Instant muscle gratification: maximize your gains by ingesting protein right after a workout - Nutrition Science - ready-to-use protein drinks - Product Announcement

A pair of identical twin brothers decide to put on some muscle. They start hitting the gym every other day, doing precisely the same workouts. They also add more protein to their diets. The only difference is that Bob gets some of his protein in a recovery shake that he drinks before or soon after his workouts, whereas Ray waits until his next meal to eat.

Several weeks later, Bob and Ray are no longer identical. Bob has put on more muscle and gained more strength. Ray becomes frustrated and jealous, and begins picking quarrels with Bob. This leads to a huge falling out, and the brothers refuse to speak to each other for a whole year.

The moral of the story is, don't spend too much time with your family. But there's a nutritional lesson to be learned here as well. If you want to gain muscle, when you eat and drink is as important as what you eat and drink. We've been telling you this for the past several years, and now a flood of recent scientific research confirms it.

In a study performed at Vanderbilt University, subjects were fed a protein-carbohydrate supplement either immediately after working out or three hours later. Members of the "early" group were found to have synthesized new muscle proteins at a much faster rate than members of the "late" group. In a similar study, done at the University of Texas, protein synthesis was shown to be even greater when a carbohydrate-and-amino-acid supplement was consumed right before exercise instead of just afterward.

RECOVERING ANABOLIC

The process of nourishing hungry muscles after a workout is actually a complex series of chemical reactions. "After exercise, the body's muscle cells become more receptive to insulin, a hormone whose job is to deliver protein to the muscles," says Edmund Burke, Ph.D., a professor of exercise science at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and the author of Optimal Muscle Recovery.

"Protein and carbohydrate stimulate insulin release. By taking in plenty of these nutrients before, during or immediately following a workout, you can take maximum advantage of this heightened insulin sensitivity, which disappears after a couple of hours."

Protein and its constituent amino acids may seem like the MVPs on the muscle-building team, but carbohydrate is equally important, says Burke. You can stimulate a significantly greater insulin release by taking in carbohydrate and protein together than you can by consuming protein alone. Secondly, carbohydrate, in the form of glycogen, is your muscles' primary fuel during workouts. "Glycogen stores are severely depleted after intense workouts," says Burke. "The sooner you begin to replenish these stores, the more energy you'll have for your next workout."

For guys looking to gain muscle, Burke recommends they consume up to one gram of protein for every five pounds of body weight, no earlier than 30 minutes before a workout and no later than two hours after it (the closer to the end of exercise, the better). In the same time frame, get at least three times this amount of carbohydrate in your system. The subjects in the University of Texas study used a drink that contained nearly six times as much carbohydrate as protein.

Liquids are, in fact, the ideal form for timed muscle-building nutrition. "Drinks have two advantages over solid foods," says Burke. "First of all, they digest more quickly. Also, most people have trouble exercising right after eating, and eating right after exercising. Liquids go down more easily and are less likely to cause gastrointestinal distress."

In addition, most drinks formulated especially for muscle building are low in fat and fiber, two nutrients that by slowing digestion can foil your attempts to exploit the "recovery window." Burke suggests choosing a drink that delivers most of its protein in the form of whey, which has a higher concentration of branched-chain amino acids than any alternative and also digests faster.

LIQUID MUSCLE

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                      EAS              MET-RX          ABB MASS
                    MYOPLEX         PROTEIN PLUS       RECOVERY

Serving Size        11 oz.             15 oz.           18 oz.
Calories              200                190             380
Protein               20g                35g             35g
Carbohydrate          20g                4g              60g
Fat                  4.6g               3.5g             Zero
Price               $2.79              $2.99            $3.19
Flavors        Chocolate Fudge,    Chocolate Chai,   Fruit Punch,
                Chocolate Malt,     Smooth Berry,       Grape
                   Key Lime,       White Chocolate
               Orange-Pineapple,       Mousse
               Strawberry Cream

                 ATKINS        WORLDWIDE
                  SHAKE      RAPID RECOVERY

Serving Size     11 oz.          20 oz.
Calories           170            280
Protein            20g            35g
Carbohydrate       4g             25g
Fat                9g             Zero
Price            $2.79           $2.99
Flavors        Chocolate,     Fruit Punch,
               Strawberry,   Grape, Orange
                 Vanilla

COPYRIGHT 2002 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group