Pre-workout Protein drink reduces muscle wasting during exercise

Preworkout protein drink reduces muscle wasting during exercise

A recent study demonstrated that 10 men, all with at least 5 years of training experience, who took 25 grams of a whey/casein mixed drink 30 minutes before their workouts (sets of heavy one-rep squats and 10 rep squats and 4 sets of 10 rep leg presses all with 2 to 3 min rest between sets) showed elevated insulin levels through the first half of each workout and decreased testosterone postworkout.

The authors said that the elevated insulin levels likely led to decreased muscle breakdown during the workout due to the increased pool of amino acids circulating around the body as a result of exercise exertion. The preworkout drink increased the insulin levels to the point where the rate of protein synthesis in the working muscles was maximal.

Research has established that weight training promotes the increase and efficiency of androgen cell receptors in worked muscle and postworkout protein synthesis. So, if we couple those facts with the increase of insulin we have the makings of a highly anabolic environment, one which would almost certainly pull the circulating testosterone into it, thereby decreasing the amount of testosterone circulating in the blood postworkout.

We can thus recommend that a preworkout protein drink should be taken if you are either doing endurance training and do not want a loss of muscle mass or doing sprint or weight training and want your workout to create a more conducive environment within your body for muscle growth.

Hulmi, J.J.,et al. (2005).

Protein ingestion prior to strength training affects blood hormones and metabolism.

Med Sci Sports Exerc. 37:1990-1997


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