I was speaking to one of the directors of the company where I work at today, and in our conversation, I mentioned that breakfast today for me included a protein shake, to which he cringed and said that a protein shake would be the last thing he’d ever drink! Now, that’s not the first time I’ve got such a response from someone, but here it is coming from someone who was very into bodybuilding and keeping fit about 20 years ago when he was in the U.K., so he should know what he’s talking about, right? Right. I tried to convince him that I’ve tasted some really great tasting ones, but I don’t think he believed me.
I know he’s not lying.. so that made me really wonder what on earth a protein shake back in the 80s would have tasted like? Ever wondered how much they cost? Were they luxury items? What about the effectiveness, how good were they? Do they actually show results like how some advanced powders today can?
I think most of us, me included have failed to realise that the protein powders we consume today have undergone so many stages of evolution since then.
Not only have they improved greatly in flavour, but I’m sure that the quality of the protein, protein content, proprietary formulas/protein blends, and additives (such as aminogen, which helps the body better utilise and absorb the protein) have all given birth to an incredible and overwhelming range of protein powders that would easily confuse even an experienced consumer. Equally sized tubs of protein having more than double the price difference. Shouldnt they all be the same? They’re all protein, are they not? How does one choose? What do you need to look out for? How do you not fall victim to the advertising wars between protein brands? (Open any bodybuilding/fitness magazine and you’ll immediately know what I’m talking about).
Though we have many great products to choose from… how do we really judge and compare protein powders on our own? Should you trust everything the retail assistant tells you? Doubt most of them have even tasted what they recommend in the first place!
Hopefully, I’ll be able to shed some light on comparing, choosing the right protein powder, and also how to best make use of protein supplements into your program in my next writeup. Stay tuned.
As for now, I look forward to my protein shakes, EVERY time. Do you?
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{ 35 comments… read them below or add one }
Heii… I just bought my first Protein Shake yesterday. hohohoho Havent tasted how its like though.
pardon me for saying this,
i’m always skpetical about all these supplements. nothing beats proper diet though. LOL…
not taken any of these in my young 30 years of life (Milk formula when baby not counted).
:) so, seriously, any visible gain?
i’ve seen ppl drinking it like before and after they workout…the only problem is, these same ppl are only in gym to check chicks out, lift a 15pound barbell and call it a workout…or walk on a threadmill on the higest incline for 5 mintues, the moment the sweat breaks, it’s “bye bye cardio…ain’t gonna sweat all over my Nike Gears dude!!!”
so, seriously, i think you will be a better judge if these supplements works. Even creatine for that matter…or whatever miracle supplements, short of drugs, of course.
Ever seen those people who just consume protein shake after just a light work out? :) sometimes i see these people who are lepaking around the gym talking more that working out but when i go change i see them drinking protein shakes from their huge shakers :) As a result they are always in a perpetual bulk state.. ugly man…
Stupe is a hard working dude… :D and same goes to DM… :D
surfnux: What did you buy? Do share.
stupe: I agree with you, but there’s only so much protein you can get from whole food, especially bodybuilders who sometimes need to get up to 200g of protein a day. Plus, when you do the math, it can actually be cheaper sometimes to get some of your protein from supplements. Not only that, they’re convenient and more bioavailable than the protein in your food.
Will touch more on this in my writeups to come. I’m off to the gym - Fitness First Wisma Consplant, here I come.
Chong - not as hardworking as DM or Mun.
DM - rule of thumb is to take 1gm of protien for every lb of weight. There is only that much your body can digest, other than that, all come out when pang sai. Further more, for someone not used to so much protien in his/her diet, he/she bound to face constipation/bowel problem. Just like fiber in food, too much fiber uptake at once is actually demerital and might cause the stool not bulking!
for my weight (my god, i put on 3kg over the past 3 weeks!) of 83kg, which is losely translated to 83×2.2 = 182.6lb, i would need at least 182.6gm of protien a day, but this is on a very high side actually, assuming that i’m bodybuilding.
Now, 182.6gm of protien is akin to me eating 30 raw eggs a day (ave 6gm/eggs - total cost RM5.99 at tesco)) but if i drink full cream milk, it will give me about 8gm/cup (average mug la - about 200ml - so, i’ll need 4.55 liter, Each liter is RM3.05 at tesco).
If you noticed, most protien shake drink recc you to mix it with MILK…hehehe…there you go, more protien for your bucks!
or if i were to use powerbar as a gauge…the Protien Plus has 24gm per serving…that would mean i need to eat 7.6bar to get it everyday…and each protien plus cost RM10…so…you do the maths, in this case, yes, it’s cheaper to eat/drink protien shake/powder.
the choice is yours…just dont’ drink protien shake while WATCHING wrold cup.
I bought the GNC Whey Protein which is 30% discount if you bought 2 with a member card. It cost me SGD 110 for one bottle of it. Is it overpriced? Singapore I couldn’t find other cheaper source.
stupe: Yes, 1gm protein per lb of lean bodyweight. This is high if you’re only into cardio and overall fitness. Mind you, its not easy to get 182g of protein everyday. You wouldnt want to eat 30 whole eggs a day of drink 4.55 liters of milk. Trust me!
I guess one of the benefits of protein powders that I think you may have overlooked is that via protein powders, you can get large amounts of protein MINUS large amounts of fat, uneccessary calories, cholesterol, etc that comes along with ordinary food. In other words, it’s ‘cleaner’ to get your protein from powders. Also, don’t forget the convenience and the QUALITY of the protein! For example, Whey protein (common in most protein shakes is far superiour to egg protein (which was once considered the gold standard of all proteins, of course, until whey protein was discovered). This also doesnt mean that you should drink protein shakes all day. I myself rarely exceed 3 servings per day (2 after workouts, and 1 when I feel I can’t get it from food on that particular day).
And hey, a protein shake is way better than reaching for a can of beer from the fridge during the world cup, don’t you think?
surfnux: Ah.. I started out with GNC’s whey protein too many years ago. I got my brother to buy them for me from the US, as I was unaware of other brands and prices then. But couldnt you get your hands on some Optimum Nutrition Whey? Haven’t you been reading my site long enough my friend? :P
Whether its overpriced or not.. well do a count on how many grams of protein is in the entire tub:
SGD110 / (Gram of protein per serving x Number of servings) = XXX cents per gram of Protein
Then compare this with other brands to get a rough estimate.
DM -LOL…yesw, whey protien, yes. and also, do tell all here about bioavailibility of powder protien…
like i said, i put on a close 8kg over a 3 months period…i do want to assume it’s lean muscle weight gain and not fat, my waist/pants/belt is still as lose as it was 3 months back… (what a way to comfort myself). But problem is, to improve my timing in endurance sports, carrying extra weight is definately a big disadvantage, esp when knees and joints are concerned.
so, here i am..at the same dilemma…lose weight back to 75kg to get back my personal best time in races…or just let it bulk and bulldozed (and break some other ppl’s legs) while running in triathlons….
LOL.
stupe: Ah.. an endurance athlete! WOW! I admire you guys. I’d normally be ‘punctured’ after the first 10 minutes. My calfs are already killing me after some stunt I attempted at a treadmill a couple of days ago.
While you’re an endurance athlete, I would be best categorised as a Bodybuilder, and therefore - muscle weight is my best friend, but your enemy.
I have a dream too…
I do wanna compete both in a BB competition and full-marathon (obviously not anywhere together at the same time… duh?!?) before i become a 3series (learnt that term from a chick fren of mine, means 30++). Either im confused or just plain greedy… yup its the greed.
DM: our supersize project both flunked huh? just checkin thru some food logs and realized i underestimated my general intake of food. Hahaha… told you we’d kecut together…lol
psst. Did you know taking too much protein makes your stomach bloat and look like u are pregnant? its lke having all nice biceps, chest with a bloated stomach EWWWWWWW. You can opt to eat chickens and eggs instead to get your daily needed proteins. Eat like maybe 3 whole chicken a day, de-skin, boiled. Fried is a no no.. and no using sauce as well or salt… mmmm sounds good eh? But do no overdose else you will begin to have a strange yearning to yell everytime u see sun light and flying short distance might occur too.
steveneleven: What inferior protein powder have you been using? I could accept it if you said that your protein powder gives you a ‘feeling’ of being bloated.. but to actually bloat up your stomach..? come on… enlighten me.
no laaaaaaaaaaaa… kidding but u do put on weight if u take too much tho.. a calorie is a calorie, also above was a mockery la. hahaha coz I got thrown this question that supplementary Whey Protein gives side effects. Got the info from online he said, I ask “you googled for it?”… oh well ppl tend to be careful abt these things and with good reasons I suppose
DM - i do a lil of everything. I want a huge body, but at the same time i want to do triathlon, marathon, duathlon, adventure racing…damn it, races which are well duited for leaner thinner human…i can’t bear to see my arms shrink below 16 inches and i still want to wear my 42inch bra….dilemma…definately. runing on threadmill can be boring, so, what i do is i race with the threadmill…run forward and lag backwards, pump up the heart and the workout. check my blog for some idea of what i do in my free time, esp where endurance activities are concerned, and no, i’m never a winner, just a finisher in the races. LOL.
jay - to train and finish a marathon, you need at least 3 months of training…just like BB, it’s called conditioning…need the workout shcedule, let me know.
Hey Stupe: The Marathon is my next year’s goal too. My target is just to finish it within 6 hours. Teach me, teach me.
stupe: yeah man i’ll look for ya!
icic. hehe but the EGO nutrition can’t be found in Singapore. Courier dunno worth it or not. Will do more research and see whether it is worth it or not. hehehe
Apart from the pricing, is there any different with different brand of whey protein?
I was using Optimum Whey last year but switched to Extreme Pro Whey from a company called Sports Nutrition International. This Pro Whey is just as good tasting and easy to mix as Optimum, which is saying something. Chocolate is my favourite. Myoplex by comparison is difficult to mix without a blender/shaker and tastes distinctly average to downright yucky depending on flavour.
Both Optimum and SNI have high protein ratios. Something like 22grams of protein per 1 oz(scoop) which is good.
I find that having a protein shake is a useful and convenient way to have a quick and light ‘meal’ in between your main meals.
chong and Jay, Marathon in 6 hours is do-able.
I did my first marathon in 5:55. LOL…nothing to brag about of course. I went in wanting to finish it in 6 hours and i did…
there is a write up there about my marathon attempt at my blog.
i’ll be doing Ironman next February in langkawi, god willing.
stupe: …. a thought just came to mind coz i thought i did a route march of similar distance waaaaay back then within 6 and with like 20kg++ on my back. then i realized it was 18km… so 6hrs is the nubie benchmark eh? Hmmm… ill try. Yeah man, IRONMAN! go for it!
Bout protein powders etc: Just know what type to take and when coz not all protein is good for 24/7.
jay : 6 hours is the cut off time for 42km race. :) so, to finish a marathon itself is already an achievement. i’ll be doing anohter marathon this year, so training will resume soon. :)
To everyone of you working hard; be it in gym pumping iron to get the nicely sculpted body or to those running real hard on the road to achieve something incredible and the beat the norm. I solute you.
Remember to reward yourselves once in a while. You deserve it.
I. need. a. good. 4. day. split. routine…. anyone? just direct me to some good 4 days split?
steveneleven: Why don’t you post up what your existing split is, so that I know what your body has adapted itself to, and then I’ll suggest some tweaks to kickstart some new growth. How’s that?
steven11, i think your 4 day split goes like this right?
D1: chest + Bicep
D2: Back
D3: Shoulder + Tricep
D4: Legs
:)
i’m using the one above. On D5 and D6, it’s cardio days, which i usually alternate between D1,2,3 and 4 (insert where appropriate).
Rest is D7 usually, unless i got race on that weekend.
i do inject cardio on lifting days as well, except on legs day where i lift/press heavy.
DM, STUPE,
my split very cacated at the moment.. thus I think I am losing out on my arms(biceps, tri) like this:
d1: lower body: legs, lower lower back, abs, cardio(20mins)
d2: upper body (back, chest, shoulders, a bit of bi and tri now) cardio(20mins)
d3: cardio (some class, 45 mins) then calfs 3 sets rep superset
d4: lower body: legs, lower lower back, abs, cardio(20mins)
d5: upper body (back, chest, shoulders, a bit of bi and tri now) cardio(20mins)
d6: cardio (some class, 45 mins) then calfs 3 sets rep superset
d7: rest
frankly I think I am hitting plateau, and I am still very very afraid of the squat but lovin it, love hate,… now I am experimenting with this new 20 squat routine in which I will got for 2 times a week with a certain weight and add 5 - 10lb to it every succession workout till week 16 i will change to 5×5 maybe, still its the other things like arms shoulders… hmmm I think I may bewokring too many things in one day looking at stupe’s rountine eh?
steveneleven: You are OVERTRAINING. Yes, you’re working too many things in one day.
Back, chest, shoulders, biceps and triceps in one day? I take 4 days to cover those parts. Of course you’ve hit a plateau.. you’re not giving your body the chance to recover, and at the same time, since your split is so compact, there’s no way you can train every bodypart at sufficient intensity. I’ll follow up later.
Stupe, help him out?
Cheers
err, ok.. this is where i go AH-HA!, hmm looks like u and stupe is permanently connected online like me at work.. cool
steveneleven: I’d be more concerned on your workout split if I were you. Your routine looks like something a beginner would be trying out for the first few weeks.
If you wanna gain some serious size, the first thing you should do is to train only one bodypart per week. You may be able to get away with twice/week for smaller bodyparts like your calves, biceps, triceps, but not the bigger ones like your back, chest, shoulders and legs.
steveneleven : Just like what DM said, IMO, you should split your workouts by muscle groups and not by lower body or upper body. You are gonna overexert yourself way too much by combining chest, back, shoulders + bi and tri together. When you do a workout for ur chest, ur gonna strain your triceps, when u do back your gonna be using biceps as secondary muscles and so forth for shoulders which also strains the triceps. Your not gonna be able to give a 100% on the muscle groups. Reschedule your routine a bit and i bet your gonna be growing way faster.
ok will do some research and reschedule my workouts.. thks guys. Yes I am sort of like an intermediate beginner, tho I have been exercisin for quite some time, a habit. I suspect my workout time would be substantially cut down if I were to work my bodyparts, coz there’s only so much u can work out your parts right? for example looking at stupe’s workout on d1:
chest:
incline press (15reps 3 sets)
chest press (15reps 3 sets)
decline press (15reps 3 sets)
biceps:
curls (15reps 3 sets)
err, variations of curls? (15reps 3 sets)
errrr, another bicep curls (15reps 3 sets)
resting abt 45 secs betweens sets, I would be done in no time, is this how it is for u guys? my current workout last 50mins and to 60minz. Anyways, just found this site and will pick up some workout routines now:
http://www.exrx.net/ thanks guys
s11: stick to basic movements. You don’t need to do decline press for chest. substitute it with dumbell fly instead. your reps are too high if you intend to add on muscle mass. pyramid it from 12-6 from light to heavy. i usually do mine 12-10-8-6…meaning 4 sets. at the heaviest, i’m pressing 180lb for bench press.
as for biceps, i only do alternate dumbell curl, barbell curl and concentration curl. again, it’s a 12-6 thingy. At the heaviest i’m curling 50lb of dumbell curl for 6 reps.
again, use basic movement if you want to add on MASS!
if you think you hit plateu, why not alternate your workout every 2 weeks? first 2 heavy, then second 2 weeks, light. do it with strict controlled movement a 5lb dumbell will kill you even when you do lateral raise.
hi, just want to drop by. Just recently view your website from egonutrition link.
i agree to DM on the whole protein shake thingy. For me, dont drink it to accasionally because the protein will go to waste. I have heard that the protein that are not used will go directly to your kidney and affected your urination. is that true?
DM, where has that been shown to be conclusive about just 1g/lb bodyweight? I hear a few people say it from time to time but where is the rock solid research to support these claims in healthy people? Provided you have healthy kidneys, drink plenty of water and eat enough fiber (for digestion), a moderate to high protein diet should be fine.
On a low protein diet you’re looking at the following scenarios: very high carb intake (how many people can tolerate let alone utilize the energy from those carbs?), unusually high fat intake, or not consuming enough calories. Or all of the above. All far from optimal.
Personally, I’d rather take advantage of the fact protein is not only critical to building muscle (the whole point of what we’re doing here), but is the least likely macronutrient to be stored as fat. Like I said, every big, strong guy seems to base their diet on moderate to high protein intake. It’s usually the skinny guys talking about the RDA, splitting hairs over protein utilization, paranoid about kidney problems.
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