What protein after workout?

runswithascript

Started at the gym recently and it was suggested to me I get some sort of protein shake to have shortly after working out. They sell a lot of them at the gym but I don't want to ask them about it in case they have to be biased towards what the gym sell.

Would I be better off grilling two chicken/turkey breasts ( tasty! ) and taking them with me or would it work out just as cheap and/or better protein to go with a shake? If so what shake? Where in Dublin can I get a good price and how much am I looking at paying?

Oh if relevant, the aim of the workout is to tone and gain mass. I'm 5' 11", 175lbs, and I think my BMI is 20. Also, I've only started training.

paky

whats your current diet like? Im trying to get to your weight !!

whey protein is the best and most popular. it varies in price but still is expensive i think EAS is one of the best deals for quantity and protein serving

jt_dublin

LA3G,
If you are doing a weights workout then you will need more than protein afterwards. There is plenty of advice in the Supplements sticky at the top of this forum. In the very first post G'em talks about Post-Workout shakes. These are normally 2 parts fast-acting carbs such as dextrose & 1 part protein. If cost is an issue, then you can buy dextrose cheaply and add it to your own protein shake.

I have been using supplements from Irish company Nutrition X for 4 years and find them great. There are plenty of recommendations in the stickies for other supplement companies. Here are a good value protein & recovery shake from another Irish company, The Supplement Factory.
http://www.thesupplementfactory.com/p1/Whey_5lbs/product_info.html

http://www.thesupplementfactory.com/p5/Recovery_3.3lbs/product_info.html

You will also need to eat a good meal within about an hour after training too.

You also say that you have just started training. If you are new to weightlifting I would invest in a few sessions with a personal trainer. They will discuss your goals, put some routines together for you and show you correct technique which will also minimise your chance of injury. To tone up and gain mass they should include plenty of compound lifts. We've all seen the guy who spends most of his session doing bicep curls!

Good luck.

runswithascript

paky wrote: »

whats your current diet like? Im trying to get to your weight !!

Well for a long time it was a large fry for breakfast, ham salad sandwich for lunch and chicken stir fry for dinner! Although now for breakfast I usually have weetabix, a banana, boiled egg and toast

whey protein is the best and most popular. it varies in price but still is expensive i think EAS is one of the best deals for quantity and protein serving

Cheers, EAS?

jt_dublin wrote: »

LA3G,
If you are doing a weights workout then you will need more than protein afterwards. There is plenty of advice in the Supplements sticky at the top of this forum. In the very first post G'em talks about Post-Workout shakes. These are normally 2 parts fast-acting carbs such as dextrose & 1 part protein. If cost is an issue, then you can buy dextrose cheaply and add it to your own protein shake.

I have been using supplements from Irish company Nutrition X for 4 years and find them great. There are plenty of recommendations in the stickies for other supplement companies. Here are a good value protein & recovery shake from another Irish company, The Supplement Factory.
http://www.thesupplementfactory.com/p1/Whey_5lbs/product_info.html

http://www.thesupplementfactory.com/p5/Recovery_3.3lbs/product_info.html

Thanks, will give them all a look including the stickies.

You will also need to eat a good meal within about an hour after training too.

When you say a good meal, it will usually be lunch time for me by the time I'm home after the gym and I'd have two white bread sandwiches, ham, cheese, tomato, lettuce, onion/coleslaw, mustard and butter - I could replace the ham with a grilled chicken breast? Most evenings I have chicken breast stir fry with a portion of noodles and a lot of fresh vegetables, so should I look at having my dinner at lunch time instead? Perhaps replacing noodles with brown rice or pasta?

You also say that you have just started training. If you are new to weightlifting I would invest in a few sessions with a personal trainer. They will discuss your goals, put some routines together for you and show you correct technique which will also minimise your chance of injury. To tone up and gain mass they should include plenty of compound lifts. We've all seen the guy who spends most of his session doing bicep curls!

Yeah my membership included an initial 30 min session and then I get a few more over the next month and then they're monthly but I could look at getting more for €35 each at some point.

I won't have this exact because it's on a card at the gym but every second day I'm to basically:

Warmup on bike >> 10 min - Enter my weight - Level 5 (not sure if this is standard with all bikes) - keeping BPI ~120

12 x 4 bench presses (20 second break between)

20 x 4 d-lat Pull down (I think it's called)

12 x 4 cable bench presses

15 mins on what I think is called the Arc-something (it has pedals and handles) - every 2 mins 120-140 BPI then for 30 seconds 140-160 BPI and repeat

Warmdown on bike >> 10 min - Enter my weight - Level 5 - keeping BPI ~120

Shower and 20 min walk home.

I think I was told I need to get my BMI down from 20 to 15 before building muscle or something similar, I really need to start writing this stuff down

paky

if you wanna gain serious muscle, eat six meals a day with at least 25-30gs of protein at each meal. you will look like an animal after 6 weeks

jt_dublin

LA3G wrote: »

I think I was told I need to get my BMI down from 20 to 15 before building muscle or something similar, I really need to start writing this stuff down

175 lbs at 5' 11" isn't exactly overweight, so I would hit the weights good & hard right now. Your current weight routine probably only takes about 20 minutes. I would be looking to at least double that and to expand your routine so that each week all bodyparts have been worked at least once. Book a few more sessions with the trainer and ask him to put 2 or 3 good routines together for you which include compound moves such as squats, deadlifts, pull ups etc..

You might consider doing your warmup on a rowing machine rather than the bike as it will warm up the upper body muscles as well.

The Arc machine sounds like a Cross Trainer, and you are doing HIIT (High Intersity Interval Training). This is very effective cardio. Could you do cardio at different times to weight training? Then you can give 100% of your energy to the weights. At most I will do 10 minutes of incline walking on the treadmill after weights.

If you increase the duration & intensity of your weights workout, I would definitely consider a recovery shake. Your post-workout meal should have better quality protein & carbs. This is the one of the most important meals as your body is trying to repair the muscles that you've just ripped apart in the gym! Go for good quality protein such as chicken or tuna, and go for wholemeal bread (not the stuff that looks like white bread that has been dyed brown!!)

Would agree with you on the noodles. The quality varies a lot. I would go with the brown rice or wholewheat pasta. I usually buy the Uncle Bens brown rice (loose, not the boil in the bag) as it has been partly pre-cooked, it only takes 10 minutes to cook and seems to be much softer. Normal brown rice takes about 25 minutes to cook and always seems to have a hard texture.

Look at getting some good fats in too. Nuts (walnuts, almonds), avocados, fish-oils.

I use http://www.fitday.com to track my foods & workouts. It will track your calories and give you a breakdown of carbs, protein & fat as well.

KevinH

LA3G wrote: »

Started at the gym recently and it was suggested to me I get some sort of protein shake to have shortly after working out. They sell a lot of them at the gym but I don't want to ask them about it in case they have to be biased towards what the gym sell.

Would I be better off grilling two chicken/turkey breasts ( tasty! ) and taking them with me or would it work out just as cheap and/or better protein to go with a shake? If so what shake? Where in Dublin can I get a good price and how much am I looking at paying?

Oh if relevant, the aim of the workout is to tone and gain mass. I'm 5' 11", 175lbs, and I think my BMI is 20. Also, I've only started training.

Most supplements are a total waste of money.

Just eat more than usual (good food!) and you'll get bigger. Start drinking more milk too.

Who advised you to start taking supplements ?

jt_dublin

I agree that getting your nutrition from good wholesome foods is much more preferable but immediately after an intense weights workout, your body needs some simple carbs & protein to start replacing glycogen and to help repair the muscle fibres you've hopefully shredded during your workout. I use one of the recovery shakes, mainly for its convenience. There are whole food alternatives but it's just not as easy to prepare them immediately post-workout in the gym.

runswithascript

Thanks for all the input.

At the gym today they offered me Maximuscle Promax 908g/30 servings for €44.10 but said that I should go with BSN Syntha-6 (1320g) for €53.10 because it uses "matrix whey".

What do you guys think? I'm sure I can get the cheaper online somewhere and possibly somewhere that will do free delivery, but are the products any better than what's been suggested to me already within this thread?

jt_dublin

LA3G,

A matrix protein usually contains a number of different protein sources that release at different stages, whey usually being the fastest released and casein being the slowest. I use Nutrition X Pro-Matrix as it suits me for both day time & night time use.

BSN Syntha 6 has less protein and a lot more carbs & fat than some other products. Compare it to the Nutrition X Pro-Matrix and you will see quite a difference. Compare it per 100 grams rather than per serving as their serving sizes may be different.

Then compare the price as well. I get Pro Matrix for around Eur 48.60 per tub (when I buy 2 & includes free delivery). Each tub contains 2270g. You say Syntha 6 costs Eur 51.30 for 1320g. Doing some quick maths, Syntha6 costs 38.80 per kg, while Pro-Matrix only costs 21.40 per kg. Big difference!

Those full-page glossy adverts for Syntha 6 in Muscle & Fitness cost a lot of money and that gets passed on to you, the consumer!

runswithascript

jt_dublin wrote: »

LA3G,

A matrix protein usually contains a number of different protein sources that release at different stages, whey usually being the fastest released and casein being the slowest. I use Nutrition X Pro-Matrix as it suits me for both day time & night time use.

BSN Syntha 6 has less protein and a lot more carbs & fat than some other products. Compare it to the Nutrition X Pro-Matrix and you will see quite a difference. Compare it per 100 grams rather than per serving as their serving sizes may be different.

Then compare the price as well. I get Pro Matrix for around Eur 48.60 per tub (when I buy 2 & includes free delivery). Each tub contains 2270g. You say Syntha 6 costs Eur 51.30 for 1320g. Doing some quick maths, Syntha6 costs 38.80 per kg, while Pro-Matrix only costs 21.40 per kg. Big difference!

Those full-page glossy adverts for Syntha 6 in Muscle & Fitness cost a lot of money and that gets passed on to you, the consumer!

Hehe, I actually found vitaminshop.ie were selling Syntha-6 for €32 and I was going to drop into there place in Dublin tomorrow for it but I'll order Nurtrition X Pro-Matrix from http://nutritionx.ie/ instead.

For the moment I'll just go with one tub for €56 (free delivery on orders over €25) instead of two at @ €48.80. I like that these guys take laser.

I'm going to email them now and ask if I can get one of the shaker bottles they ship with the likes of their Beginners Stack because I don't see it advertised individually. Also, that stack comes with RAM but i don't need that just yet right?

Finally, are you certain Pro-Matrix is okay for me? I know I said I'm only 175lbs @ 5'11" and I am slim but I'm not really toned at all and do have a belly? I just don't want to take the wrong product for my body type and the length of time I've been at the gym - today was day 3

jt_dublin

LA3G wrote: »

Also, that stack comes with RAM but i don't need that just yet right?

RAM is a recovery shake. As mentioned before, if you do intensive weights it is recommended to consume some fast acting carbs & protein as soon as possible after training, whether it's from whole foods or supplements like this.

LA3G wrote: »

Finally, are you certain Pro-Matrix is okay for me? I know I said I'm only 175lbs @ 5'11" and I am slim but I'm not really toned at all and do have a belly? I just don't want to take the wrong product for my body type and the length of time I've been at the gym - today was day 3

Pro-matrix is ok for you, but it wont do anything for your tone or belly! You will have to take care of that with plenty hard work in the gym, and a clean diet in the kitchen. I take a scoop at night before going to bed. This is to provide amino acids to feed the muscles while sleeping. I take another scoop first thing in the morning to get the body back into an anabolic state. This just suits me as I wait until I get to work to have my breakfast, a large bowl of yummy porridge with honey & walnuts

ps. Dont know if you've chosen any flavours yet but the Pro-Matrix Coconut flavour & RAM Orange flavour are the biz!

runswithascript

jt_dublin wrote: »

RAM is a recovery shake. As mentioned before, if you do intensive weights it is recommended to consume some fast acting carbs & protein as soon as possible after training, whether it's from whole foods or supplements like this.

Pro-matrix is ok for you, but it wont do anything for your tone or belly!

Hold on, the reason I'm asking about this is because the trainer said I need to ingest protein 30 minutes after work out - is Pro-matrix suitable for this or is RAM better?

I will pick up porridge, walnuts and honey tomorrow. I'm bored with weetabix and banana

jt_dublin

Yes, do you need to ingest protein within about 30 minutes of your workout, and if you've done an intensive weights workout, you will also need fast release carbs. You can do this thru a recovery shake. RAM has 2 parts simple carbs (dextrose) to 1 part protein, or you can get your simple carb thru whole foods. You could also just add 60 grams of dextrose to 30 grams of your protein powder.

Carbs will be used by your body to restore muscle glycogen. If your post workout meal doesn't contain fast release carbs, your body may actually instead break down muscle tissue for this same purpose.

runswithascript

So for me to take 30 mins after workout, RAM or Promatrix? I do some weights, it's not intense compared to others I see at the gym but it will start to pick up...

TommyKnocker

Hi LA3G

In my honest opinion, you need to ignore the gym trainer for the monent and forget about protein (all) supplements.

You stated you have only been going to the gym for 3 days now and your stated goal is to gain some mass and "tone".

Protein, Creatine, Glutamine, BCAA's etc all come under the banner "Supplements" and the clue is in the name. This powders and potions, while they have their place, should be used to supplement an already good diet.

So IMHO what you should do is post up your workout routine(s) and a typical days food intake (warts and all, everything that passes your lips in an average day) and seek advice on whether what you have posted is condusive to your stated goals. Get the basics right first before you move into supplementation. Supplements are not magic potions. They may help, but, you need to have the basics in place to build on.

As a noob, you will make fairy good gains at the start without any supplements, once you get your training, diet and rest sorted.

Then for the next few weeks/months read up on the various supplements available and why they are used. Weigh up what benefits they provide against cost and any possible side effets. Then make a decision as to whether you think you will benefit for taking them. You will find lots of useful information on the different supplements in both the supplement thread and also the stickies at the top of the page.

This is just my opinion for what it's worth.


Best Regards,

M

Transform

B-Builder wrote: »

Hi LA3G

In my honest opinion, you need to ignore the gym trainer for the monent and forget about protein (all) supplements.

You stated you have only been going to the gym for 3 days now and your stated goal is to gain some mass and "tone".

Protein, Creatine, Glutamine, BCAA's etc all come under the banner "Supplements" and the clue is in the name. This powders and potions, while they have their place, should be used to supplement an already good diet.

So IMHO what you should do is post up your workout routine(s) and a typical days food intake (warts and all, everything that passes your lips in an average day) and seek advice on whether what you have posted is condusive to your stated goals. Get the basics right first before you move into supplementation. Supplements are not magic potions. They may help, but, you need to have the basics in place to build on.

As a noob, you will make fairy good gains at the start without any supplements, once you get your training, diet and rest sorted.

Then for the next few weeks/months read up on the various supplements available and why there are used. Weigh up what benefits they provide against cost and any possible side effets. Then make a decision as to whether you think you will benefit for taking them. You will find lots of useful information on the different supplements in both the supplement thread and also the stickies at the top of the page.

This is just my opinion for what it's worth.


Best Regards,

M

what he said +1

The Guvnor

LA3G wrote: »

12 x 4 bench presses (20 second break between)

20 x 4 d-lat Pull down (I think it's called)

12 x 4 cable bench presses

Some good adive for you mate in the thread.

I would suggest 20 second break in between is not enough. More like 1-2 minutes.

Also when you write 12 x 4 we/I would assume you are doing 12 sets of 4 reps. I guess you are doing 4 sets of 12 reps as in 4 x 12?

Keep at it mate.