Protein Drink

Brian1

I do 2 fairly heavy 60 minute sessions (intervals) on the turbo after which I take a Powerbar protein drink for recovery.Is this neccessary or should I only be taking this after long rides(4 hrs+).Thanks

Kléber

Depends on your diet. Is it lacking in protein, do you think you need special supplements because you're not eating right?

Brian1

Thanks Kleber I eat virtually no meat or cheese so thought it may be sensible to use the recovery drink

LingfieldXC

Protein drinks often contain far too much protein and so you end up wasting a lot. Typically you require 2-4oz of protein a day to keep your body running properly. It really depends on what targets you have set, your current level of fitness and how heavy the sessions are. If you are not eating much meat you might want to look at getting a supplement that adds some more minerals to your diet.

vitesse169

I use a protein recovery drink but only after a particularly hard ride or heavy session like intervals. I tend to put some carbo powder in as well. The protein helps rebuild the muscles after breakdown. I find it takes away the 'dead' feeling from my muscles - I find I can train 2 or 3 days in a row using recovery drinks like this (I'm 47).

Gr.uB

Being diet diabetic one of the areas that I suffer is lack of protein. My diabetic nurse has suggested that I eat two boiled eggs a day. She knows about my cycling.
Last year I had a staff infection due to a lack of protein.

So what drinks are good that don't contain sugar? There is quite often one advertised in the CTC magazine, does anyone here use it? Kickstart I think it is called.

Brian1

Vitesse, those are exactly the reasons I take the protein drink and like you I dont seem to feel as knackered the next day.

ut_och_cykla

You need to include other training in whether you need the extra protein. If this is all you do (2 x 60 a week) teh answer is no - an eggtuna/jam sarnie will do at most.
If these sessions are part of a bigger picture, 10-15 hours a week training , manual work all day etc then the answer is more likely yes. But you can make up a deficit with beans/pulses fish, eggs etc. Quorn is also high protein (think its blah! myself tho')
WHO recommendations say 1gram per kg body weight per day (but is this a minimum for staving refugees?) Upper limit eg for body builders is 2g/kg, so somewhere in the middle is probably best. Ie if you're 80kg you need 120g protein a day = close on half a kilo of prime turkey breast - a fair bit in other words which can be difficult if you are watching your weight etc, but isnt a problem if you eat heartily.
Remeber more is not better but too little will result in decreased infection resistance, long recovery adn perhaps muscle wasting (if you're being tight with the carbs too)

DaveyL

Yep, Anita Bean, in her Sports Nutrition book, recommends 1.6 g per kg of body weight of protein. I think that may be for those trying to lose weight though. It may be 1.4 g per kg for everyone else. Not much difference though.

SunWuKong

Davey, you are correct, 1.6g/Kg is for those losing weight.

I eat very little meat and use protein supplements to help with recovery. There are many protein only supplements out there, I find myprotein.co.uk a good quality/value place to buy protein.

kant314

Do any of you guys tend to bulk up if you use protein?

ut_och_cykla

not a guy - and no I'm 'bulky' already!!

SunWuKong

kant314 Not at all. I just find if I don't have a decent amount of protein either via real food or powder my legs take a lot longer to recover.

kant314

SunWuKong wrote:

kant314 Not at all. I just find if I don't have a decent amount of protein either via real food or powder my legs take a lot longer to recover.

Cool...
I was looking for something to help me recover a bit better.
I'm a vegan you see, and despite being a lard-ass 86kg, the last thing I want to do is bulk up any more.

Maybe I'll try some protein power after all

Mike Willcox

kant314 wrote:

SunWuKong wrote:

kant314 Not at all. I just find if I don't have a decent amount of protein either via real food or powder my legs take a lot longer to recover.

Cool...
I was looking for something to help me recover a bit better.
I'm a vegan you see, and despite being a lard-ass 86kg, the last thing I want to do is bulk up any more.

Maybe I'll try some protein power after all

You will recover more quickly the fitter you get and in proportion to the length and intensity or your ride(s). I wouldn't put too much faith in a protein drink taken within a whatever designated time frame if I was you. It diverts attention away from the things that really matter. The best way to aid recovery is to get your feet up and rest maybe even sleep.

ut_och_cykla

Mike has a point as many of teh fix & repair 7growth hormones are released mostly while asleep /at rest so appropriate rest is important too. there is some evidence that says continula stress (like slight overtraining) makes you put on weight because of raised cortisol levels - not sure how 'true' this is tho'!

BeaconRuth

Brian1 wrote:

I do 2 fairly heavy 60 minute sessions (intervals) on the turbo after which I take a Powerbar protein drink for recovery.Is this neccessary or should I only be taking this after long rides(4 hrs+).Thanks

I completely agree with Mike too - some wise words spoken there. Good recovery comes from things like a good cool-down, post-ride stretching, good rest and good nutrition. Good nutrition doesn't necessarily come out of a packet marked "Expensive Recovery Product". Plenty of fluids and some ordinary food containing plenty of carbohydrate and some good quality protein will do.

Ruth

tonywar

If you are going to use protein supplements, don't go for the ready made drinks, they work out to be quite expensive. Look at this link www.discount-supplements.co.uk/
they sell a miriad of protein supplements. Bulk buy is cheaper. There are quite a variety of proteins available as supplements. Follow this link www.bodybuilding.com It is an American site and it is aimed as body building(Obviously) but it has a wealth of information about diets, protein and supplementation. There are links into other sports such as cycling. I would recommend you take alook I am sure you would find a lot of useful information.

andrewgturnbull

BeaconRuth wrote:

Brian1 wrote:

I do 2 fairly heavy 60 minute sessions (intervals) on the turbo after which I take a Powerbar protein drink for recovery.Is this neccessary or should I only be taking this after long rides(4 hrs+).Thanks

I completely agree with Mike too - some wise words spoken there. Good recovery comes from things like a good cool-down, post-ride stretching, good rest and good nutrition. Good nutrition doesn't necessarily come out of a packet marked "Expensive Recovery Product". Plenty of fluids and some ordinary food containing plenty of carbohydrate and some good quality protein will do.

Ruth

Hi there.

Agree with both Mike and Ruth - don't waste your money on expensive marketing.

My favourite drink after a turbo session is one tub of natural yogurt, one banana, some random soft fruit, topped up to a pint with skimmed milk. Stick in blender for 30 seconds before you start to ride, and leave in fridge. It's then ready as soon as I am, and I usually drink it while warming down on the turbo or rollers.

Very cheap, all natural ingredients, some protein, some carbs no fat.

Cheers, Andy

ps My favourite supplement for recovery is vitamin-Z - SLEEP!

Brian1

Thanks again for all your replys!

alzeb

so,i have about 1.5g protein /kg body weight at the moment,without having my whey protein,when i have this im up by another 15 g protein a day,is this just a waste of money?i have whey protein,the low cal stuff from halland and barrat.i do about 18 hrs training a week......DO "ATHELETES! NEED MORE????