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It’s very well known that supplementing with protein powder around the workout period helps to increase the rate of protein synthesis in the muscle and speed up the recovery process. Combining this with a form of simple sugar is even more beneficial because then you will get the insulin response from the glucose that helps to take up these amino acids right into the blood stream almost immediately.

The Research

One study that was published in the Endocrinology and Metabolism assessed what the difference in effect would be if you consumed the whey protein before the workout or after the workout.  They had one group ingest a solution of whey protein immediately before the exercise period and then another group of subjects ingest the same whey protein beverage immediately after the workout period was ended. The workout consisted of 10 sets of 8 reps of leg extension and phenylalanine concentrations were measured in arteriovenous samples to determine the balance across the leg.

The results of the study indicated that the amino acid concentrations were increased by 50% after taking protein at either time and in both subject groups, the net amino acid balanced switched from being negative to positive.

Additionally, the uptake of the amino acids was not significantly different between either trial period, indicating that having your protein before or after the workout will be beneficial in terms of muscle building and for recovery purposes.

Conclusion

So the take-home message of this study is that if you are on a limited budget in terms of purchasing supplements and protein powder, you will benefit from its use either before or after the workout with one not being all that much more superior to the other. It will still, however, likely be most advantageous to taking it before and after if you can simply for the fact that you will have a higher influx of amino acids to the tissues, so more will be available if needed.  Remember that your daily protein intakes must be met to stay in a positive nitrogen balance overall, and since you’ll have the insulin-glucose reaction before and after the workout along with the benefit of exercise on muscle uptake, it would make sense to really focus on a good protein intake at these time periods.

References:

Aarsland, A.A. (2006). Stimulation of net muscle protein synthesis by whey protein ingestion before and after exercise.  American Journal of Physiology and Endocrinology Metabolism.

Author: Shannon Clark

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