Protein drinks / supplements

petemadoc

I've recently decided to up my training efforts with either hill repeats or increased distance rides.

A few people have said I should be taking protein supplements.

Do you guys use them, if so how much, when. Do you just take them for a day or two after a hard ride, all the time?

I've always been a believer in getting what you need from your diet but protein things do seem to be very common and if it will help my body recover and build muscle then I'll give it a go.

danlikesbikes

I use them as a powder and in a smoothie after a hard session - as a easy way to get fluid, nutrients and protein (important for muscle growth/repair) into my system. Easy for me as I find it easy to make up the night before and just throw into my gym bag or the boot of the car for the morning before I start work.

Only word of caution would be you need to be careful of the number of extra calories you consume if you intend to take them regularly & if you are not making them yourself but buying them ready made.

As for the if you should take them it all depends on how much and how hard you ride. We all need to recover and generally speaking you should be able to make up your bodies needs from your daily food intake as long as it is balanced and full of the fruit and veg and lots of fluid.

SBezza

I think it depends on how often and hard the training is, if you are training hard on a near on daily basis then the extra protein might be needed, then again if you can get the requirements from your diet, if you have a wholesome diet, and you eat the right foods.

Muffintop

I sometimes find it very hard to eat (even a little) after a hard session. They're very good for that. I also find my recoverys much better, and I tend not to scoff the next day. In buying them, read the back, look for the highest protein per portion (usually 30g of shake powder), check what kind of sweetener they use and what additives they have. Maxi Muscle is a good brand but expensive, so usually in the health food shop I use that as a bench mark.

Mx

maxandpaddy

I use CNP Protien very little carbs, I have a shake 2 to 3 times a day but I do ride 7 days a week, 12 mile commute every day and mtb at weekend, and I have lost 16 pound since xmas. No more sore muscles brilliant stuff.

petemadoc

Thanks peeps

What's the theory behind protein supplements then? Faster recovery or increased muscle build or both?

I usually do a good hard ride at the weekend or a cyclocross race and then my daily commute. I want to get faster and stronger basically (don't we all).

Mike39496

PeteMadoc wrote:

Thanks peeps

What's the theory behind protein supplements then? Faster recovery or increased muscle build or both?

I usually do a good hard ride at the weekend or a cyclocross race and then my daily commute. I want to get faster and stronger basically (don't we all).

A bit of both really. If you're getting aches after a good ride then it should combat that a bit, it doesn't stop the aches completely though!

I buy it from Myprotein. Nice and cheap, £50 for 5kg.

andyparker

+1 on myprotein stuff
Mixes very well and the flavours are the best protein i've ever tasted, also relatively low in carbs and calories when compared to others. I'm currently using chocolate orange flavour and cookies and cream.

I tend to take the protein shake with milk as my breakfast in the morning - it would keep me full until lunch time but i tend to have a mid morning snack of some nuts/seeds/banana/sugar free peanut butter.

After a gym session and only after a gym session i have recoverex by boditronics http://www.boditronics.co.uk/xcart/recoverx.php
I personally see a noticeable shortening of recovery time and reduced aches/muscle soreness the next day. If you go for this don't go for the lemon flavour as it's not great. Berry flavour very good however.

There are a number of different types of proteins geared towards different things including specific recovery type protein shakes

simon_e

Some reading:
http://www.optimumnutrition4sport.com/?page_id=524
http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/nutrition ... _nutrition
http://www.cptips.com/protein.htm
http://www.sportsdietitians.com.au/reso ... hletes.pdf
http://www.sportsdietitians.com.au/reso ... eneral.pdf

Wrath Rob

I commute 5 days a week, 30 mins each way. Before I started taking a small amount of protein at breakfast (whey protein in my case) I found I was getting more and more exhausted through the week. After starting on the protein, just 1 scoop at breakfast, I don't suffer from Friday legs any more. I'm now riding longer on 2 nights of the week plus a club run at the weekend. After those I take a protein shake as a recovery drink, though again only 1 scoop.

Seems to work for me and I've had a couple of company medicals, no signs of problems to date.

Coach H

Milk, almost the perfect protein drink for the lactose tollerant!

majormantra

+1 for myprotein. I use Impact Whey protein in smooth chocolate flavour. It has sweetener in it which bugs me slightly but it's not unbearably sweet unlike some supplements and after a hard ride it tastes fantastic. I use semi skimmed milk to make a shake. It would be pretty minging with water.

Mike39496

Just to add to my comment before. I use the strawberry cream flavour impact whey and mix it up with water, tastes unbelievably nice (just like strawberry milkshake!). Just make sure you get a good shaker (one with the wire ball in) otherwise you'll have a lumpy shake.

And regarding milk. If you wanted to consume say 20g of protein. From milk you would need to drink about 550ml to get this much protein. In addition to this you would take on about 26g of sugar, 10g of fat (5.5g saturated). From protein you'd need one scoop (30g). You'd take on 1.5g of sugar and 1.5g of fat. Protein also costs 31p or so a serving, milk costs about 40p (and goes off miles quicker).

Coach H

What a coincidence, the lovely Cherry Healy is on BBC1 doing a blind test with a rugby team showing the 'miracle' sports recovery drink MILK is more effective than dedicated sports drinks for muscle recovery

Coach H

Mike39496 wrote:

And regarding milk. If you wanted to consume say 20g of protein. From milk you would need to drink about 550ml to get this much protein. In addition to this you would take on about 26g of sugar, 10g of fat (5.5g saturated). From protein you'd need one scoop (30g). You'd take on 1.5g of sugar and 1.5g of fat. Protein also costs 31p or so a serving, milk costs about 40p (and goes off miles quicker).

IMHO you are not seeing the big picture here. Getting your protein via milk is almost the perfect delivery vehicle for the protein. You NEED the carbs (in any form) to be able to effectivly metabolise the protein and the fat also helps (although I cannot recall at the minute why). One of the main principles of high protein / low carb diets (ie Atkins) is that without the carbs the protein does not get absorbed and passed through the gut making it, and by extenson you, feel full. (There are other hormonal issues from amino absorbtion as another feature.)

Protein shakes are great if you are an elite level athelete really pushing training boundaries where whole food cannot effectively deliver enough nutrients. But for the rest of us they really are a waste. I have spent loads over the years on protein suppliments (bodybuilding type training) and now believe it to have been all a waste of time and money. Now Creatine, thats effective, although not really for cycling!