Protine Shakes

MarkDPC

Hey All,

Name's Mark. I been playing rugby for the past few years and wasn't really taking it seriously until i came back this year. Were playing in Div 3 of the Leinster league. I've been going to the gym a couple of nights a week. Its helped but i need to bulk up a good bit. I was wondering if any of you out there have used protine shakes? I would like to hear from your experiences from using it, pro's and cons really? How often you should take it, what lifts to be doing in the gym etc...

Sound
Mark.

marathonic

There’s no real answer to your question without analysing your diet. Protein shakes are just a food source – similar to a chicken breast or tin of tuna.

If you’re getting enough protein in your normal diet, then there’s no real need for protein shakes. You should really be getting at least 1.5 – 2 grams of protein in your diet for every lb of lean body mass. If you aren’t getting this in your typical daily diet, then protein shakes are a good option to make up the difference.

It’s also good to get a good, fast absorbing protein into the system within a half hour of your gym session. This is where I find protein shakes handy – it’s a lot easier to carry a shaker with protein powder to the gym and just add water after your session than it is to have some chicken or fish post-workout.

Also, don’t use protein shakes as an excuse to eat rubbish in the rest of your diet. The shakes should make up any small shortcoming in your diet as opposed to becoming the most heavily relied on source of protein.

Don’t get sucked into the marketing tactics of companies like Maximuscle. The bulk providers such as www.myprotein.com are just as good and you’ll be paying for a quality product as opposed to subsidising the huge marketing budget of the big companies.

Regarding when to take them, post-workout is the best time that springs to mind. Depending on your calorie requirements and how many shakes you intend to take, before bed and upon wakening are other options.

Protein is used to help repair the muscle that you will be breaking down during your workouts so the obvious advantages are that your muscles will have what they need to grow and repair and most people will have less DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) and will, therefore, be more ready when their next training session comes around.

If you’re using myProtein, you can use my discount code which is MP289427. This will get you 5% off your first order. Other online retailers include www.ironscience.co.uk, http://www.bodybuildingwarehouse.co.uk and www.bulkpowders.co.uk.

MarkDPC

Thanks very much for that man, I'll take it on borad.

Cheers