By: MuscleSports.net

Getting 40-50 grams of protein in when a sit down meal isn't possible can be invaluable to stay on your nutritional track!

POST WORKOUT - This is a time when all your amino acid pools need to be replenished to counteract the effects on free radical damage.......

Protein shakes have become an essential part of the bodybuilder lifestyle. With all the time management problems of everyday life they can make up for those times when sitting down and having a meal just isn't possible.

The Benefits of the Shake

Why is it that so many bodybuilders take protein shakes everyday? Is because proteins are the building blocks of life. Protein make your body function. It can be used for energy, growth , repair, and provide millions and millions of other minute functions to keep your body moving and functioning. Is it no wounder that bodybuilders consume so much of the stuff. It give you life and is the metabolic trigger for everything else in your life.

How Much Protein Do I Need?

Beverly International
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Peptide Bonded Amino Acids!

It is safe to say that an athlete needs more dietary protein than sedentary, inactive people, that younger people require more dietary protein than older people, that building body muscle requires more dietary protein than maintaining body muscle and that the more absolute body muscle which an athlete has, the more dietary protein required for maintenance of building. However, at this time, it is impossible to instruct a bodybuilder or other athlete about his or her exact daily protein requirements. But, science and medicine have gained substantial knowledge along these lines.

The basal rate of metabolism (BMR) is best determined by knowing a person’s lean body mass. For greater lean body mass, greater amounts of dietary calories and protein are required to maintain body composition. Skeletal, cardiac muscle and brain tissue are among the most active tissues in the body, and they demand a significant quantity of protein just for turn-over and maintenance of metabolism. Therefore, diets with highly restricted protein intake will result in a loss of lean body mass even from the first day.

In general, the more significant activity a person engages in, the more dietary protein will be required for proper body function. However, other factors may alter the protein requirements even further including endogenous hormone balance, anabolic steroid intake, glycogen stores, carbohydrate intake, time of protein Intake and duration and intensity of the activity.

Try our Protein Calculator
Find your correct amount of protein intake.

Whats the best choice for ME?

Everyday there are new protein products coming on the market with the claims of 1000% this or that. These claims for the most part exaggerated and misleading. Protein is still categorized by absorption and the categories have not changed.

The current efficiency ratings of dietary protein is pretty good, they rely on blood serum levels, but with all testing procedures there are holes, and we like to stick with the tried and true proteins. Proteins derived from egg products, milk products (whey, micellar casein, Whey Protein Isolates, and fish tend to be utilized more efficiently than other sources. Power trainers and those wishing to gain mass should consume these sources and also add animal sources such as beef an chicken.

For our purposes we are going to concentrate on the various powders. Each blend of protein has its own unique purpose in bodybuilding nutrition, but we are interested in only those that make for a nutritious and rich shake to be consumed at various times of the day. For these purposes they best sources of protein varies throughout your day.

After the Workout

This is a time when all your amino acid pools need to be replenished to counteract the effects on free radical damage to you muscle cells and start the healing or growth process. the amount of protein intake is completely dependant on your specific goals. For this purpose Whey Protein and Whey Protein Isolates are your best and only choices. These protein digest quickly ( mix in water for fast digestion ) and enter the blood stream in rapid fashion. Our recommendation is to find a quality protein that mixes easily with a spoon or at the most a shaker cup, and taste good. Yes taste is important, there is no need to drink any bad tasting protein shakes anymore.

Daily Nutrition

One of the things you will notice in all the articles on this website is that we never recommend taking 100% whey protein throughout the day if your not restricting your calories to cut bodyfat for competition purposes. The reason being is that even though it works great in replenishing amino acid pools in your muscles immediately after working out, it doesn't work good as a substitute for a meal. These are where your MRP's and Weight Gainers come into form. MRP's you know about, but weight gainers. Yes weight gainers! Most weight gainers of today provide a very good protein blend that has slow, medium, and fast digesting protein sources. This is exactly how your food digest from a regular meal. If your look at the content of most quality MRP's and Weight Gainers you'll see very similar ingredients. The only suggestion we can make is that if your Weight Gainer or MRP doesn't have any EFA's for fat in them is to add them to your shake. Oh yeah don't use a shaker bottle for this, these shakes are best made in a blender at home, and kept chilled until needed.

Conclusion:

Protein Shakes are a part of the modern day training world. With a little bit of thought and preparation they can help you achieve your bodybuilding goals. So drink up!

Tags: Athlete Nutrition Supplements Protein Muscle Builder Whole Foods