I've heard from many people "HAVE A PROTEIN SHAKE IMMEDIATELY AFTER GYM". Then I've heard people say dont do it because your body doesnt process it or something..?
Digestion takes a lot of the blood in your body. But working your muscles
also takes a lot of blood. Working your legs takes the most blood, this is why if you eat a big meal and then go for a run, do deadlifts or squats immediately afterwards, you may feel like throwing up. It's also why many people have little appetite immediately after a workout.
However, a protein shake like any liquid is very easy to digest. And so long as the workout has stopped, the blood can move from your muscles to your guts, and you can digest properly.
Is eating dinner straight after workout and having a protein drink an hour or two later ideal? Or should I be having protein shake first and then having dinner a bit after?
One study
found that if you get two groups of guys lifting, they both consume the same amount of protein and carbs in their drinks, but one has it before breakfast and after dinner, the other has it before and after their workout, the second group gained more muscle.
There is a fairly strong consensus among experienced bodybuilders and trainers that a protein/carb drink immediately before and after a weight session works best.
That's a protein
and carb drink, note. The carbs give you extra energy for your workout, and help replace used energy afterwards. And the presence of protein in your system seems to tell the body "grow! grow!"
About equal amounts of protein and carbs seem to work well. If you already have protein powder, just buy some dextrose from the brewer's section of the supermarket. Or you can do as I do, I make a protein/carb drink with 500ml milk, 3 eggs and 100g skim milk powder. This costs under $2 to make. I have half before and half after the workout, and altogether it provides 73g protein, 80g carbs, and 44g fat, 1,000 calories in all.
Another thing, does anyone know an accurate protein to weight ratio?
To gain muscle quickly, firstly you need a
caloric surplus. That is, you must consume more energy than you spend. If as a male you are over 20% bodyfat, or as a female 30%, then the calorie excess can come from your body's fat. But once you get to around 15% bodyfat for males, or 25% for females, you must have an overall calorie surplus from your diet to gain muscle. Eat, eat, eat.
With the caloric surplus,
says the AIS, you need 1.2-2g of protein for each kg of bodyweight, and to be overall consuming more calories than you expend. For example, if you are 85kg then to gain muscle you need 102-170g protein daily, and a lot of other food to keep your energy up.
102-170g is not too hard to consume in a traditional Western diet of "meat and three veg". A restaurant steak is 220g total and would have about 55g protein. The vegies with that should knock it up to 70g or so. Have oats and milk for breakfast and you crack 100g. If you are vegetarian then nuts and beans will become your new staple, and if lactose intolerant then welcome to the joys of soy.
There is some evidence (eg, me!) that even if you're short of that protein requirement, you can
in your first months of training gain muscle anyway, so long as you have the caloric surplus. Basically, working out is such a shock to your body it grows anyway. But after those first few months, a new diet is needed with lots of protein. Not hundreds of grams, though, unless you're training like an Olympic maniac
I know a bodybuilder who claims to eat 4.5kg of meat a day. He is probably fibbing, but he does eat at least 1kg, I've seen him at morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea. He also poos 6 times a day, so that tells us where most of the extra protein is going.
