Nothing is more annoying to me then noisy people that attempt to pry into my supplement closet and find out what I'm taking - okay that's a lie, we all know by now that I am pretty irritable hence my "Top Ten "Do's" and "Don't's" of Working Out" post but I digress...
So by popular demand (slash; just an attempt to prevent these supplement investigations from continuing) I've decided to give you my 2 cents on various supplements that are on the market today. Now seeing as how it's 2011 and no one likes to read anymore I've decided to break each supplement down one at a time in small segments so that you don't end up falling asleep and missing the ending of the X Factor. With that said let's get this party started!!
So by popular demand (slash; just an attempt to prevent these supplement investigations from continuing) I've decided to give you my 2 cents on various supplements that are on the market today. Now seeing as how it's 2011 and no one likes to read anymore I've decided to break each supplement down one at a time in small segments so that you don't end up falling asleep and missing the ending of the X Factor. With that said let's get this party started!!
The Supplement Series; Protein
Protein is an essential nutrient especially to those who are active in sports or working out. It's sole responsibility is to repair muscle tissue that has been broken down during the extracurricular activity of your choice. OR in the grade 5 version; protein builds muscle!
They're two kinds of protein powders; isolate and casein. Both are great sources of protein however the isolate has been designed to breakdown into the bloodstream almost instantly to provide your muscles with the proper nutrients right away. Casein is a more time based protein that takes longer for your body to digest (approximately 3-4 hours) which is ideal for consuming in the mornings or before bed.
Now they're a couple misconceptions when it comes to ones protein intake; the biggest being that shakes will make you fat... WRONGO!!! Being lazy makes you fat, putting the blame on protein shakes makes you ignorant. Another concern, mainly for the ladies is that they will make one look "too muscular". A typical response from any female client I tell to take protein shakes; "I don't wanna be jacked". I just want to clear the air on this one... Ladies, you need a significant amount of help from a hormone called testosterone to be able to build enough muscle to be considered "jacked". Believe it or not, as many hormones as you ladies produce, there is not enough testosterone in your body to make such gains so unless you add a little vitamin S (steroids) into your system you'll be in the clear!
"Well how do I know how much protein I should take?"
I thought you'd never ask!! I recommend you get your proteins from whole foods like chicken, fish, eggs, and milk before you resort to the shakes. However, if your schedule doesn't allow you to spend half the day in the kitchen then you may want to pickup a low carb protein powder from your local health store. I good rule of thumb for protein consumption is to have 7g of protein per 9g of gluten free carbs and 1.5g of fat. Ps. don't worry about what gluten is right now, that's an entirely different topic. For people trying to put on size you want to increase your protein intake to 1.5g - 2g of protein per pound of body weight. Everyone else wants to aim for about 4oz of protein with breakfast, lunch and dinner with 2oz of protein in your snacks (assuming you have two snacks a day). Again that's just a rough idea, things like body weight and health concerns may effect some peoples ability to consume a high protein lifestyle.
Now it is VERY important to consume a lot of water while increasing your protein intake in order to protect your kidneys. You want to aim for a minimum 3 liters a day to start out, then work your way up to a gallon by adding another liter each week. And no, juices and coffee do not count and yes, I'm aware that you are going to pee a lot in the beginning but you get used to it.
So in the words of my good friend Ronny from MTV's Jersey Shore;
"She brings me a pizza slice! Not even a protein shake, a slice of pizza! Like what am I gonna do with that?!?!"
