When you start your journey on the path to better health and bigger muscles, it’s good to figure out if protein powder is necessary for muscle growth or not. If someone were to not use any protein powder, would they still be able to grow and strengthen their muscles? Here are the answers and facts if you need them!
Protein powder isn’t required for muscle growth, but it’s a simple and quick way for people who need it to eat extra protein. You could grow muscles by eating foods rich in protein, but protein powder is a great vehicle for that protein. Protein powder isn’t necessary, but helpful in muscle growth!
What makes protein powder so effective in the muscle growing and strengthening process? Is there no other way to grow muscles than by the use of protein powder? Let’s go over in-depth what to know and remember when it comes to growing muscles by using protein powder.
Do I Need to Use Protein Powder to Build My Muscles?
Protein powder is not a hard and fast necessity that is required to build up muscle mass. Protein supplements are simply a more time-efficient way to pack protein into a diet and ensure that an individual is meeting their recommended dose of protein each day! Some people who are athletes, bodybuilders, vegan or vegetarian, or who have chronic illnesses or food illnesses may find that it’s difficult to make sure they eat enough daily protein. Lots of people opt to use protein powders in foods, recipes, and health shakes since it is a simple, time-saving way to take in some protein without having to cook meat. Using protein powder could even be a way to save money while still getting enough protein each day.
All in all, no one needs to use protein powder to build or grow their muscles, the body already builds muscles out of protein consumed in a person’s diet. However, protein powder is a fantastic vehicle through which to consume concentrated protein, and to grow muscles quickly!
Benefits of Protein Powder
There are some tremendous pros and benefits when it comes to protein powders! Some of these positive elements include how most protein powders can help build up muscle, make enzymes, chemicals, and hormones in the body, and even repair tissues. Using protein powders can help you to lose weight and better tone your muscles. Protein powders provide protein to the body, which needs it to create bone, skin, and muscle. There are also a ton of different types of protein powder to choose from, like dairy-based, plant-based, and vegan-friendly!
Consuming foods that are high in protein and protein powders will often help people to feel fuller for longer periods. If people feel fuller for longer, they’ll also often eat smaller portion sizes of foods and snack less frequently, which will all contribute to helping them stay at a healthy weight and even lose weight if they need to! Protein powders can be good tools for you to use if you are battling obesity or an overweight body mass. Protein powders can even lower total cholesterol, blood pressure, and other contributing risk factors for cardiovascular diseases!
In addition to weight loss, protein powders do indeed help with muscle growth, a main reason why people use them. Although protein powders are not the only road to take when trying to eventually reach large muscles, so many people use them since they are one of the best and fastest ways to get larger muscles! Various studies in recent years have supported the use of protein supplementation for muscle growth.
Scientists have found that protein supplements significantly improve muscle strength and size in healthy adults who perform resistance exercise training, like lifting weights! Protein powders are equally effective in men and women but may have a decreased effectiveness with age since older individuals need a higher protein amount than younger individuals.
Other uses of protein powder
Protein powders not only help muscles grow but also repair damaged muscles and tissues in the body of users! Thus, athletes who use protein powder often have their recovery times sped up and their muscle soreness is decreased after they exercise. Using protein powders can indeed reduce personal muscle damage while improving muscle protein synthesis and performance!
Finally, the usage of protein powder delivers additional nutrition to your body. This is a huge benefit and a great way to meet healthy protein requirements. Women who are 19 years or older are advised to consume at least 46 grams of protein of some kind each day while men should consume at least 56 grams of protein per day. If someone is a vegan, vegetarian, or not meeting their recommended daily amount of protein, consuming protein powder in foods or shakes is a great way to maintain their health! It’s important to remember that weight lifters, athletes, people with chronic illnesses, and older adults often need to exceed their recommended general protein intake, and protein powder is a great way to do so.
Downfalls of Protein Powder
There are some downsides when it comes to protein powder usage. Some scientific studies have shown that long-term and high-level consumption of protein can cause damage to a person’s liver and kidneys and affect the human body’s bone and calcium balance. Some protein powders also have higher than usual amounts of iron or arsenic and other metallic elements in them that can prove to be harmful. Consuming high amounts of protein can also lead to a reduced intake of other healthy foods, like fiber-rich fruits, legumes, and vegetables, all of which the body needs to grow and sustain healthy gut bacteria!
A frustrating thing about protein powder use is that the best time to consume it is still pretty unclear. Different professionals will recommend different optimal times to take the protein supplement. Lots of individuals preach that it needs to be taken after workouts, while others find that scientific answers are inconclusive since studies have yielded conflicting results.
Finally, some people say that they just can’t use protein powder due to the flavors and tastes. Some protein powders come in more bland, unappealing flavors. The texture and feel can be chalky and abrasive. This is why lots of users will put the protein powder of their choice in water and drink it quickly or in a fruit, vegetable, or milk smoothie to improve the taste.
Other Ways to Grow New and Strengthen Existing Muscles
Protein is one of the most powerful and key ways to grow new and strengthen existing muscles in the body. But there are other ways to help grow your muscles too! Scientists and athletes suggest that protein consumption, proper sleep, breathing exercises, patience, and personal discipline are also key ways to build muscle over time.
Try different avenues like online training courses, local gyms, personal trainers, and high-resistance workouts along with healthy eating and sleep to build muscles. Some people who follow these suggestions may not even need to use protein powders if they are eating enough natural protein in their diet day to day!
Exercises that Target Muscle Growth
In this modern time, it is thankfully very easy to find and research the best exercise regimens that will grow muscles fast and safely! Some sources online report that pull-ups, squats, deadlifts, bench presses, and shoulder presses are perfect exercises that target concentrated muscle growth. Other writers say that barbell pullovers, leg presses, seated dumbbell shoulder presses, upright rows, and dips are great for muscle building. Be safe and only exercise with routines and moves that feel good and don’t hurt or cause strain to the body!
Best Protein Powders on the Market
When it comes to finding the best protein powder that fits your needs, there is no shortage of brands and types to choose from! The protein supplement company Swolverine carries a terrific whey isolate protein powder that many customers have showered with positive reviews. Then there is the Huge Supplements protein powder, which is made in four distinct flavors sure to make customers’ mouths water, including chocolate peanut butter, strawberry cheesecake, cookies & cream, and vanilla milkshake! Transparent Labs Grass-Fed Whey Protein is highly praised as a protein powder that is both affordable and advantageous for muscle growth.
The Swolverine company as mentioned above even makes a plant protein line that is a vegan-friendly option for vegan protein powder muscle gain! For those searching for a more all-natural type of protein powder, use Transparent Labs’ Grass-Fed Whey Protein to pack on the muscle, and no harmful chemicals or byproducts! One of the best digestive protein powders, made for those with potential digesting difficulties, is the Kaged Whey Protein Isolate protein powder line.
If you have any diet restrictions or requirements, have no fear! There is an essentially endless supply of customizable and unique protein powders that can be researched and bought online and in physical health stores and gyms around the world. Those who choose to use protein powders will find that limited options or catalogs are not a problem they will have to worry about or deal with.
How to Use Protein Powder
Where is the best place to start with using protein powder? One of the first choices to make when using protein powder is what type to buy and use. There are lots of different types of protein powder to use on the market. Whey is one of the most commonly used types of protein supplement and powder in circulation lately. There are also different types of protein powders, like casein, soy, pea, and hemp.
Whey is a water-soluble milk protein that is often used by athletes since it is a complete protein, meaning it contains all the amino acids that the boy needs from food! Whey protein is absorbed easily and quickly by the human body.
Types of Protein
Casein
Casein is a protein that comes from milk and is rich in glutamine. This is an amino acid that can speed up muscle recovery following exercise. Vegans and people with milk allergies should not use casein as a protein powder base. It is digested more slowly than whey protein, so it is often best to consume casein protein powders at night.
Soy protein
Soy protein is a popular choice of protein for those who do not consume any dairy. Soy protein powder has all the essential amino acids for the human body! It’s a great alternative to whey or casein powders.
Pea protein
Pea protein is a protein that is high in quality and is a terrific substitute or stand-in for dairy- and soy-based protein powders. This type is also a super source of the amino acid arginine.
Lastly, there are complete proteins and essential fatty acids found in hemp seeds! Hemp is a phenomenal pick for people with dairy allergies, soy allergies, or for vegans!
Now that all the main different types of protein powders are laid out above, it’s important to know other factors when it comes to using protein powder. Keep in mind that protein powder shakes will vary from each other when it comes to quality, price, and flavor. The United States Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, does not regulate any protein powders, so this is why it is crucial to do in-depth personal research and calculations before using any protein powders! Always pick a protein powder that comes from a respected, reputable supplier or company.
Final thoughts
Before consuming any protein powder products, you need to calculate your personal nutritional needs. If you do not eat enough protein from your average day-to-day diet, it’s a good idea to use some protein powder after calculating how much you need to make up for that protein deficiency! Make sure to avoid eating too much protein, since some protein powder mixes have up to 80 grams of protein per serving. This can often be way too much for people, so calculate and measure the healthy amount for yourself!
From here, the correctly measured protein powder can be mixed into water or blended up into a milk, vegetable, or fruit smoothie! Remember to follow all the instructions on the side of all protein powder containers to ensure the supplement is being used safely.