17 Year old wants to start whey protein

My son is 17 in 1 month. He is slender and fit (outdoors person and plays soccer). He is just about to take out 6 months gym membership and said he wants to buy whey protein.
He is impulsive and I know nothing really about whey protein except it's used for muscle building.
Does he need to have a good workout regime in place before starting the protein or what should he be doing? Should I tell him to hold off with the protein?
As an added factor, he is just going into 6th year at school so it's not like he will be in the gym every night.

Zillah

Whey is just protein. It's not a drug, a stimulant or anything exotic like that. It's just protein that is left over from processing of milk. At his age lifting weights and taking in some extra protein is a great idea, hormonally he is primed to take advantage of it. Whey won't cause muscle growth on its own. Lifting weights is what signals the muscles to grow, the protein is just the fuel/building blocks that the muscles use when they try to grow - you're largely wasting your time lifting weights unless you have a high protein diet and eat a small calorie excess.

Most people have 2-4 scoops in a day, as long as he doesn't take tons of the stuff it will be nothing but good for him. Also buy it online somewhere like myprotein.ie, you'll get the exact same thing for twice the price at the gym.

conzy

This thread may as well say "17 year old wants to start chicken fillets"

Whey protein is just a dairy source of protein. It is not a steroid or any different from whole food protein sources.

I can guarantee you that even with the whey protein his protein intake will not be high enough.

A typical day of eating for him protein wise should look like:

4 eggs
2 small chicken fillets
A 200g round steak
2 more small chicken fillets
A scoop of whey

+ all his other foods.. If his diet does not look like the above then the one scoop of whey a day is a waste of time to be honest

Thanks for the replies, obviously taking the protein would be pointless if he is not doing the proper exercises in the gym or so I assume.
He starts back soccer training tonight and if he starts a good regime in the gym then I will get the protein for him.
Is it much cheaper online than in Holland & Barrett?
Anyone know a good website I could show him that will give advise and guidance on a workout regime?

KTRIC

Deleted User wrote: »

Thanks for the replies, obviously taking the protein would be pointless if he is not doing the proper exercises in the gym or so I assume.
He starts back soccer training tonight and if he starts a good regime in the gym then I will get the protein for him.
Is it much cheaper online than in Holland & Barrett?
Anyone know a good website I could show him that will give advise and guidance on a workout regime?

Drop the "taking the protein" part. Its just a supplement if you're not getting enough protein in your diet from other sources. It would be the same as someone saying they're taking chicken :rolleyes:

Zillah

Deleted User wrote: »

Is it much cheaper online than in Holland & Barrett?

It costs two to three times as much in somewhere like Holland Barrett. Don't trust those guys any further than you can throw them. This is what you need:
http://ie.myprotein.com/sports-nutrition/impact-whey-protein/10530943.html

It's hard to guess on the flavours, every one has different tastes. The plain is quite bland and slightly odd tasting so I would recommend one of the flavoured ones. I liked raspberry. Vanilla isn't bad but it tastes very very sweet. They add cocoa to the chocolate one so it has less protein per scoop so you get less bang for your buck.

Obviously he will only really develop muscle is he's lifting weights, but protein supplementation can be very useful for getting the most out of soccer practice. It could help his legs get stronger for example, especially if he's not getting a large amount of protein in his diet already.

As for where to learn, there are tons of resources online if he's the kind that can go off and do his own research. Can't go wrong with the Starting Strength programme:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=998224

You could also get him a personal trainer for an introductory hour for 20-25 quid to show him how to do a bunch of the right exercises and outline a programme for him. He could see them again after, say, a week and then after a month to see how he is getting on and to teach him some more advanced stuff.

It is something that will take time and energy and there is a lot of learning required to do it properly. Tossing some weights around without really knowing what you're doing and then drinking some whey is a great way to waste both time and money.

BigProblem

Zillah wrote: »

It costs two to three times as much in somewhere like Holland Barrett. Don't trust those guys any further than you can throw them. This is what you need:
http://ie.myprotein.com/sports-nutrition/impact-whey-protein/10530943.html

It's hard to guess on the flavours, every one has different tastes. The plain is quite bland and slightly odd tasting so I would recommend one of the flavoured ones. I liked raspberry. Vanilla isn't bad but it tastes very very sweet. They add cocoa to the chocolate one so it has less protein per scoop so you get less bang for your buck.

Obviously he will only really develop muscle is he's lifting weights, but protein supplementation can be very useful for getting the most out of soccer practice. It could help his legs get stronger for example, especially if he's not getting a large amount of protein in his diet already.

As for where to learn, there are tons of resources online if he's the kind that can go off and do his own research. Can't go wrong with the Starting Strength programme:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=998224

You could also get him a personal trainer for an introductory hour for 20-25 quid to show him how to do a bunch of the right exercises and outline a programme for him. He could see them again after, say, a week and then after a month to see how he is getting on and to teach him some more advanced stuff.

It is something that will take time and energy and there is a lot of learning required to do it properly. Tossing some weights around without really knowing what you're doing and then drinking some whey is a great way to waste both time and money.

sorry for hi-jacking this post - i am also thinking about starting to take whey protein also - i was wondering how long would a pouch of whey 1kg last? would you buy a couple of pouches at a time?

Essien

BigProblem wrote: »

sorry for hi-jacking this post - i am also thinking about starting to take whey protein also - i was wondering how long would a pouch of whey 1kg last? would you buy a couple of pouches at a time?

Not trying to be smart but that depends on how much you take. Typically, scoops are 25-30g, so just do the maths based on how often you'd take it.

I've got a couple of 2.5kg bags from myprotein that appeared bottomless for a while, they just lasted ages! I was taking 30-50g most days too.

conzy

Deleted User wrote: »

Thanks for the replies, obviously taking the protein would be pointless if he is not doing the proper exercises in the gym or so I assume.
He starts back soccer training tonight and if he starts a good regime in the gym then I will get the protein for him.
Is it much cheaper online than in Holland & Barrett?
Anyone know a good website I could show him that will give advise and guidance on a workout regime?

Some kind of program based on heavy compound movements. The Jason Blaha 5x5 program is ideal, It has solid linear progression compound movements and the right amount of accessory work

Inspector Coptoor

conzy wrote: »

This thread may as well say "17 year old wants to start chicken fillets"

Whey protein is just a dairy source of protein. It is not a steroid or any different from whole food protein sources.

I can guarantee you that even with the whey protein his protein intake will not be high enough.

A typical day of eating for him protein wise should look like:

4 eggs
2 small chicken fillets
A 200g round steak
2 more small chicken fillets
A scoop of whey

+ all his other foods.. If his diet does not look like the above then the one scoop of whey a day is a waste of time to be honest

200g of protein per day for the average 17 year old weighing ~70kg?

conzy

I was shooting more for 170g or so with that example.

IMO you can't have too much protein in your diet, better to overshoot than undershoot. someone that age training hard trying to put on some mass will probably be eating 3500 calories. eating 800 calories of that from protein is fine. Having a high protein intake also tends to lead to better food choices. e.g whole foods instead of pizzas

generic2012

Very hard to undershoot protein when at a caloric surplus. Not because you'll eat loads by default but because the body doesn't need as much. An active 17 year old who plays soccer and wants to start using the gym should be worrying about getting enough calories in.

+1 on Jason Blaha's ICF5x5.

Mellor

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Thanks for the replies, obviously taking the protein would be pointless if he is not doing the proper exercises in the gym or so I assume.

You need protein whether or not you go to the gym. I'd imagine you've been feeding him protein his whole life

Guffy

Mellor wrote: »

You need protein whether or not you go to the gym. I'd imagine you've been feeding him protein his whole life

Enabler

mickman

i wouldnt go around saying that taking whey protein is the same as eating chicken

firstly, a chicken fillet is a whole food , whey protein is very processed.

Secondly - the list of ingredients on whey protein is very very long

thirdly - a 17 year old would not need to take whey protein at all.

i know chicken fillets can be from badly raised chickens etc but tell your son to go to a farmers market and load up on free range chicken and leave the crappy processed protein on the shelf

Mellor

mickman wrote: »

firstly, a chicken fillet is a whole food , whey protein is very processed.

Whey is a natural byproduct of turning milk into cheese. The processing in filtering and drying. I'm comfortable with that.

Secondly - the list of ingredients on whey protein is very very long

Not really. I've two bags in the press.
The ingredients list for natural whey is "whey protein". In the flavoured whey, it's "whey, flavouring and sweetener". The only other addition might be trace amounts of soy lecithin.

Don't confuse whey protein with various protein/mass shakes in which whey is an ingredient.

thirdly - a 17 year old would not need to take whey protein at all.

Nobody "needs" whey. It's purely a convenience . People need to stop treating it as if it's an anabolic hormone

Don't do it. It's a gateway supplement. If he takes it soon enough he'll be looking to get on to creatine, and that's a dark, lonely road.

OP here. Well considering all the posts..... He doesn't get enough protein in his diet for the amount of exercise he does with soccer 2 to 3 times a week and the gym a few times a week.
Am getting him the whey protein as a dietary supplement from myprotein. I do not see it as a gateway to creatinine or other supplements. He went through a bad time over the last couple of years and is out the other side now. Focusing on soccer and the gym with his friends will be good for him and taking a supplement like whey protein is not going to do any harm.
He got a good bit of advice from his soccer coach and the trainers in the gym.

gavinhenson

Zillah wrote: »

Whey is just protein. It's not a drug, a stimulant or anything exotic like that. It's just protein that is left over from processing of milk. At his age lifting weights and taking in some extra protein is a great idea, hormonally he is primed to take advantage of it. Whey won't cause muscle growth on its own. Lifting weights is what signals the muscles to grow, the protein is just the fuel/building blocks that the muscles use when they try to grow - you're largely wasting your time lifting weights unless you have a high protein diet and eat a small calorie excess.

Most people have 2-4 scoops in a day, as long as he doesn't take tons of the stuff it will be nothing but good for him. Also buy it online somewhere like myprotein.ie, you'll get the exact same thing for twice the price at the gym.

What this man said!

Deleted User

Deleted User wrote: »

OP here. Well considering all the posts..... He doesn't get enough protein in his diet for the amount of exercise he does with soccer 2 to 3 times a week and the gym a few times a week.
Am getting him the whey protein as a dietary supplement from myprotein. I do not see it as a gateway to creatinine or other supplements. He went through a bad time over the last couple of years and is out the other side now. Focusing on soccer and the gym with his friends will be good for him and taking a supplement like whey protein is not going to do any harm.
He got a good bit of advice from his soccer coach and the trainers in the gym.

By the way, I was joking with my above comment! Whey is completely harmless, as is creatine—they're both beneficial, if anything. No need for any concern.

gavinhenson

gvn wrote: »

Don't do it. It's a gateway supplement. If he takes it soon enough he'll be looking to get on to creatine, and that's a dark, lonely road.

May I ask why it is a dark, lonely road?

gavinhenson

gavinhenson wrote: »

May I ask why it is a dark, lonely road?

You've never found yourself in a dingy hotel room shoveling spoons of creatine into your mouth at 5:30 in the morning?

I'm joking, by the way... Read my above reply:

gvn wrote: »

By the way, I was joking with my above comment! Whey is completely harmless, as is creatine—they're both beneficial, if anything. No need for any concern.

gavinhenson

gvn wrote: »

You've never found yourself in a dingy hotel room shoveling spoons of creatine into your mouth at 5:30 in the morning?

I'm joking, by the way... Read my above reply:

Sorry, didn't see the your other comment

And yes, I've been to rehab three times for BCAA addiction, just can't kick the habit!

mickman

[Deleted User] wrote: »

OP here. Well considering all the posts..... He doesn't get enough protein in his diet for the amount of exercise he does with soccer 2 to 3 times a week and the gym a few times a week.
Am getting him the whey protein as a dietary supplement from myprotein. I do not see it as a gateway to creatinine or other supplements. He went through a bad time over the last couple of years and is out the other side now. Focusing on soccer and the gym with his friends will be good for him and taking a supplement like whey protein is not going to do any harm.
He got a good bit of advice from his soccer coach and the trainers in the gym.

Fair enough. If he has had a tough time then go for it. It's not bad or anything, it's just concentrated and processed - it won't kill him

JJayoo

Just buy some impact whey protein from myprotein. There is a 15% discount code for Irish customers. Also pick up a shaker cup. Scoop of whey + scoop of oats + milk + banana = good gym nutrition.

JJayoo

JJayoo wrote: »

Just buy some impact whey protein from myprotein. There is a 15% discount code for Irish customers. Also pick up a shaker cup. Scoop of whey + scoop of oats + milk + banana = good gym nutrition.

Thanks, where do you get the discount code?

Alf Veedersane

Deleted User wrote: »

Thanks, where do you get the discount code?

It's groupie15.

JJayoo

Yup as above. Just make sure the code works before you proceed with payment. One good thing about a family member becoming interested in gyming is that it makes birthday/xmas presents sooooo easy