Three non-terrifying protein powders

For many, the world of protein powders and shakes can be really intimidating and off-putting. Should you be drinking them? If so, when? How often? Which ones should you avoid? Will they just end up making you look like this?…

Photo courtesy of Skeeze

Protein powder has been in the news a lot recently – be it for controversial advertising, adverse health effects stemming from misuse – giving the supplements a bit of a bad wrap, so it’s understandable if you’ve been wanting to steer clear.

But, when used properly, protein shakes have a lot of plus points – if you’re working out on a regular basis, particularly if you’re doing high intensity, resistance work or using weights, then you’re asking a lot of your muscles. Protein shakes can help muscles recover faster and promotes lean muscle growth when you’re not up for taking a chicken breast to the gym to snack on. They won’t make you look like the muscly guy above – that takes a lot more work.

Having said that, there are a lot of brands you should stay away from – many contain a lot of sugar and preservatives, and if the whey protein they contain isn’t a very high quality, it can be a bit harsh on your digestive system. So, here are some brands doing the job properly, that you don’t need to be scared of:

Neat Nutrition Lean Protein

Neat Nutrition

This brand was set up by ex-pro swimmers Lee Forster and Charlie Turner, who wanted a high quality, natural supplement option that they felt was lacking from the industry. They boost all organic, vegetarian, halal and hormone-free ingredients, and keep the options and flavours fairly simple. For those who want a protein boost that also supports fat loss, each 30g serving this Lean Protein is 125 calories, with 24g protein, while being low in carbs and fat. You’ve got a choice of vanilla, chocolate, berry or ‘naked’ (NB. I haven’t tried it, but I’m pretty sure ‘naked’ doesn’t taste like skin). It costs £34 for a pack with 33 servings, but when you consider that all of the ingredients are organic, it’s genuinely tasty and only stevia is used to sweeten it, it’s worth a bit of an investment.

PhD Woman protein shake, chocolate cookie flavour

PhD Woman

Taking the physiological differences between men and women into account – most notably that most women aren’t looking to bulk up – the PhD Woman products have been made with the aim to fit easily into the lives of busy women, and cover weight control, toning and energy. Looking at the toning side of things, this shake can be used before or after workouts as it gives you both a protein and energy boost. If you’re using beforehand, drink it 90 minutes before exercise, or straight afterwards to maximise the benefits to your muscles. A 30g scoop contains 109 calories, 20g protein, it’s suitable for vegetarians, and the whole pack costs £21.59 for 16 servings. Plus, let us not forget the fact that it comes in chocolate cookie flavour…

 

Forza Lipowhey

Forza Lipowhey

I must admit, I was a little put off by the name ‘lipowhey’ as it instantly brought ‘liposuction’ to mind, but – on a bit of geeky inspection – it turns out the ‘lipo’ part actually refers to a lot of sciencey words related to the fact that the product contains a fat-free blend of plant sterols, which help lower cholesterol – a pretty cool plus point. This shake, which comes in four flavours – happily, all of them actually taste like the flavour they say they do – costs £34.99 for 30 servings, comes with a shaker, and contains 22.5g protein per 30g scoop at 114 calories.

And if you don’t fancy being one of those shaker people next time you’re at the gym – that’s not the only way you can enjoy incorporate protein powder into your diet. My post on healthy breakfasts had some protein pancakes that are definitely worth a go, there are bloody hundreds of protein balls about, and – well, I might just have to try out some more protein powder recipes soon…

The importance of rest days

Photo courtesy of Pejman Parvandi

If you’re reading this blog because you want to get fitter and healthier (which I would assume you are – as well as the wonderful writing peppered with lolz), it may come as a surprise to find a post telling you to chill out, take it easy and not exercise – but it’s incredibly important that you do every once in a while. In terms of helping your muscles get stronger and grow, it’s been found that letting them rest is just as important as exercising them, as it means tissues can regenerate and nutrients can be delivered.

When you ache after exercise, it’s because muscle fibres have been torn – it sounds pretty dramatic, but it’s a perfectly normal process and is necessary to get stronger and improve your fitness. If you’re trying to put yourself through a tough workout every day, you’re more likely to cause an injury and/or fatigue your muscles so they can’t function properly – making all your hard work pretty useless.

Photo courtesy of Kathrin & Stefan Marks

A rest day doesn’t just mean lying on the sofa for 24 hours – though totally do a bit of that, too – you need to get your circulation going a little bit to flush out your muscles, deliver oxygen etc. Take a walk, do some yoga or anything fairly light, just take it easy until any muscle soreness you’ve been feeling has gone.

How often should you do this? Whenever you feel like you need to. If you’re fairly new to exercise it should be every third day or so. If you’re more used to exercise, one day a week might be enough – but it’s important to just notice how your body is feeling and try to understand when it’s telling you to rest. If you get up one morning and your legs feel like they couldn’t physically manage a run – don’t run.

Photo courtesy of Oliver Kendal

It’s also important to give your mind a rest as well – it takes a lot of grit and determination to get yourself through a challenging workout, and your brain needs a break as much as any other part of you. Do that, and you’ll be raring to go when your rest is done – rather than dreading going back to the workout grind.

While you’re resting, make sure you drink plenty of water, get a lot of sleep and replenish your supplies with enough food – and another good way to give overworked muscles a rest is to take a nice, warm (not hot) bath in Epsom Salts, which contain magnesium sulphate that effectively forces you to relax – I did a whole post on them if you want to find out more.

So, go be “chillin’ out maxin’ relaxin’ all cool”… the Fresh Prince had a bloody great point.