Shaking Up the Protein Shake Routine

Consuming protein foods or drinks at some point following a strenuous workout is a good idea, experts say, but a popular notion among fitness buffs—that the protein needs to be consumed immediately after the workout ends—is being debunked.

“The idea that you need to get protein immediately after exercise has been shown to be largely untrue,” Stuart Phillips, a specialist in kinesiology (the scientific study of human body movement) at McMasters University, recently told The Washington Post.

Numerous studies have shown consuming protein immediately before or after you exercise has little or no effect on how much strength or muscle you gain or how quickly you recover.

Caitlin Gwaltney, R.D., at the Mayo Clinic told Men’s Health earlier this year that protein clearly supports a healthy metabolism and helps build muscle mass, but new research shows that the body can continue to synthesize muscle mass several hours after exercise. According to a study at Maastricht University Medical Centre in the Netherlands, the anabolic or metabolic window when muscles are repairing and recovering can extend up to 24 hours or longer, Gwaltney says. There is no dire need to get it into the system immediately, he said.

Last year a group of Iranian, Canadian, and American researchers compared two groups of healthy adult men assigned a high-protein diet and four days of resistance training every week for eight weeks. Group No. 1 got a protein shake right before and after exercise; Group No. 2, same shake but three hours before and three hours after exercise.

Both increased muscle mass athletic ability. Their conclusion? What matters is how much protein you get, not when you get it.

Which raises the question of exactly how much protein a healthy adult needs each day. As a general rule, a person who exercises regularly generally needs around 0.54 grams of protein per pound of body weight. That translates to about 81 grams of protein for a 150-pound adult—or roughly the equivalent of 3/4 cup of plain Greek yogurt, 4 ounces of grilled chicken breast, and 4 ounces of grilled salmon.

Again, as a general rule, according to the current Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the basic Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for a healthy adult is 46 grams protein for a woman and 56 for a man. The difference in requirement is due to the obvious primary difference in muscle mass, but gender is not the only factor that influences RDAs. For example, exercise intensity, fitness goals, and overall health status also play important roles, meaning that some woman may need more.

When The Washington Post asked several diet gurus how to do that in a normal three-meal-a day diet, their suggestions included the following:

At breakfast ¾ cup Greek yogurt (which nutritionists prefer for its higher protein content) delivers 27.5 grams. A three-egg morning burrito with 1/3 cup cooked black beans: 25 grams.

Midday, a steaming bowl of ½ cup cooked brown rice plus 3 ounces grilled chicken or tofu has 28 to 39 grams of protein

Come evening, a dinner burger two-parts beef and one-part cooked lentils on a whole wheat bun rounds out the day with about 30 grams of protein. Ditto for 2 ounces of chicken tenders.

That being said, back at the exercise barre, if drinking a protein shake after a workout helps to meet the day’s protein gram goal and it’s conveniently at hand, feel free to go ahead and chugalug, says Jose Antonio, professor of health and human performance at Nova Southeastern University in Florida. “I take a very pragmatic view of this,” he adds. “Having a shake right after you work out is a fast and easy opportunity to get protein in.”