hey guy i dont use any supplements or whey powder, does it actually make a diffrence and why do you all use it, am i missing out here.

whey is simply protein, the exact same thing that would be in any food containing protein. except, it is absorbed much faster. many use it throughout the day even though that isnt the most ideal, generally you should use it PWO (post workout), and potentially pre-workout. basically since it is absorbed quickly, it is ideal PWO because it will feed your muscle as quickly as possible. if used PWO, you may want to combine it with dextrose (glucose) for it to be even faster absorbing.

does it make a difference? yes. how much? depends. its called a suppliment for a reason. it is supplimenting what you already have. it isnt going to make your gains go ridiculous in the gym or anything, but it will certainly help in recovery which overall can help gains. personally, i felt better PWO when i started taking whey, and even more so when i added dextrose to that. then again, it could be in my head.

A number of controlled scientific studies have suggested that the ingestion of protein, protein+simple carbs, and/or protein+carbs+BCAAs after a bout of resistance exercise or endurance training have an effect on recovery times, as well as body composition and lean mass gains. Do a search on pubmed and read them.



hey guy i dont use any supplements or whey powder, does it actually make a diffrence and why do you all use it, am i missing out here.

A number of controlled scientific studies have suggested that the ingestion of protein, protein+simple carbs, and/or protein+carbs+BCAAs after a bout of resistance exercise or endurance training have an effect on recovery times, as well as body composition and lean mass gains. Do a search on pubmed and read them.

Tennisball,
You're just a fountain of information! I mean that seriously and in a good way. Where do you come up with all this shit?

Tennisball,
You're just a fountain of information! I mean that seriously and in a good way. Where do you come up with all this shit?

Bump that, I love readin' this dudes posts!

Also, can I just add here that whey protein is about the least expensive you can get for protein. I mean, there's what about 35g of protien in a can of tuna for 67cents, and the equal amount of protien for me is like 1.5 scoops of whey which is SOOOOO much cheaper.

I've taken lots of other suppliments, ALA, ALCAR, etc...but really i've found that drinking some caffiene (either tea or coffee) before workouts, and adding a protien shake with dextrose post-workout has really been whats worked best for me.

Some people will respond really well to suppliments, others will not...it all depends on you personally. For me, whey, dextrose, and caffiene have been great...everything else was so-so.

Green Tea extract has also worked really well for me too...I almost forgot!! It is supposed to slightly raise your internal body temperature..that way you don't have to work so hard to raise your HR during cardio..and I've found it does exactly that! I love it, and I've found that at Kent Nutrition the quality and price are excellent!

(shameless plug, but seriously...I've only ordered like one time from them and I've gotten WAAAY more than my $$$ worth and the customer service is simply the way things would be in an ideal world..based on trust and mutual respect!)

Grad school will do it to you. I read and read (usually the articles with references) then go to those references to see if the article's author is stretching the truth about the study. It happens a lot, esp. when the author doesn't disclaim their intentions (which is usually to sell supplements), or disclaim that, for example, the study was conducted on elderly, sedentary people (on whom many of the hypertrophy studies have been conducted). Thankfully, there are many sensible, albeit a little skewed, articles over at t-nation with references. The bb.com ones are quite a bit more suspect, since they are usually plugging the newest supplement. While Biotest and t-mag are one and the same, they disclaim their affiliation, and typically don't push garbage supplements (because they refuse to sell the ones that are debunked in the literature). But then again, they sell some supplements that I don't think anyone should touch.

So, go read! And I'm also thinking about starting to work in a university strength training and hypertrophy lab this fall. Gotta get up on my reading too!


Tennisball,
You're just a fountain of information! I mean that seriously and in a good way. Where do you come up with all this shit?

Ditto on recovery....whey post workout is very essential in helping prevent DOMS.

I second the cost factor in that 2 scoops of whey versus the equivalent chicken breast and steak (or burger) simply is cheaper.
Easier on the gut as well especially if consuming higher than average protein amounts.

Whey isolates and concentrates are rapidly digested but can be slowed down when consumed with fats (fish oils, peanut butter, flaxmeal etc...). Which is why you avoid taking fats PWO. Okay through the rest of the day though.

If you're not big on Whey than another good inexpensive protein source would be egg whites (whites only...no fat)....it's not ideal but it's the next best thing....the whites should be cooked though, don't have them raw.


Why use it....well for one, you're beating the hell out of your muscles in the gym creating micro-tears in the fiber. Muscle is protein....the only way to build it up is rest and a good supply of protein intake to repair the damage. Whey helps get that fast infusion of protein into the muscle, speeding up recovery and allowing you to pummel your next set of muscles the next day as fresh as the first

So, go read! And I'm also thinking about starting to work in a university strength training and hypertrophy lab this fall. Gotta get up on my reading too![/QUOTE]


Since my return to training and my introduction to this forum, my understanding of the science behind this shit has certainly increased.
When I read your posts I sometimes feel as if I'm just beginning to scratch the surface.That's a good thing. It motivates me.Thanx for the help!!

I can do all the reading I want, but I still have lots of catch up in the gym. I'm back to being a skinny bastard trying to gain weight (it's all relative, of course), so you have that on me, man! I need to stop all this reading and EAT!

Thanks for the kind words, though!!

So, go read! And I'm also thinking about starting to work in a university strength training and hypertrophy lab this fall. Gotta get up on my reading too!


Since my return to training and my introduction to this forum, my understanding of the science behind this shit has certainly increased.
When I read your posts I sometimes feel as if I'm just beginning to scratch the surface.That's a good thing. It motivates me.Thanx for the help!![/QUOTE]