Workout Shake Before or After?

Diet and Nutrition
1

long story short, I,ve been lifting for about 3 years, and have gotten very serious this past year. Anyways until now i haven’t used any supplements. As i was browsing through the vitamin shop I baught some Gold Standard 100% Whey protein. I got about 30 servings in it and want to utilize it as best as I can.

Here’s my question…Is it more beneficial to have my protein shake before or after lifting. My gut tells me after but I just wanted a few opinions from you guys who have been using whey protein.

2

I usually do both but if I had to pick one I’d take it before. It’s one of the few things, along with making sure I’m hydrated, that noticeably affects my performance. Note that I’ve been training for soccer and not to gain weight.

3

Austin,

I’ve been using the 100% ‘Natural’ for over a year with very good results. I do a pre and post shake and use the Zero Impact for the night time shake as it has three different proteins to carry me through the night.

I’d suggest the 5 lbs in the Natural version. It has Stevia instead of Sucrolose. Its a ‘cleaner’ protein all around. The 5 lbs has 72 servings.

I also do;

Flax seed [ground up in coffee grinder]
Creatine [which helped me all around]
Glutamine
BCAA
Carlson fish oil
Vit C
Barley grass

Not every one of the above is in every shake though. Depends on pre, post or night time.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions I can help with.

4

[quote]TRAJJ wrote:
Austin,

I’ve been using the 100% ‘Natural’ for over a year with very good results. I do a pre and post shake and use the Zero Impact for the night time shake as it has three different proteins to carry me through the night.

I’d suggest the 5 lbs in the Natural version. It has Stevia instead of Sucrolose. Its a ‘cleaner’ protein all around. The 5 lbs has 72 servings.

I also do;

Flax seed [ground up in coffee grinder]
Creatine [which helped me all around]
Glutamine
BCAA
Carlson fish oil
Vit C
Barley grass

Not every one of the above is in every shake though. Depends on pre, post or night time.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions I can help with.[/quote]

Thx for the detailed help. Personally I have glutamine and BCAA combined in my whey protein powder. Typically I lift an 1 hour to an hour and 1/2 after dinner. I usually get a good amount of protein in dinner. I’m kind of tight on the cash flow, so i want to use my monthly store of whey protein sparingly. Do you think a postworkout shake would do, or am i short changing myself. Also which do you feel is more important, consuming protein before i lift, or after i lift. Thx again.

5

If your on a budget just stick to having your whey after your workout. The protein from your dinner will still be digesting whilst you workout, so save your gold standard for after your training session. Being 100% whey isolates/concentrates/hydrolysates, and not any slower digesting protein blends such as egg white or micellar casein, it will be absorbed rapidly, again warranting best use post workout.

Chuck in some carbs with it such as a dextrose/oat blend, and it’ll be even better. From memory post-workout nutrition is more important then pre-workout, and in an ideal world you’d have both.

6

[quote]Sentinal wrote:
If your on a budget just stick to having your whey after your workout. The protein from your dinner will still be digesting whilst you workout, so save your gold standard for after your training session. Being 100% whey isolates/concentrates/hydrolysates, and not any slower digesting protein blends such as egg white or micellar casein, it will be absorbed rapidly, again warranting best use post workout.

Chuck in some carbs with it such as a dextrose/oat blend, and it’ll be even better. From memory post-workout nutrition is more important then pre-workout, and in an ideal world you’d have both.[/quote]

i figured this, and from all the info ive read i did rmember tht adding having exra carbs w/ your protein is beneficial. thx.

7

From many sources that I’ve researched, pre workout should be 25 grams of protein and 40 grams of carbs. Food is always the best choice, so your dinner is an excellent source as long as it has something of the above balance. So your pre-workout nutrition should be covered.

I’d throw in the BCAA at or after dinner as well. I’ve been advises by a professional trainer/competitor to do the glutamine after the workout and not before.

Post workout would be your ‘whey’ time. As mentioned above, some good carbs would be adviseable then as well. The whey does assimilate quickly, say 1 1/2 hours or so. It isn’t the best choice for a night time shake as it won’t carry you through the night, but post workout it is great. Your whey has about 5.5 grams of BCAA as well which is great.

Either in food or some form of suppliment I’d make sure to get enough calcium and magnesium. Otherwise you may start to get some leg cramps at night. Potasium as well, just eat a bannana and you should be good to go. As always, food is the better source over suppliments as the body recognizes it better. I’ve read studies where 1mg of Vit C from a whole food source is equal to 100mg of synthetic Vit C such as ascorbic acid.

Just ‘food for thought’ no pun intended lol. :slight_smile:

8

[quote]TRAJJ wrote:
From many sources that I’ve researched, pre workout should be 25 grams of protein and 40 grams of carbs.

I’ve read studies where 1mg of Vit C from a whole food source is equal to 100mg of synthetic Vit C such as ascorbic acid.

Just ‘food for thought’ no pun intended lol. :)[/quote]

thx alot, woud you happen to know any ratios for postworkout, this stuff is really scientific.

i can also believe that little vitamin c thing you said. Nothing beats whole food. It’s just hard to consume the recommended values without overeating or spending too much money, that’s where my supps come in handy.

9

The 25g protein/40g carb ratio should be fine post workout as well.

10

Austin,

I’m in the mood to type so I’ll say sorry in advance for the long post, hopefully though there will be some info that is useful to you.

My pre-workout shake looks like this:

1 banana
1 scoop Gold Standard Natural Whey
3 Tbsp of flax seed [ground up ahead of time in coffee blender]
1/4 cup chopped cashew bits
2 tsp barley grass
1 egg

I have a small blender that is a bit bigger than the ‘magic bullet’ blender on the infomercials, its the perfect size.

Now here’s the breakdown:

Banana - good carbs and potassium.

Whey protein - necessary protein for the workout.

Flax seed - ground up ahead of time in coffee blender. Flax seed is cheap and goes a long way. Contains essential omega fatty acids. Also has about 7 grams of fiber which is lacking in the standard American diet.

Cashews - big thing here! I don’t use peanut butter or peanuts. They aren’t a true nut, they’re a legume, and there also high in fungal content. This is a VERY bad thing. Pre-WWII medicine linked internal fungal infections with a host of ailments including cancer. Modern medicine is beginning to rediscover this link between chronic degenerative diseases and internal fungal infections.

We all have fungus/candida in our systems, however it is normally kept in check with a balanced diet. Problem is, in the fast food society we live in the balanced diet is not the norm. To treat an internal fungal infection you need wild oregeno in liquid form under the tongue as well as a good probiotic to restore intestinal bacteria. At any rate, try to limit foods with high fungal content. Cashews are a good choice for the shake as they also have some good fats and some protein.

Barley grass - 1 tsp has the nutritional equivalent of 3 heads of broccoli. Nuff said :slight_smile:

Egg - If you feel like putting a ‘Rocky’ twist for the shake. Make sure it is a vegetarian feed hen, cage free and hormone and antibiotic free egg. They’re a few pennies more at the supermarket, but worth it. Best source of protein, include the yolk.

All of this is my pre-workout shake, but could easily be used as a post shake as well. The grams of protein would be well into the high 30’s and the carbs well into the 40’s. Depending on the size of the banana you’ll be around 600 calories. Make sure to eat or suppliment with a calcium/magnesium source, very necessary.

If you get the chance at some point, get a Vita Mix blender. I never thought I’d pay that much for a blender in my life, but now that I have one [wife wanted it so of course we got it] I wouldn’t trade it. From a nutritional standpoint I’d give up my stove before the Vita Mix. We make a veggie drink using something like:

1 cucumber
1 apple
1/2 avocado
Handful of mixed spring lettuce
Handful of baby spinach
Handful of kale
etc

Sounds gross and looks like little green baby shit…BUT…it actually tastes pretty good. Don’t get me wrong, you’re not going to serve it at parties, but again from a nutritional standpoint it is a power shake that really isn’t bad tasting at all as the apple sweetens it up. And again, its getting some much needed fiber into your system.

Next would be some type of juicer. Green Life or Champion is the best but the Juiceman or Acme is good as well. Takes out the fiber but makes a great drink that goes from the stomach directly into the blood stream. Just don’t overdue the carrots and apples as it is a lot of sugar ever though its natural.

Both of the above WILL probably clean out your…ah…system :wink:

I keep the bedtime shake simple, just the whey/micellar casein/egg albumen shake. I use the Zero Impact but I’m sure there are others. I also add the calcium/magnesium.

Hope some of this is useful to you.

11

[quote]austin_bicep wrote:
long story short, I,ve been lifting for about 3 years, and have gotten very serious this past year. Anyways until now i haven’t used any supplements. As i was browsing through the vitamin shop I baught some Gold Standard 100% Whey protein. I got about 30 servings in it and want to utilize it as best as I can.

Here’s my question…Is it more beneficial to have my protein shake before or after lifting. My gut tells me after but I just wanted a few opinions from you guys who have been using whey protein.[/quote]

You should not buy your supplements from the Vitamin Shoppe. How much did that 2 pound tub of whey cost you? I get Optimum Nutrition Whey Gold Standard for 38 bucks but it is 5 pounds…Biotest also makes a 5 pound tub for 29.99 which I’m sure is cheaper than Vitamin Shoppe. They and GNC jack their prices up so high.

12

[quote]tykraus7 wrote:
austin_bicep wrote:
long story short, I,ve been lifting for about 3 years, and have gotten very serious this past year. Anyways until now i haven’t used any supplements. As i was browsing through the vitamin shop I baught some Gold Standard 100% Whey protein. I got about 30 servings in it and want to utilize it as best as I can.

Here’s my question…Is it more beneficial to have my protein shake before or after lifting. My gut tells me after but I just wanted a few opinions from you guys who have been using whey protein.

You should not buy your supplements from the Vitamin Shoppe. How much did that 2 pound tub of whey cost you? I get Optimum Nutrition Whey Gold Standard for 38 bucks but it is 5 pounds…Biotest also makes a 5 pound tub for 29.99 which I’m sure is cheaper than Vitamin Shoppe. They and GNC jack their prices up so high.

[/quote]

I agree with you sir about GNC, at least the one near me in the mall. Pretty pricey. The Vitamin Shoppe though near me has some of the best prices around though on quite a few things I normally get. Maybe its a regional thing?

I get the 100% Natural also for $38 for the 5 lbs, though just a year ago everyone had it for only $29. One of the reasons I like VS though is every so often they have that buy 1 get the 2nd at 50% off of their store brand. Thats a good deal because many of their store brands are made by the better companies with a different label. Their organic aged garlic extract capsules for example are made by Wakunaga which is the makers of Kyolic Garlic capsules. Its the same thing, different label. The store brand is almost half the price and the occasional buy 1/get on 50% off makes the deal sweeter.

Last benny I like is the reward points they offer so you get a little back at the end of the year. And no…I’m not a VS spokesman LOL.

I’ve been looking for a cheaper place to get the Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Natural 5 lbs but haven’t found any cheaper than $38. If anyone had a source, please share it. I’d like to try the Whey here on the site but I’m not a fan of sucralose when I could get Stevia and the S&H would bump that $29 up to where it wasn’t much of a deal over what I get here locally.