but it certainly doesn't support the idea that you must get your lightning-fast postexercise carb orgy for optimal results.

To add to this... Why has the majority of longer-term research failed to show any meaningful differences in nutrient timing relative to the resistance training bout? It's likely because the body is smarter than we give it credit for. Most people don't know that as a result of a single training bout, the receptivity of muscle to protein dosing can persist for at least 24 hours:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21289204

More from earlier in the thread:

Here's what you're not seeming to grasp: the "windows" for taking advantage of nutrient timing are not little peepholes. They're more like bay windows of a mansion. You're ignoring just how long the anabolic effects are of a typical mixed meal. Depending on the size of a meal, it takes a good 1-2 hours for circulating substrate levels to peak, and it takes a good 3-6 hours (or more) for everythng to drop back down to baseline.

You're also ignoring the fact that the anabolic effects of a meal are maxed out at much lower levels than typical meals drive insulin & amino acids up to. Furthermore, you're also ignoring the body's ability of anabolic (& fat-oxidative) supercompensation when forced to work in the absence of fuels. So, metaphorically speaking, our physiology basically has the universe mapped out and you're thinking it needs to be taught addition & subtraction.

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So, metaphorically speaking, our physiology basically has the universe mapped out and you're thinking it needs to be taught addition & subtraction.

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LOL! This put a big smile on my face.