muscle mass when taken part of a strength/
cardiovascular training regimen.
A common question is, when should I
take my protein shake? If you could only
have one a day, it should be within about a
30-minute window of your strength-training
workout. Why you ask, because this is the
optimal window of time when your body will
synthesize proteins for maximum muscle
growth and repair, aka the best “gains.”
You should think about taking a minimum
of 20g of protein during this time period, but
in the case of protein, your body mass and age
can come into play here as well.
There are many different types and brands
of protein to choose from. As previously
discussed the most common is Whey protein.
The main difference from the stuff you can
purchase from Wal-Mart and the choices
you see in GNC is the “fluffers” The higher
end stuff such as brands like Muscletech and
Dymatize will commonly come with branch
chain amino acids, glutamine, and a variety
of other good vitamins. While your WalMart brand usually will not come with good
additives, though if it does, it tends to be a
lower quality product as well as it contains
unnecessary sugars and other non-essential
items. Now if you want to get serious about
your protein, pay the big bucks and get pure
whey isolate. Whey isolate has no fillers at all
and is as pure as it comes. Though it will cost
you, a 5-pound bag of whey will cost around
$35, while a 3-pound bag of isolate will cost
around
$50. Musceltech also has high quality
whey Isolate. When it comes to whey protein,
the majority of the stuff found in GNC and
The Vitamin Shop are relatively similar; it
really comes down to the taste of the product.
You can’t really go wrong with the product
itself, just stay away from Wal-Mart and food
supermarkets when purchasing your protein.
CREATINE
Now we get into the miracle “drug”
creatine. There is plenty of skepticism on this
supplement. Does it really work? Is it bad for
you? Yes it does work, and creatine is naturally
produced by the body, so it’s not bad for you
but too much of anything can be harmful.
Creatine taken in the right doses has plenty
of benefits.
Creatine is best known for its
improvement in strength performance. Some
studies even report an increase in lean body
mass. Individuals that take this supplement
are able to perform more “work” such as
lifting weights until failure, compared to
individuals that do not use it. Creatine
users also experience improvements and
sustainability in force and power output. So
in terms we can all understand, it makes you
stronger. You could say its one of the closest
supplements to steroids. Though unlike
steroids, creatine does not have the horrible
side affects, creatine is a superior supplement
that can’t be matched.
Though there is not an exact science on
how much to take, taking roughly a teaspoon
with your after workout protein shake is most
commonly used.
Optimum Nutrition would be the
company that is most well known for a quality
creatine. Though there are a plethora of
companies to choose from, I would stick with
the top-notch stuff when it comes to my “add
on” supplements. When it comes to creatine,
you can’t really go wrong when choosing a
brand, after all, the body makes it.
GLUTAMINE
Not as sexy as the two previous
supplements but just as important as a
lot of supplements you will hear about.
Glutamine is 1 of the 11 nonessential amino
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