Protein Shakes - When to take?

[Hiromitsu11]

Recently got back in to working out and have just bought some whey protein from myprotein.com to help things along

Was just wondering when is the best time to take these shakes. If working out in the evening, is there any benefit in having a shake breakfast time or is this a waste of time? And should a shake be drunk before or after a workout and how long before/after?

[Pete102]

I take straight after exercise...might be the placebo effect but I feel better in the morning. If you want a long lasting night time snack take one with milk before bed.

[Ordinary_Chap]

Taking a shake in the morning can be helpful if you've done weights on previous days as it means you have the protein available for recovery.

I usually, have one before breakfast, after training (45 minute window after exercise when its most needed) and before bed.

Although this is on the basis of lots of heavy lifting, this maybe overkill if you're not training that hard.

[MrAdaam]

All the shake is there to do is provide protein which you otherwise could not get through the diet. I find them helpful at any time of the day. You don't need to have them directly after training although that is, I find, the norm. If you can, try and hit protein volumes through diet though as I imagine you could get many more benefits from this.

[Ordinary_Chap]

MrAdaam said:

All the shake is there to do is provide protein which you otherwise could not get through the diet. I find them helpful at any time of the day. You don't need to have them directly after training although that is, I find, the norm. If you can, try and hit protein volumes through diet though as I imagine you could get many more benefits from this.

I agree with what you're saying mostly although there is a strong body of research that shows immediately after exercise it is very useful for recovery and I'm talking about quality research as opposed to peoples ideas on what works.

Here is an interesting article on timing; http://ajpendo.physiology.org/content/280/6/E982.f...

I use protein as its convenient and means a lot less food although the best form of protein are still eggs and milk can be useful although it can contain a lot of fat and calories.

I was watching someone doing the milk & squats routine the other day which I've not seen for a while!

[Ultuous]

Ordinary_Chap said:

I agree with what you're saying mostly although there is a strong body of research that shows immediately after exercise it is very useful for recovery and I'm talking about quality research as opposed to peoples ideas on what works.

Rightly or wrongly I go by the same belief too - I do try to get the bulk of my Protein from diet, but I'll take a supplement straight after a workout to boost my intake early on in the recovery process!

[rog007]

Assuming a healthy diet (otherwise training is wasted) and training is of an intense nature; protein shake immediately after training to replenish and one before bed to feed on during the fasting period when we are asleep. Good luck!

[Tiggsy]

Everyone is right. You need protein (in simple terms) in two ways. As a constant source for the body and as a hit father training. Doing this via food alone is hard work do shakes allow you to fill gaps between meals or top up low protein meals and also get an easy hit after work outs.