Open Question: Do You Take Protein Before or After a Workout?
Question: Should I take protein before or after a workout and how much?
Answer: Before, During and After!
The time period that consists of before, during, and after your weight workouts is the single most important time to consume a load of protein; your body is a protein sponge at this time and needs a huge influx of muscle-building protein.
Timing is everything! You want a full dose of amino acids coursing through your blood at precisely the right time, and that time is both during and after your workouts.
Why?
As you strenuously exercise your muscles with progressive resistance weight training, you are in actuality damaging muscle fibers! Don't worry, though. You can repair them and make them stronger by giving the the raw materials they need (protein) to repair and grow bigger and stronger.
In order to do this, you need to ingest a healthy amount of protein before your workout so that amino acids (which is what protein is made of and that is broken into when protein is digested) are available to your cells in that critical phase where they are beginning to be damaged. This "damage" by the way is simply microscopic tears in the tissues that sends your brain an alert that it needs to set the muscle-building process in place.
You also need to keep your muscle cells constantly bathed in amino acids after your workout. How? By consuming plenty of protein during your workouts.
Finally, to assure success, you need to "bring it home" by consuming a large does of protein immediately after your weight workouts.
My advice: Mix up triple-size protein shake made of quality whey and casein protein powder, water or whole milk (depending on your goals, whether strict muscle-building or bulking up), and a favorite fruit for flavor. I like to mix in some creatine, too.
I fill up a giant bottle and drink roughly one-third about 30 minutes before working out, one-third while working out, and I finish it off immediately after my workout.
Alternatively, you can mix up a protein shake before working out and drink it about 30 minutes prior and then drink 16 ounces or so of chocolate milk. Interestingly, chocolate milk has been shown to be just as effective as any commercial protein or "sports" drink available for rebuilding and repairing muscle tissue after grueling gym sessions.
About an hour after working out, I suggest you eat your most protein-dense meal of the day.
How much? While some studies have shown that a person can typically only assimilate 20-30 grams of protein per meal, it is my strong belief that you need to ingest 50 to 100 grams of protein during this "pre-, during-, and post-workout time period.
