Why & When You Should Have a Protein Shake
June 10 2008
It has long been known that weight training changes protein balance positively. Research has also shown that amino acids and/or proteins can acutely do the same, though to a much lesser extent.
What was the purpose of the Protein study?
Combining resistance training and supplementation of amino acids and/ protein shake immediately before or after strength training has shown to have an additive effect on protein synthesis compared to strength training alone. Long- term studies have shown this acute increase in protein synthesis to translate over to gains in strength and muscle mass. Also, addition of carbohydrates to the protein shake mix has shown to have a further cumulative effect on protein balance possibly due to a decrease in protein breakdown.
However, most proteon shake studies have some minor problems:
1) Almost all protein studies required the participants not to consume any nutrients for 2 or 3 hours before or after their workout which is obviously not a normal pattern of eating.
2) Most studies, barring a couple, have looked at the acute effects over protein synthesis and haven’t looked at the long term effects of supplement timing in terms of strength and muscle mass.
3) They never compared the strategy of timing protein shake around your workout with the consumption of the same protein shake at other times during the day.
This study, however, has neatly dealt with all the above problems.
What was the Protein study design?
There were two groups.
Pre-Post Protein Group: The Pre-Psot protein shake group consumed a supplement (1 g.kg body weight) containing protein/creatine/glucose immediately before and after their workout.
Morning-Evening Protein Group: The Morning-Evening protein group consumed the same dose of the same protein shake in the morning and late evening. All participants had at least 6 months of training experience and the workout was high intensity, using mainly compound exercises with free weights.
What were the ingredients in the protein shake?
The protein shake was devised to contain 40 grams whey protein, 43 grams of glucose, trace fat and 7 grams of creatine per 100 grams of supplement, and subjects were told to consume 1 gram/kg bodyweight of the powder ONLY on workout days. The protein shake dose and ratio were consistent with previous research on post workout protein nutrition on the same topic.
Figure 1: The protein shake supplement ratio for a 176 lb (80 kg) subject (~ 1 gm per kg of bodyweight).
What were the results?
As expected, the Pre-Post protein shake group that timed the protein shake immediately before and after their workouts experienced significant increases in muscle mass and strength (bench press and squats) compared to the Morning-Evening protein group. Also, creatine and glycogen content was higher in the Pre-Post protein group.
Figure 2: Strength gains (in pounds) for the PRE-POST protein shake and MORN-EVE protein shake group.* shows a significant difference.
Anyhow, the point I am trying to make is that the next time you drink a protein shake, it might help to bother about WHEN and WHAT you are drinking.
