Every bodybuilder and fitness enthusiast knows that you must eat enough protein for muscle growth. Without the amino acids of protein, your muscles cannot grow no matter how hard and often you train your. Protein is the building block of muscles and there are no other nutrients to substitute protein for muscle growth.
It is recommended that if you want to grow and build muscle mass, the rule is to eat one gram of protein per pound of your body weight per day. That is a lot of protein which many people cannot get in their normal dietary meals and protein supplementation is often necessary. Without eating enough protein, all your muscle building training in the gym will be futile. Such a waste isn’t it?
So when is the best time to eat protein to optimize muscle growth? How and which type of protein should you eat to get spectacular muscular growth?
•Eat protein first thing in the morning – After a good night’s sleep, your body is in a catabolic state. That means your body is burning your muscle for energy since your glycogen store is low. So eat quickly digestible protein such as whey protein the first thing in the morning even before you brush your teeth to prevent your muscle wasting away or catabolism.
•Eat protein between your meals – To keep protein flowing in your bloodstream so as to feed your muscles continuously throughout the day, take casein protein in between your meals. Casein protein is slow to digest and as such will continuously release protein into your bloodstream to feed your muscles for many hours in between your meals. In this way, your muscles will be constantly receiving protein throughout the day.
•Protein before/after gym workout – It is a known fact that eating fast to digest protein such as whey protein before your workout will promote muscle growth as your muscles are being fed as you training to build muscles. Then take whey protein again after your workout along with some carbohydrates to repair your muscle cells after you have damaged them during your workout.
•Protein before bed – Since you will be going without food for many hours when you sleep and muscle building is at its optimum when you sleep, you must encourage your muscle to grow by eating casein protein before you sleep. As casein protein is slow to digest, it will continuously feed your muscles for as long as seven hours when you sleep and thus encouraging your muscles to build and grow.
So now that you know when is the best time to eat protein and to encourage building muscles, follow these tips and see your muscles growing like you have never seen before.