You’re doing ‘protein’ wrong. If you are reading this and you don’t have your dream body, or aren’t already seeing the progress you desire- this is probably why. It’s easy to blindly go to the gym and exhaust your muscles. Once you have a proper balance of volume, intensity, and rest, everything will come down to your diet. Luckily, diets require significantly less effort and thought when you don’t have to worry so much about your protein consumption. The bottom line? You really need protein powder to easily grow muscle.
Do you know how much protein you need to reach peak muscle mass for your weight? Definitely check out my post about protein if you haven’t already! I’ll give you the answer right now: about one gram per pound of ideal body weight per day. That number probably sounds huge, right? For me that is 170 grams of protein per day. Without supplements, I’d be repulsed by meat the rest of my life about one month in!
In this post, I will show you the two best protein powder supplements, how to use them, and why you need to be using both to maximize your gains. I consume them every single day and strongly believe that everybody should, as well.
How to optimize our protein intake for building muscle
Our body can only absorb about 25 grams of protein at a time. The rest gets converted to energy or bodily acids. That said, consuming protein with other nutrients (AKA a well-rounded meal) slows the digestion process of protein. We can consume more protein at one time and absorb it all over a longer period of time. We can also accomplish this same slow-absorption feat with protein that cannot be digested quickly.
With all this in mind, how you distribute your protein throughout the day is not very important. It is somewhat of a myth that you have to evenly spread your protein throughout the day since your meals stretch the absorption process. I’ve included a scientific journal from the National Center for Biotechnology Information you may read to get a deeper understanding. Be warned, it is a fairly complex read.
Why Do we Need protein powder supplements?
1) To maximize the gains of our workouts
If we can eat protein whenever we like in our meals, why do we need protein supplements to build muscle? Great question! When we workout, we tear our muscles and then our body rebuilds said muscle. Working out increases muscle protein breakdown (MPB) and muscle protein synthesis (MPS). There is a lot of misinformation surrounding the “anabolic window” and minimizing MPB while maximizing MPS. I recommend taking a look through this article if you are as mystified by it as I was.
Protein Powder Before Or After Workout?
What you need to know is that we have to take advantage of our period of highest MPS to make the most of our workouts. This means consuming quickly-digestible protein either before or immediately after our workouts is extremely important for growing our muscles. The first supplement I introduce will do just that! Because of the time it takes to digest protein, you can have a shake as much as an hour prior to your work out your muscles will absorb the amino acids as you workout. If you have your shake immediately after your workout, you lose almost zero benefits of your muscle protein synthesis. It ultimately comes down to whether you prefer to fill your stomach a bit prior to a workout or immediately after.. I personally prefer to drink my shakes just prior to the workout.
The BEST workout protein: Hydrolyzed Whey protein isolate
Allow me to cut to the chase. Hydrolyzed whey protein isolate is the absolute fastest way to provide protein for your muscles. Whey protein isolate is already the purest fast-absorbing protein supplement out there and hydrolysis pre-digests that protein into amino acids so that the body can immediately use it.
Here is the link to purchase it ASAP. I use and recommend Bulk Supplements as they offer the highest quality ingredients and sources for their ingredients at the lowest prices. Also note Bulk Supplements has flavorless powder, so it is perfect for making a shake or adding anything you’d like to your protein shake. I spend about 2/3 of what I did per pound with nearly every protein supplement I have used in the past. Note that it is common for them to go out of stock in hydrolyzed protein. In fact, at the time of writing this article, I only have regular whey protein isolate because I ordered too slowly and am on back order. Rest assured, whey protein isolate is also fantastic for your muscles! It is pure and quickly absorbed- just not quite as quickly as hydrolyzed protein.
2) To maximize the gains while we sleep or fast
There are obviously times throughout our day when we are not eating. Whether you are intentionally fasting or simply asleep, it is imperative that you have protein for your body to synthesize at all times. The second supplement I will offer will maximize all of your fasting!
The BEST slow absorbing protein for fasting and sleeping: Casein Protein
When we digest protein on an otherwise empty stomach, we finish digesting it within 2-3 hours. Casein protein is digested and absorbed over periods of 6 hours on average. It is perfect for when we are fasting or sleeping! Again, I buy my protein powder from Bulk Supplements, as they have the best quality for the lowest prices.
Every night, regardless of whether or not I worked out, I drink casein protein before bed. Regardless of whether I have just had a meal, I drink casein protein before bed. Casein protein is great for muscle recovery and growth. Keep in mind that most muscles will be recovering 2 – 3 days post workout. Here is an article about the benefits of casein that goes into deeper detail.
Casein Protein Helps with Weight loss
Protein is very satiating, which means it makes us feel full more quickly than fat or carbs. Because casein takes so long to digest, we feel considerably less hungry after consuming it. I have not had a single midnight snack since I started consuming casein protein. In fact, when I know I am going to have a long night and do not want to eat anymore, I will wait until about midnight to have my shake and then I can go to bed around 2am without hunger pangs. This is not a normal occurrence for me by any means, but definitely effective every single time.
Afterthought
Our lives would be so much easier with quick access to extra complete protein in our diets. Whether your goal is to build muscle more efficiently or lose weight, or both, protein has significant health benefits in almost every area of our bodily functions. Barring pre-existing kidney or liver damage, it has no drawbacks in our health to overconsume it as well!
I highly recommend casein protein to everybody every single night, and I recommend whey protein isolate (hydrolyzed if possible) for every workout. On days that lack workouts, an extra serving of casein would also be fine to make sure you are constantly fueling your muscles. Go get muscular, aspiring Healthy Couch Potatoes!
