I’ve read in t-mag somewhere about how drinking a protein shake while working out will affect your hormones in a bad way. I don’t remember exactly though. Can you guys tell me if any of you do this and what you think about it?
It isn’t necessarily bad in that you could easily chuck it back up through your gullet, but there are no benefits to eating during your workout, were as the changes in body chemistry that happen post workout can be affected by proper workout nutrition.
Never heard that but I have read that getting some protein (like Whey isolate) about 1hr before working out can keep cortisol levels down.
I read somewhere that ingesting food in general during a workout can interefere with GH output in the pituitary. I’m not sure if this is substantiated, and even if it is, I’m not sure the levels of output are significantly affected. The more established problems with taking in nutrition, especially protein, during a workout relate to digestion. John Berardi once e-mailed me a theory (of which he is uncertain and with which I disagree) that eating during workouts might inhibit gains in the long-run, not because of impaired endocrine function, but rather because eating during workouts might reduce the protein catabolism from weight training that eventually stimulates the post-workout anabolic state. Personally, I don’t buy it. If you can minimize protein catabolism during workouts by eating, I think you’re ahead of the game. I think myofibrilar breakdown during a workout should be enough to stimulate protein anabolism after a workout because your body is still going to need to supercompensate in response to that stress. I think you might actually achieve more myfibrilar breakdown (as well as more neural stimulation) when you’re nourished during a workout, especially if you include carbs in the mix, because you can be more intense and endure a bit more work without overtraining. Personally, I started eating carbs and some protein during a workout about six months ago, and I think it has helped, rather than hurt, me.