Weight Training Blog

Someone sent me a question asking me what type of protein powder I recommend because the powder they use tastes bad and always clumps up on them.

Personally, I recommend Optimum Nutrition’s protein products. The number one advantage to using their products is cost. It’s not one of those insanely expensive blends that will break the bank. Secondly, ON’s products have the nutrients you need. Third, their products don’t taste that bad. If you’re looking for something that tastes almost like candy, I recommend going for a Cytosport Muscle Milk product as I believe they have some of the best tasting protein powders available. The only down side is cost, and fat content. Generally speaking, Muscle Milk does tend to contain higher amounts of fat than other blends. But they have since come out with a “light” Muscle Milk product, I believe.

As for the issue with clumping… Well, the truth is I have never really had an issue with any blend clumping more so than any other brand. If you’re using a shaker cup to mix your shake in, then I recommend adding liquid first, then the powder. Don’t forget to leave about an inch to and inch and a half of room between the top of the powder just added and the top of the cup portion of the shaker bottle (The part that holds the liquid, excluding the top). This will give you room to mix it well.

So I haven’t bought any supplements from discountanabolics.com in a long time but they still insist on sending me periodic emails about special deals that they have going on. In fact, I wasn’t even made aware until recently that they changed their name to “DAmuscle” instead of Discount Anabolics.

I noticed that for a limited time they have Super Pump MAX on sale for $12.41 (plus shipping). I thought this was a pretty good deal and was worth mentioning considering many pre-workout supplements – such as N.O. Xplode  - usually sell for $40 if you buy it from a brick and mortar GNC shop.

Here’s a tip: If you’re looking to start training with supplements, look to online retailers to get the cheapest prices. Places like GNC mark up their products like crazy and will make weight training more expensive than it ought to be.

Whey protein is probably one of the most well-known types of protein out there, but is it the best type of protein for you to be taking? Well that depends on when you’re taking it, of course. If you’ve ever been to GNC and asked them this, then chances are they have told you that you should be taking whey protein whenever you can. I wonder why that is…

There are different types of protein powders that are currently on the market right now, and many of them have different rates in which they break down when digested and should be used to your advantage when taking them to make sure your muscles always have a supply of proper nutrients to recover.

For instance, casein protein – which comes from milk just like whey does – is a slow-digesting form of protein that should be taken right before going to bed in order to supply your muscles with protein throughout the night. Obviously taking whey protein before you go to sleep will not benefit you all night since it is completely broken down in just over an hour after digesting.

So just when should you take whey protein? Generally speaking, whey protein should be taken soon after waking up along with a carbohydrate, and also soon after you work out – again with a carbohydrate – in order to maximize its fast-digesting properties. Carbohydrates act as a “protein delivery system” and help to aide amino acids work quicker.