- Nutrition
- Creatine for Beginners
- How To Build Great Abs
- Whey Protein For Muscle Building
- High Protein Recipes For Success
- Low Glycemic Index
- Simple Nutrition Tips
- Protein for Developing Muscle
- The Power of Protein
- Whey: The King Of Proteins
- Size and Strength
- How Can Creatine Benefit Rugby Players?
- What is Protein
- Protein For Recovery
- How to Build Muscle and Gain Weight
- Hard Gainer Muscle Tips
- Get Ready for the Summer
- How to Burn Fat and Lose Weight Faster
- How to Maintain your Physique
- Snack Attack
- The Glycemic Index
- Build Leg Power and Training Strength
- Avoiding Weight Gain
The protein myth - how much protein do you really need?
Pioneering scientists, such as Dr. Peter Lemon PhD, have proved what successful gym users have known for years - building a great physique requires a diet rich in high quality protein! Increased protein intake also prevents muscle loss during dieting and is vital for any man or woman looking to add muscle or simply tone up. Research suggests you need up to 1.7 - 2g of high quality protein per kilo of bodyweight per day to build muscle as fast as possible e.g. an 80kg male needs 136-160g per day.
So you know you need to increase your protein, but what is the best source?
Proteins vary in their absorption rate within the body, based on their biological value (BV). Protein is the major source of nitrogen in food and BV is a measure of nitrogen absorbed by the body. BV is not a % but a value that takes egg as a constant at 100. Below is a list of other protein sources and their BV.
| Proteins | Biological Value - in % |
|---|---|
| Whey Protein | 104 |
| Whole Egg | 100 |
| Fish | 83 |
| Beef | 80 |
| Chicken | 79 |
| Casein | 77 |
| Soya | 74 |
When using BV, avoid ranking protein sources from best to worst but use the BV list to show how your consumption of protein should be spread throughout the day. Whey protein being fast-acting is often a preferred choice for gym goers due to the convenience over other protein sources.
Protein for muscle building
Building muscle is the combination of resistance training along with having a positive protein balance. Muscle protein balance is the resultant of muscle protein synthesis and muscle protein breakdown, meaning that your protein input is greater than your output; for that protein feeding is the key. To provide a positive protein balance, the recommendations is to have a daily consumption of 1.5 – 2 grams of protein per kilogram. This should be split into 5-7 feeds throughout the day, along with the other macronutrients of carbohydrate and fat.
Protein for recovery
With muscle protein synthesis being stimulated in the recovery period after exercise; this is also the best time to consume protein to induce a positive protein balance and therefore aid recovery. A whey protein supplement is often favoured at this time due to the level of convenience.
