When is the best time to take a supplement?

Okay just thought i wouldpo a question here. I currently take Protien Whey after i weight train. I have heard that it is better to take it directly b4. Any ideas?

i've heard half before + half after so your body does not run out of fuel to build muscle

whey protein is a fast absorbing protein. it is best to take it immediately after a workout. for something pre-workout, have a snack. a small serving of complex carbs is good, ie. wholegrain cereal, wholegrain bread, root veggies, etc. you can find a list of them somewhere. keep the shakes to a minimum, although they are full of protein and low in fat, its still a processed food. get most of you protein from a natural source. i used to swear by protein shakes until i got cramps, the shits, and other things. now i just have 2 a day at the most, 1 during breakfast and 1 after a workout. and just a reg. serving will do, don't double scoop or anything like that, your body can only absorb so much at a time.... that was a lot longer than i thought it would be, hope its helpful though

After work out.

If your metabolism is running, and your breaking down food right before a workout, blood will be used digesting that food, and while your working out, you want to focus on purely your muscles. If you want something before a work out have a SMALL whole grain snack, or if your into NO, take it about an hour, hour and half before your workout.

Protein shakes will help rebuild your muscles after workouts, which is what you want to gain muscle mass. And like Tha1 said, you DONT want to over do it with your whey protein. Too much of anything is bad for you, and if you have too much protein in your diet, you will get sick. About a gram * your weight is a reasonable amount if you have the rest of your diet into perspective.

thanks guys i think thats good. I only take 1 scoop of Whey in 250 ml of Milk/ Water. Im gonna try taking it right after.
Ill let you know by next year if im ripped.

ive been layin off protein latley and been eatin a lot of tuna mainly after i work out and ive been putting good weight on..

OK, I've always wondered so I'll bring it up here. Any chance this supplement thing is a scam? Not saying that it is, because I've never taken any so I can't judge. But it just seems there are so many bright-color-label supplements, from so many manufacturers, with so many outrageous claims....I can't help but be suspicious.

Protein...carbs....etc, etc.. Can't we just eat some chicken, rice, pasta, etc?

Not meant to be a "controversial" post or an accusation, so let me know what you think.

---

Posted by Brick

OK, I've always wondered so I'll bring it up here. Any chance this supplement thing is a scam? Not saying that it is, because I've never taken any so I can't judge. But it just seems there are so many bright-color-label supplements, from so many manufacturers, with so many outrageous claims....I can't help but be suspicious.

Protein...carbs....etc, etc.. Can't we just eat some chicken, rice, pasta, etc?

Not meant to be a "controversial" post or an accusation, so let me know what you think.

---

i dont think its a scam but rather the easy alternative to preparing that stuff

---

Posted by madmarck

thanks guys i think thats good. I only take 1 scoop of Whey in 250 ml of Milk/ Water. Im gonna try taking it right after.
Ill let you know by next year if im ripped.

---

Eggs give you 94 percent absorption, Chicken 70-75 percent absorption, and steak is in between. By absorption I mean the percentage of protien you intake after digestion. So when you eat a chicken breast, 75 percent of it will be absorbed as protien nutrients, where as eggs you get almost 100 percent reabsorbtion.

And your body can only use up to 60 grams of protien every 4 hours so eating a huge steak dinner before your workout, and coming home 2 hours later and having 2 x 30 gram scoops of protien will lead to expensive, protien enriched urine.

So knowing those factors to balance into your diet, thats why its best to eat "harder digesting" meals before your workout and fast synthesizing foods right after when your bodies reuptake is at its greatest.

Also replenish your glycogen stores in your liver too after a workout by eating carbs
its the best time up to 2 hours after your workout, your body will absorb the most protiens/carbs.

Hate to break this to you the anabolic window is only 30 mins...

So if you want that sugar to refill your glycogen stores you better bring that post workout drink with you if you are heading straight to work after.

There are some good bits of info on this thread

I take my protein (or a modified Rich Franklin shake) after my workout. I find that it helps me more with recovery than building muscle, which is ok because I don't want to be any bigger than I am right now.

I only mix the powder with water. Water is recommended (over juice, milk etc.) because it allows faster absorption. It doesn't taste as good, but I just down it anyways.

I like whey powder that is lower in carbs and lactose, so that is something to look for if you want to fine tune your selection.

I also only take my shake after hard workouts. This is more for the fact that I don't want to be taking more of this stuff than I need. It's not the cheapest stuff in the world. Bananas are a great post workout snack.

As for whether supplements are a scam. Some are and some aren't. There are some things out there that are better taken from their natural source. For example, I would recommend eating fish over taking salmon oil pills, eating actual veggies over 'greens' supplements, etc.

There are a lot of factors that go into making pills. Usually you get what you pay for. i.e. you buy cheap multi vitamins, you are getting pills with more fillers and possibly oxidized ingredients. I've seen lipid (fat) pills sold that are completely oxidized when first opened (you can tell by the colour).

I stick to a good diet and take a multi vitamin (Ultimate One for athletes) and whey (wheymore XP - I think). That is it.

---

Posted by Brick

OK, I've always wondered so I'll bring it up here. Any chance this supplement thing is a scam? Not saying that it is, because I've never taken any so I can't judge. But it just seems there are so many bright-color-label supplements, from so many manufacturers, with so many outrageous claims....I can't help but be suspicious.

Protein...carbs....etc, etc.. Can't we just eat some chicken, rice, pasta, etc?

Not meant to be a "controversial" post or an accusation, so let me know what you think.

---

I wanted to add something to this. There are a lot of claims made by a product based on certain studies. If you cannot access those studies yourself, or they are vague, I would take them with a big grain of salt.

The bottom line is, try them (as recommended) and see if they work. IF they don't do anything for you, then stop taking them.

If the label says that you need to take them for 6 months before they take affect, I would say that is a scam in itself.

---

Posted by Rush

There are some good bits of info on this thread

I take my protein (or a modified Rich Franklin shake) after my workout. I find that it helps me more with recovery than building muscle, which is ok because I don't want to be any bigger than I am right now.

I only mix the powder with water. Water is recommended (over juice, milk etc.) because it allows faster absorption. It doesn't taste as good, but I just down it anyways.

I like whey powder that is lower in carbs and lactose, so that is something to look for if you want to fine tune your selection.

I also only take my shake after hard workouts. This is more for the fact that I don't want to be taking more of this stuff than I need. It's not the cheapest stuff in the world. Bananas are a great post workout snack.

As for whether supplements are a scam. Some are and some aren't. There are some things out there that are better taken from their natural source. For example, I would recommend eating fish over taking salmon oil pills, eating actual veggies over 'greens' supplements, etc.

There are a lot of factors that go into making pills. Usually you get what you pay for. i.e. you buy cheap multi vitamins, you are getting pills with more fillers and possibly oxidized ingredients. I've seen lipid (fat) pills sold that are completely oxidized when first opened (you can tell by the colour).

I stick to a good diet and take a multi vitamin (Ultimate One for athletes) and whey (wheymore XP - I think). That is it.

---

What about your carb intake after hard workouts? dont forget to fill your glycogen stores!

Well, if I have an average workout, I typically have a banana or a granola bar with my protein shake (or even if I don't have a protein shake)

If I have a big workout and am at home I have the following

1/2 cup of oatmeal (not the instant kind)
1/4 cup of protein powder
1 banana
2-3 tbsp of flax oil
water to the desired consistency

I blend everything (except the oil) really well. Then I add the oil and do a quick mix.

The shake is amazing.

hey bud,i like to have a protein shake about a hour before my training,but only about 20gram serving along with some slow burning carbs for energy.after training ill have about 50grams of protien with about 80-120 grams of carbs.i find it works good for myself and some of the other guys i train

---

Posted by Rush

Well, if I have an average workout, I typically have a banana or a granola bar with my protein shake (or even if I don't have a protein shake)

If I have a big workout and am at home I have the following

1/2 cup of oatmeal (not the instant kind)
1/4 cup of protein powder
1 banana
2-3 tbsp of flax oil
water to the desired consistency

I blend everything (except the oil) really well. Then I add the oil and do a quick mix.

The shake is amazing.

---

Where can you get flax oil at? That has the same effect as fish oil, right? Shake does sound really good, I might have to try it out. My shake is basic. 2 scoops of chocolate protein powder, 1 bannana, some ice, some milk. and blend. Perfect protein milk shake

Take an energy shot before you workout,then after you workout take Whey or Creatine.

i read the most important time to take protein (whey) is upon waking b4 workout and after.casein is best b4 bed because it is slow digesting.

You dont even really need them until you plateau on your workouts,but theres different directions for each supplement.