Rebuild Your Muscles

   Protein, protein, protein! We've all heard it before, right after a workout refuel your muscles with protein. Yes it is true that right after your workout is the best time to supplement your body with a protein recovery shake. Your body is most susceptible to absorb protein within a half an hour of your strength training routine, so get home right away and mix up that shake! The protein intake right after a workout will help rebuild your muscles and give you that extra muscle growth that you are looking for. Ok so no we know to get our protein right after our workout but what kind is best for muscle growth?
   Not all protein is created equal. Ask around your gym and you'll hear a lot about whey protein after workouts. Whey protein is ideal for after a workout because it is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream within 15 minutes after consumption. So this fits right into that 30 minutes window in which we want to get our protein intake, that's why you hear so much about whey protein in a lot of recovery shakes. The only downfall of whey is that it is quickly absorbed in the 15 minute window and then our bodies are done absorbing what was in the shake. What goes overlooked far too often is the importance of casein protein as well. Casein is a slowly absorbed protein, so after it gives our muscles a slow sustained intake of protein over a longer period of time. So the perfect combination of whey and casein will give your muscles the boost they need and give you the results you want. So now we know what kind of protein we need, so what about how much?
   Another myth about protein is the more the better. You can go into any supplement store and look at shakes with high amounts for protein per serving, and most people feed into that myth "the more the better." But the truth of the matter is the human body can only physically absorb up to 30 grams of protein at a time, and the ideal protein intake for after a workout is between 20-25 grams. So don't be fooled by the canister that says 50 grams of protein per serving, your body with not absorb half of that serving and you will waste it and go through your canister twice as fast. Now I'm not saying that this is a ploy by the company to make you go through your supply twice as fast as you need to but you be the judge. So in recap 20-25 of whey and casein protein within a 30 minute window of your strength training workout.