What's the deal with protein shakes?

Question

I am lifting 3 times a week for about an hour or more, but that's really besides the point. I use protein shakes for faster recovery so that I am not as sore after a workout. My main question though is this:

Are they really necessary for fast recovery? I heard that if you have excess protein your body stores it as fat, which is not what I want. I want to build muscle and muscle mass (a bit), but maintain tone.

So I guess this is a few part question, but.... any recommendations?

Answer 1

There's a new study (well it was new over a year ago) about how caffeine helps your recovery time.  So if you drink something with caffeine during or after your workout it will help with your recovery time.  And when this is combined with carbs, it's supposedly even better.

Answer 2

how about.WATER?

answer mine?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...

Answer 3

Yea the thing with proteins shakes you have to workout when you take them or you are just going to get fat. By working out I just don't mean lifting weights but also cardios and stuff. They help you build lean mass muscle if you do all the above.

Answer 4

Whey protein isolate is an excellent pre and post workout protein supplement because of its fast uptake properties;it's actually superior to all whole food sources and other supplemental proteins for workout recovery because of this.  You want the aminos to be available in the blood stream as quickly as possible after a workout.  They aren't actually necessary but they do help, which is one reason why they're so popular these days.

Contrary to popular belief, excess protein in the diet will not harm the kidneys.  It's only harmful to kidney patients.

Protein is the most thermogenic macronutrient and the least energy efficient, meaning the body will not easily convert aminos derived from dietery protein into glucose; most of the time excess protein is excreted, unless there is a severe shortage of the other macronutrients in the diet, or you are in the middle of a long and extended higher intensity training session.  So, don't worry about getting too much protein, it's extremely hard to actually do.

For post workout supplementation, it's important to also include a carb along with the protein as the carbs produce an insulin spike, restore stored glycogen and helps spare aminos from the protein for muscle building.

Answer 5

they arent necessary...you could use them but i wouldnt drink them everyday. plus your body does store protien as fat if you have to much. and you dont need them for faster recovery.  

Answer 6

Protein shake products, like the rest of the diet industry, are there to make money.

(Oop's sorry to challenge the marketing blurb, drink your expensive milk product then)

Answer 7

protein shakes are to build fat so when you work out it turns into muscle...the reason why ur sore after a workout is because u work out too much are your body is not use to all the pressure you putting on it. so just cut down on how much u work  

Answer 8

listen to me right here, i doubt you are taking enough protein to have it to be stored as fat, if u wanna gain mass then eat as much protein as you weight.  also try doin a lil cardio to get rid of fat if you have excess. and work in varieties do one workout for like a week then switch up rotation or different types of excercises.

Answer 9

EAT CHICKEN

Answer 10

protein helps you build muscle, what causes you to store fat is excess calories in general. protein shake can make you gain as much fat as a carb shake (if one exists).

a calorie is a calorie is a calorie

Answer 11

muscle cells use calcium to contract and flush themselves of waste products generated from use.

milk will work just as well as a protein shake and be much cheaper.  And for that know it all at the gym,  ask them what anatomy and physiology book they last read.

Protein is excreted through the kidneys, not stored as fat.

Protein is  a big molecule, which in excessive amounts will damage the smaller neophytes ( kidney) cells.  

Fat is stored due to excessive calorie consumption in a format that the body finds easy to store...carbohydrates.  If you are a moderate amount of muscle mass, you already have an amazing calorie burning furnace, and should not worry about the carb thing. Michael Phelps ate 12000 calories a day during training, and becasue he's constantly working and mostly all muscle, he's still lean.  Contrast to some women who get no exercise can still gain weight on 1100 calories a day.

and check out energy drinks, and those grams of sugars... sugar is a carb that is easily converted to fast as are regular sodas.

Answer 12

i heard that protein powder gives guys b***s

Answer 13

Protein shakes after a workout aren't really going to decrease soreness after a workout. They are recommended so that when your body starts fixing the microscopic tears in your muscles that the workout created, you have enough protein (building blocks). Over doing the protein won't help you anything. What you need to figure out is what your lean body mass is and what the RDA is. Bodybuilders use around 1g protein/kg of lean body mass/ day. Some use more, I suggest doing more research.

Answer 14

use this rule: 1 gram of protein total (including protein shakes & regular food) per pound of body weight. -blurey

Answer 15

cos their yummy and there are good for vegos =]

Answer 16

Who told you your body stores protein as fat??? WTF NO IT DOESN'T. It's the one thing our body DOESN'T store as fat.

Answer 17

I seriously dont believe in that stuff. If u want to lose weight or even just recover i wouldnt really on a simple product. I would get something just for that. Protein shakes arent gonna recover , wel i think. Maybe insted of suddenly stopping isnt the answer maybe u should take a jog or even eat fruit or veggies after.. Not fake protein shakes

Answer 18

because they build muscle

and the more muscle you have the more calories you will burn