Protein Timing | Optimum Recovery

It could be argued that the two most important times to consume protein are at breakfast and within 30 minutes of completing your training. But adhering to these very basic guidelines probably doesn't make a whole lot of sense for athletes who train at 5AM. Confusion abounds when it comes to protein, and you have more than a few opinions for protein timing and selection. When it gets right down to it, there is no single answer. So we're going to break down a few logical options for some of the most popular fitness-oriented goals.

Our subjects will be a bodybuilder, a broad categorization we're applying to anyone interested in building muscle mass without accumulating fat. Next comes the cover model, which we'll define as anyone who works hard at looking great in a swim suit and staying in top physical condition. Then there's our weekend warrior, who's pretty much any busy adult who plays and trains hard whenever they get the chance. Most active adults will find themselves relating to one or several of these groups.
You don't have to flex for a panel of judges to be considered a bodybuilder. Maybe you'd just enjoy building up your arms and chest. That's how it begins with lots of gym rats. The trick it to not eat yourself out of a great physique. Successful bodybuilding entails diet as much as physical labor. Generally speaking, you want to consume about a gram of protein per pound of body weight every day. Now if you weigh in at 180 pounds, that amounts to 180 grams of protein. Not all in one sitting, of course. To keep their metabolism running and amino acids from protein flowing to developing muscles, many bodybuilders consume 5 to 7 small meals spread approximately 2 to 3 hours apart. This practice helps you avoid the food coma that can set in after stuffing yourself at lunch or dinner.

If you work out first thing in the morning, you might want to mix up a really fast-acting whey protein shake right after getting out of bed. It'll put those muscle building aminos right to work breaking the fast you endured while sawing logs for 7 or 8 hours. Hitting the gym on an empty stomach is the polar opposite of racing 400 meters after Thanksgiving dinner – and equally unproductive. After weight training, sit down to some scrambled eggs and whole wheat toast. That'll get you through to your mid-day snack. Here's how the day stacks up.
The micellar casein shake digests slowly, feeding rebuilding muscles with a steady stream of amino acids while you sleep. Of course, rise and shine workouts aren't for everyone. So we've put together bodybuilder protein timing suggestions for afternoon and evening training sessions.
You'll notice the substitution of NitroCore 24 for Gold Standard 100% Whey pre-workout. Since NitroCore 24 is a blend of 10 proteins offering fast, intermediate and slow digestive rates, it's the ideal choice for people who only want to buy one protein. More advanced athletes can oftentimes benefit from using more than one type, but it's nice to know your options.
Maybe you don't daydream endlessly about a modeling or an acting career. If you wouldn't mind looking like a model, then you're probably watching what you eat in much the same way as the bodybuilder we just covered. There's a lot to be gained – and lost – by fueling your goals with small meals every few hours. What you'll lose is belly fat. Especially when you hit the gym with determined regularly.

Now when you work out at your fitness center or health club, do you ever venture into the weight room? It can be an intimidating corner of the gym, what with all the mechanical contraptions and racks of plates. Kind of like a medieval dungeon. The thing is, lifting weights benefits weight loss and maintenance efforts in a way that cardio can't.

Although endless hours on a treadmill will burn fat, it can also deplete muscle tissue. Resistance training builds and tones lean mass which can increase the fat burning capacity of your metabolism. So pushing some iron can help keep you from looking like a skin-flint with bird legs and stick arms. That's definitely not the profile you're going for.

Let's plan out your protein use on a typical cardio day, and then on a day when you're clanking plates with the big boys. You'll want to do cardio in between the days that you work the weights, to give your muscles time to recover and rebuild. For simplicity's sake, we'll assume that you work out mid-morning. Use the bodybuilder protein timing suggestions as a guide for rearranging these tables to fit your preferred daily training period.
After your cardio workout, a combination of fast carbs helps replenish spent muscle glycogen, which is the carbohydrate fuel you burn up during physical effort. The staged proteins in 2:1:1 Recovery give you a longer recovery window than a fast-acting protein provides. On the other hand, fast-acting protein after resistance training is a key element for kick-starting the recovery process, and the shakes before bed provide lasting support at a time when your body is busy rebuilding which, inconveniently enough, is also the longest stretch that your body goes without nutritional intake.
Your protein needs are similar to the requirements of other athletes. The difference is that you're the one most likely to hurt a couple days after going at it. There are a combination of factors at work here including the intensity and infrequency of your physical effort. Supplemental nutrition can help. So can pre- and post-workout stretching. Do the static type of stretching like you did back in gym class, holding pressure against your joints, as a warm down after training or competition. Static stretching helps keep you flexible.

Before hitting the field or the weight room try warming up with dynamic stretch techniques. These include arm swings, side bends, alternate toe touches and trunk rotations. You can also do ham and groin stretches using one of those boulder sized exercise balls. Performing these at a light aerobic pace for 5 to 10 minutes should help reduce tomorrow's muscle soreness.

Which brings us back to sports nutrition. You're most likely engaging in friendly competitions requiring a combination of endurance and power. Flag football, softball, basketball and racquet sports can all tax your stamina and strength. If you're headed out after lunch to meet the guys for a pickup game of ball, here's how we'd recommend timing your nutrition.
The scientifically formulated ratios of fast carbs to staged proteins should help you bounce back from all that cutting, catching, blocking and running. That's only the first part of the recovery process though. You'll need to sit down to a whole foods meal offering plenty of protein and carbohydrates, and then finish off with a tasty shake right before bed. Not only will this strategy help keep your muscles from aching so much for so long, but if you stick to it weekend after weekend, you might start to notice some enhanced definition and strength.

Wherever you see yourself as an active adult, we encourage you to experiment with the different protein timing examples offered here. You might notice some positive changes as early as 3 or 4 weeks. Just remember that everyone's different, which means that we all respond to diet and exercise programs in our own unique way.