Getting the most bang for your buck is the common theme in American society. The interest in supplementation to help build muscle hypertrophy and increase one’s ability to be bigger, stronger, faster is a common issue that I am asked in working with athletes and regular exercisers. The studies I looked at dealt with post-exercise supplementation of primarily protein-carbohydrate ingestion or protein/BCAA ingestion. One study examined the effects of a creatine (0.3 g/kg) and protein supplement (4); however, the primary focus of this paper will be to describe the findings and application of post-exercise supplementation.
The common theme behind my articles was to find the most effective means of using supplementation to help restore the protein/nitrogen in the body. This creates a more anabolic environment to aid in the building of more lean muscle tissue after exercise. The supplements that were mentioned in the articles varied from proteins, protein and amino acids, carbohydrate protein, creatine, and milk supplementation. All studies showed that post-exercise supplementation was useful to help create a positive nitrogen/protein balance and helped to restore glycogen stores within the body. Another notable aspect of the protein/carbohydrate supplement was the increase in cross sectional hypertrophy of the skeletal muscle tissue (3).
The timing of the intake of the supplement was key to seeing the rebalancing of the nitrogen/protein levels. Results were compared with control subjects that performed the prescribed resistance training and received a placebo. The studies showed that intake within 30 minutes to an hour yielded the most benefit for recovering from exercise induced muscle damage and causing muscle hypertrophy. Supplementation from an hour to two hours yielded some benefit, and intake after two or more hours did not have any significant results (1,3,4),.
Another significant recommendation from the studies was that post-exercise supplementation should aid in recovery and muscle hypertrophy. A person would only need to choose a protein/carbohydrate (3), milk (low fat chocolate)(1), protein/amino acid (2), or protein/creatine supplement (4) to achieve this effect. Taking more than one of these supplements, protein/carbohydrate and an amino acid/protein, would most likely lead to the extra calories being stored as adipose tissue (3). One study mentioned that supplementation of protein that exceeded 2.4 g/kg resulted in the extra protein being stored as adipose(2). Most of the studies recommended a protein intake of around 1.4 to 1.8 g/kg.
Some applications of this information would be to teach clients first about the different aspects of metabolism, both catabolic and anabolic, and how they affect the development of muscle tissue. Then, the information about extra nutritional supplementation could be explained about how to use a supplement to aid in developing lean muscle tissue. If a client could understand the effects of exercise- induced muscle damage and how to help recover from this, then fitness professionals should hopefully have success at aiding their client to the desired goals.
A simple and easy supplement would be to recommend chocolate milk since it has a unique balance of carbohydrates and proteins, is FDA regulated, is relatively inexpensive, and is readily available.
1 Cockburn, E., Hayes, P. R., French, D. N., Stevenson, E., & Gibson, A. r. (2008). Acute milk-based protein-CHO supplementation attenuates exercise-induced muscle damage. Applied Physiology, Nutrition & Metabolism, 33(4), 775-783. doi:10.1139/H08-057
2 Nemet, D., & Eliakim, A. (2007). Protein and amino acid supplementation in sport. International SportMed Journal, 8(1), 11-23. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
3 Poole, C., Wilborn, C., Taylor, L., & Kerksick, C. (2010). The role of post-exercise nutrient administration on muscle protein synthesis and glycogen synthesis. Journal of Sports Science & Medicine, 9(3), 354-363. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
4 Candow, D. G., & Chilibeck, P. D. (2008). Timing of creatine or protein supplementation and resistance training in the elderly. Applied Physiology, Nutrition & Metabolism, 33(1), 184-190. doi:10.1139/H07-139
