Last Updated on March 8, 2024 by admin
The body needs protein to help muscle growth and repair? Hence, many athletes consume protein in the form of shakes. But when must you take your natural pre-workout protein shake? Must you take it before or after your workout? So, what will it be?
How Much Protein Does The Body Need?
Your recommended daily allowance for protein intake is 0.8 grams per kg (0.36 grams per pound) of body weight. The RDA helps to estimate the number of nutrients you need to help avoid deficiency.
Yet it needs to specify the number needed to help optimize the body composition or your health. Hence, the RDA is not clear support as it is too low for supporting muscle growth and recovery. So, if you do strength training, you need to double your RDA to 1.6 grams per kg (0.72 grams per pound) to help support muscle growth and recovery.
Thus, weighing 68 kg (150 pounds) equals 109 grams of protein daily. You need to spread the amount over four meals consumed four hours daily. A protein shake helps between meals to use as a snack. Most protein shakes contain up to 30 grams of protein with one scoop.
So, if you exercise, you need more protein to help support muscle growth and recovery. Hence, it helps to consume protein equally spaced throughout the day.
Will Protein Help With the Anabolic Window?
The next question is that many athletes believe they need to consume protein shakes within a 30-minute exercise to help with the anabolic window. The assumption is that the body will not build muscle when consuming your protein outside the timeframe.
Yet research states that the anabolic window is longer than half an hour and is not only limited to after exercise. So, it does not matter if you consume your protein shake before or after working out for muscle growth and repair.
Should Protein Be Increased Before or After Workouts
The truth is that research found that different groups consuming protein before and after workouts had no significant difference in muscle size or strength. So, the important thing is to ingest protein with your activity before or after training. So, you can choose a time to consume your protein shake, as the daily intake of protein is more important.
How To Get Your Protein Target Intake
The good news is you can get your protein intake from animal to plant-based foods to meet your daily goal. So, whether you need it from meat, poultry, fish, or dairy, it is full of protein. But another great way is through legumes, beans, nuts, and soy-based products.
While your animal-based protein is superior, you need not eat something other than meat to get your protein intake. So, if you are vegan or vegetarian or still enjoy your animal-based protein, you can use organic bcaa powder bought from a protein shop to provide you with your protein goals if you cannot consume it through your food alone.
Taking your protein shake is all up to you before or after your workout. It is crucial to provide your body with the protein it needs to remain healthy.
Apart from this if you are interested to know more about Healthy Diet Tips then visit our Health category.
