Proteins Before or After Your Workout: What Really Works?

Proteins Before or After Your Workout: What Really Works?

If you’re serious about sports, especially in martial arts like Kickboxing, MMA or Krav Maga, you’re probably familiar with the eternal debate: should you take your proteins before or after your workout? Well, I understand the confusion, because there’s so much information and everyone says something different. Anyway, I’ll just tell it the way I see it.

Proteins Before Your Training

Well, to be honest, I think that taking proteins before your training can be quite okay, especially if you have heavy training sessions like in MMA or kickboxing. What proteins do in advance is ensure that your muscles have enough amino acids during your workout. This helps to somewhat prevent your muscles from being broken down. But let’s be realistic: you can also achieve this simply by eating normally and healthy. If you still want to take a shake though, do this well in advance—say about 3 to 6 hours before you go sports. Why so early? Well, because your body needs time to properly digest and absorb everything.

Proteins After Your Workout: This is Where the Magic Happens!

If you ask me, proteins after your workout are much more important. Especially in martial arts like Krav Maga and Kickboxing, where your muscles are intensely stressed, your muscles will have small tears afterward. This may sound dramatic, but it’s exactly what you want, because this allows your muscles to grow again. But for that, they need the right nutrients.

Within about 30 minutes to an hour after your training, your muscles are extra sensitive to proteins. So it’s ideal to consume a good protein-rich meal or a shake at that point. Your muscles absorb those proteins like a sponge. Well, figuratively speaking. This speeds up recovery, stimulates muscle growth and immediately replenishes your glycogen stores, so you’re soon ready for your next training.

Are Protein Shakes Really Necessary?

Protein shakes are popular, especially among weight lifters and nowadays also increasingly among martial artists. They’re handy, simple and quick. But you know, it’s still mostly a supplement. The most important thing is that your diet is simply good: chicken, fish, eggs, low-fat quark—that kind of thing. But I also understand that you don’t always feel like preparing a chicken breast after a heavy training session. Then such a shake can be ideal.

You actually have different kinds of shakes: whey and casein. Whey is absorbed quickly and is perfect just after your training. Casein, on the other hand, works slowly and is more something for your rest days or before you go to sleep.

What Is Isolate Actually?

Maybe you’ve heard of whey isolate too. This is a pure form of whey protein that’s absorbed more quickly by your body and contains less fat and carbohydrates than regular whey. Ideal if you want quick muscle recovery after intense training like in MMA or Krav Maga. Personally, I find isolate especially handy if I want to see results quickly or am working on losing fat.

Recommendations: The Best Protein Products for Athletes

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Why? As explained before, whey isolate is ideal after intense training due to the quick absorption and the low content of fats and carbohydrates.

Perfect for: Immediately after a heavy training, for quick muscle recovery.

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