Protein Drinks for Runners?

Caprica

Just got back into the gym in the last few weeks and have been surprised by the number of guys that I see taking Protein drinks/shakes. I'm kinda guessing they are working on building muscle but am wondering would they have any benefit for runners?

As part of my marathon training I would have normally taken a protein bar after my long run, do any of you incorporate protein drinks into your training regimes? Would it be something you take everyday?

RacoonQueen

If I do a tough session or a long run I'll make a fruit smoothie and throw in some natural whey protein plus some of those linwoods bags of ground nuts.

If I'm being lazy I'll have a provon revive sachet.

Definitely feel that it helps my recovery after long runs.

AntiVirus

I have a protein shake after any heavy exercise session, weights or running.

Ruu_Old

Chocolate milk is a cheap alternative if you don't want to buy whey powder.

rovers_runner

Avoid at all costs unless you want legs like a front row rugby player, you can always spot the women who take protein

ThisRegard

Protein recovery drinks are not what you're thinking of, they help muscle recovery, not muscle mass.

mloc123

rovers_runner wrote: »

Avoid at all costs unless you want legs like a front row rugby player, you can always spot the women who take protein

:rolleyes:

metamorphosis

rovers_runner wrote: »

Avoid at all costs unless you want legs like a front row rugby player, you can always spot the women who take protein

You realise that whey is just a by product of milk, right? It's just dairy, not a crazy muscle building powder! 'rugby player' legs like ya put it are the product of long term appropriate compound based strength work eating lots in simple terms.

After a hard session, regardless of a cycle, run, conditioning i like to blend milk, whey, greek yogurt and fruit of choice.

Or just some whey with milk and added glucose.

Chocolate mint whey for the win, although closely followed by strawberry cream.

rovers_runner

metamorphosis wrote: »

You realise that whey is just a by product of milk, right? It's just dairy, not a crazy muscle building powder! 'rugby player' legs like ya put it are the product of long term appropriate compound based strength work eating lots in simple terms.

After a hard session, regardless of a cycle, run, conditioning i like to blend milk, whey, greek yogurt and fruit of choice.

Or just some whey with milk and added glucose.

Chocolate mint whey for the win, although closely followed by strawberry cream.

Yes but how many litres of milk would you need to drink to get the content of a whey shake ?

Would you not agree that GAA/Rugby players more commonly tend to take a lot of whey / creatine which leads to larger leg muscle groups compared to say soccer/tennis/runners who wouldn't tend to focus on these products.

ThisRegard

Creatine is the key word there, that's used by GAA players I know that would be considered to have a athletic but not stocky build, on advice from the management team, to bulk up. Whey taken as a recovery drink would not do that, well at least if hasn't done so for me. My legs of steel and bum of granite comes from all the hard work I put in !

metamorphosis

No food will give you muscly legs! Regardless of the amount of protein/carb/fat etc.

The training combined with diet will! That goes for fat loss, weight gain, fat gain, muscle gain, muscle loss. Average portion of whey will contain 20-25gms protein, 100mls of milk has about 3.4gms protein, so to answer your question , a litre of milk has more gms protein than a portion of dry powdered whey!

IK09

i play soccer and work out maybe twice a week, i use reflex instant whey, its superb. cant recommend it highly enough. i used to struggle at work after a few days of training. Choc mint is delicious. Whey protein can be used to make muscles leaner, but is certainly not a mass building product.

Why not just try it and find out?

Haha i know i sound like a rep, but it really has given me the "next day" recovery that i needed without having to take two days off training!

Personally i use it straight after training, and then before i go to bed.

hope this helps

mloc123

rovers_runner wrote: »

Yes but how many litres of milk would you need to drink to get the content of a whey shake ?

Less than 1 litre, or eat maybe 1/2 chicken fillets?

mloc123

Anyway, nuitritionx brand is decent... good value and it mixes well.
I would have a shake each morning when I get up, 1 scoop and 200ml of milk.
I certainly feel like my recovery has improved since I started taking it 4-5 months ago.

plodder

I drink skim milk after long runs, which is good enough for me. But, as I understand it, milk protein is mostly casein which takes longer to digest than whey. And there's presumably a benefit in having digested protein available quicker. So, it's probably not a bad idea to make/take recovery drinks with extra whey in them, but whether it actually makes any difference or not, I don't know. Also, I wouldn't see the point in taking these drinks at any other time, since the body doesn't store protein afaik.