Protein is an important part of sports nutrition, but for best results, your nutrition programme should not begin and end with protein only. You will get results from using protein alone, but to achieve outstanding results quickly, your nutrition plan should incorporate products from several categories. This is not a coercion to make you spend more money, but rather some good advice to help you spend your money more wisely. Here are a few facts that everyone should know which will leave you better equipped to choose the right supplements, spend your budget wisely and achieve your goal.
How Much Protein?
There is an optimum level of protein intake, not too little and not too much. It is not just a case of the more protein you eat the better your results will be. On the contrary, taking too much could hinder your results. We sometimes meet customers that spend their entire sports nutrition budget on protein alone, thinking that if they take 6 servings per day instead of 3, they will get better results. All the extra money spent on too much protein could be spent on other products that compliment protein. Of all the professional athletes we work with, not one only uses protein, however, we sometimes meet customers who only take protein, yet expect to get the same results as the pro athletes. Don’t fall into this trap.
A ‘rule of thumb’ for protein intake for men who engage in regular exercise is around 2 grams of protein per kg of bodyweight per day. This can increase to up to 3 grams per kg of bodyweight per day for athletes training at extremely high intensity. Once you have calculated your protein intake from your solid food meals, calculate how much extra you need from your protein supplement and that’s all the protein you need. Now you should look at other sports nutrition products, depending on your goal, and your money could be spent far more wisely. You can calculate your personal daily protein requirements here: www/sci-mx.co.uk/trainingtools
Different Protein Sources with Different Functions:
You will probably have been bombarded with how amazing whey protein is by now, which it is for its purpose. That’s why we have an outstanding whey protein in our range (see page 6). However, whey is not the end and all of protein. Whey is easy to blend and is available as a commodity at a reasonable price, so some sports nutrition companies tend to pay undue attention to it, and ignore other sources. Sports nutrition companies sometimes spring up overnight, wanting to jump on the whey protein bandwagon, and the information that gets to you is often a little prejudiced in favour of profit margins and not science.
The reality is that whey protein is excellent for supplying rapidly absorbed amino acids, the kind you need after training or as a protein top-up with meals. But what about the rest of the day (and night)? This is when you need a more comprehensive, gradual release protein drink, and that’s the reason why we developed GRS-5™ (gradual release system) protein blend.
GRS-5™ contains just the right amount of whey protein to meet the requirement of rapidly absorbed protein, but it also includes a carefully formulated blend of other protein sources. These are from milk protein, egg white, and soy isolate which provide amino acids in a wider spectrum than whey protein and provide a more gradual supply of amino acids. Don’t be misled by some sports nutrition companies that describe proteins other than whey as ‘cheap’. Ironically, whey protein is actually the lowest priced protein source compared to the others found in GRS-5™.
GRS-5™ is the protein base for most of our protein products, namely Pure Protein GRS-5™, Lean GROW MRF™, Lean GROW Extreme™, ProPlex MRF™ and MASS System™. It is thicker and more satisfying than a whey protein drink so it also helps to curb hunger more effectively.
The bottom line is - use whey protein post training and for protein top-ups with meals such as adding to oats for breakfast, but the GRS-5™ blend is ultimately the most effective and popular protein for the varied needs of athletes and everyday people.
