Thursday, July 21, 2011

Workout Wednesday #7(Late)

Intro:
     When doing exercise intensely, protein intake is important for your body for many reasons.  Protein can help your body grow when taking the right amount and I believe it helps out with repairing the body as well.  This can be found in all of the foods we eat today but not everything we eat that contains protein is going to help you gain strength and increase size.  Every person is different so everyone's protein intake should be different.  Also everyone may not like simply taking a "protein powder" in following traditional methods of taking in your protein each day.

Importance:
     A simple search on any search engine will give you many links and journals stating the reasons why protein is important and everyone seems to have their own opinions as to why it is important as well.  Most of the answers one will see is that protein is simply important for human survival.  It provides energy to carry you out during the day and even help you out with your immune system.  Other answers that are common among the body building communities, is that it "builds muscle" which is true in that it "helps" build muscle but it should be clarified that just simple intake of even more protein in your diet isn't going to make you stronger and isn't going to make you look bigger.  One still has to do the hard work to have those gains and develop their bodies with what they have envisioned their bodies looking like.  The reasons I think that protein is truly important is that it acts like fuel for when you are going to go to the gym and workout and so you can have the energy to push yourself as hard as possible.

Methods of Intake:
     The first and most popular method, in my opinion, of taking protein is by taking a few scoops of protein powder.  Whey protein powder is a good way of quickly taking your protein and is perfect for those who do not have the time to cook and prepare a high protein meal during the day.  This could be any one from a busy student skipping breakfast or a person who has a hectic work schedule who cannot make lunch from working too much.  Another similar favorite method of taking in protein is with eating a protein "bar" as a snack during the day.  These bars come in a variety of amounts of protein and some even contain more protein than a protein shake.  The problem with most people though when eating these bars is that they do not like the taste.  I personally do not mind the taste so much and I consider them much better to eat than a candy bar else such as a snickers or something similar to that.  Other forms of intake are through preparing food such as chicken/turkey breasts or including avocados in their meals or eating a large number of hard boiled eggs during all times of the day.


My personal method of protein intake is through eating about four to five eggs every morning and I eat those scrambled since I can't really stomach eating hard boiled eggs.  each egg contains about 6 grams of protein and eggs are cheap enough for me to buy on my tight budget.  I stay away from whey protein simply because of its price point so I tend to look for cheaper alternatives for my protein intake.  Other favorites of mine are eating cans of tuna with some mayonnaise which will give someone about 22 grams of protein in one can.  I just like eating it in a sandwich since it is easier to prepare for me and it is so cheap to buy.  One can will run you about 50 to 60 cents.  You of course do not want to eat too much of anything so changing up your diet is always good to do as well so you do not get bored of eating the same foods over and over.  You do not want to go off of your diet simply because you ever got bored from it.

     Another thing to look at always is the nutritional facts and ingredients of foods you eat.  When you see commercials for things like snicker bars and things like to cure your hunger you might think that since it has peanuts it should be ok for you to eat.  Going to a fast food place and eating a "protein burger" isn't necessarily going to be a "protein" burger but just something they use to sell you on something to make them more money.  Check for protein recipes online to look up what to cook and eat to get a higher protein intake.

When to Take Protein:
     Everyone you talk to about will probably tell you something different about when to "take your protein".  This is a question I have had since I started exercising and working out regularly and this is something that people do differently.  Some will tell you to take protein right before you go to the gym while others will tell you to take it afterwards.  I have talked to people who like to take their protein early in the morning when they wake up and that is it.  I have found out what works for me is that I take my protein all throughout the day.  Since I workout during the late afternoon or night sometimes, I get all of my protein early on the day, and then after my workout I tend to really stay away from proteins and generally go for something that will fill me up such as carbohydrates and things like that.  I have tried many methods when it comes to getting my protein up and what I do now is what works out best for me and gives me the best results.  I have also heard of some people who take protein during the night but I believe at that point your just wasting your money at that point. When you take it at night your not doing anything besides sleeping or resting so all of that potential energy just gets washed up in your toilet bowl when you get up and use the rest room later on the night.  I just do not see the point on doing that to be honest.

Conclusion:
     Protein is important for everyone in order to help you out with your growth and to help you out with your health.  It can help you with your health and immune system and at the same time provides a means for energy for throughout the day.  There are various methods of taking in protein during the day and everyone can choose their methods of doing it.  If you have the funds to by a whey protein powder than that as in option as well as getting protein bars if you can stomach them.  If you cannot really afford those things and your short on cash you can simply buy yourself some eggs and some tuna and get a large amount of protein that way. When it comes time to take in your protein, you can be the judge of when to take your protein.  There are many factors of when to take your protein.  You just have to take in consideration of when your workouts are, and when you sleep.

     Again, all of this information is easily and readily available on the internet.  I just make it simple for those who read this blog by sharing my personal examples of the research I have done and the things that I currently do.  If I'm ever doing something wrong or if you have tips for me feel free to let me know in the comments.  I take most suggestions and look into things.  One thing I always like to bring up is to always research what you put in to your body and that is the perfect example for this.  Always get more knowledgeable on everything you do to your body whether it is workouts or whether it is dietary changes.  Never go into something blindly and expect to get good results.

5 comments:

  1. Excellent post, as always. I stick to eggs a lot too, they're cheap and awesome and it's easy to make different variations with them.

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  2. WHEN I WAS A LAD I ATE FOUR DOZEN EGGS EVERY MORNING TO HELP ME GET LAAAARGE...

    BUT NOW I'M A MAN I EAT FIVE DOZEN EGGS SO I'M ROUGHLY THE SIZE OF A BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR-GUH!!!!

    No, seriously, you are absolutely correct in this post. Nothin' I can negatively comment or complain about at all! Hell, eggs is a time-proven method that, like Old Spice, was good enough for our forefathers and SHOULD be good enough for us today.

    With THAT stated, nothin' wrong with some scientifically-proven methods as well. I believe EVERYTHING should be in balance (even excess~!), and that includes balancing old-timey methods with modern day ones.

    Question: I recently changed from working out in the mornings and midday to evenings and right before I go to bed. What are your opinions concerning pros and cons of such a thing?

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  3. I havent been eating as much protein as I should lately, im going to go make an omelet.

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