No matter what the muscle heads in the gym or the advertising in the muscle magazines "report," you will grow tremendously just fine by eating, as long as it’s the nutrition your body needs. While protein supplements are a convenient option to assist you in consuming the protein necessary for consistent growth, they are not a necessity.
The "Golden Rule" of protein consumption is one gram of protein per pound of body weight. Bodybuilders, in their efforts to force growth, will train their muscles to a point of exhaustion and use from 1.5 to 2.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight.
For a 200-pound guy, this can be 300 to 500 grams of protein per day. In the off-season, this is only a portion of the 4,000 to 7,000 calories a day a bodybuilding athlete may eat. Often this kind of food intake may be necessary considering the intensity of their training, their body’s need to recover, and in some instances, PED use.
We had an 18-year-old kid who came in weighing 168 pounds and carried 8.9 percent body fat. His protein use was maintained at 190 to 200 grams a day. Only 40 grams of that came from protein, a supplement with the rest coming from food.
Additionally, he trained four to five days a week, but on the days he did not train, he didn’t use a supplement. The majority of his protein was from fish, chicken, beef and eggs. He used a whey protein supplement on training days within 45 minutes after his workout because of the easy absorption rate of the whey protein.
Exactly 12 months later, this kid had increased his body weight by 30 pounds to 198 and was only 8.5 percent body fat. Lee Haney didn’t use protein supplements. After our workouts, he would have two chicken sandwiches on whole wheat buns from the restaurant across from his gym, "Animal Kingdom." He won the pinnacle bodybuilding title, Mr. Olympia, eight times without supplements, and the young man put on 30 pounds of muscle with limited use of them.
While a useful tool, protein supplements aren't a necessity. As for -workout energy drinks, they are not even close to a necessity. They can help you achieve a good pump, but that’s about it. The energy boost you get is artificial and in time, they tend to lose their effectiveness. Eating healthy and training hard will take you a long way toward your goal. God bless and keep training.
The "Golden Rule" of protein consumption is one gram of protein per pound of body weight. Bodybuilders, in their efforts to force growth, will train their muscles to a point of exhaustion and use from 1.5 to 2.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight.
For a 200-pound guy, this can be 300 to 500 grams of protein per day. In the off-season, this is only a portion of the 4,000 to 7,000 calories a day a bodybuilding athlete may eat. Often this kind of food intake may be necessary considering the intensity of their training, their body’s need to recover, and in some instances, PED use.
We had an 18-year-old kid who came in weighing 168 pounds and carried 8.9 percent body fat. His protein use was maintained at 190 to 200 grams a day. Only 40 grams of that came from protein, a supplement with the rest coming from food.
Additionally, he trained four to five days a week, but on the days he did not train, he didn’t use a supplement. The majority of his protein was from fish, chicken, beef and eggs. He used a whey protein supplement on training days within 45 minutes after his workout because of the easy absorption rate of the whey protein.
Exactly 12 months later, this kid had increased his body weight by 30 pounds to 198 and was only 8.5 percent body fat. Lee Haney didn’t use protein supplements. After our workouts, he would have two chicken sandwiches on whole wheat buns from the restaurant across from his gym, "Animal Kingdom." He won the pinnacle bodybuilding title, Mr. Olympia, eight times without supplements, and the young man put on 30 pounds of muscle with limited use of them.
While a useful tool, protein supplements aren't a necessity. As for -workout energy drinks, they are not even close to a necessity. They can help you achieve a good pump, but that’s about it. The energy boost you get is artificial and in time, they tend to lose their effectiveness. Eating healthy and training hard will take you a long way toward your goal. God bless and keep training.