I’ve been reading up on the Tipton studies and I’m not certain that they suggest definitive post-workout guidelines. They give 6 grams of EAA and 35 grams of carbs as pre-workout for subjects who have been fasting. That little amount of EAA probably shoves the body into positive nitrogen balance after a fast but what if you’ve already had 40 grams in the morning? This brings up another point. Say you’ve eaten a big high protein breakfast with whey and eggs and workout 4 hours later. Hasn’t body broke down that protein and put at least 6 grams of EAA in the bloodstream? In this case, just taking 35 grams of sucrose before the workout would provide the benefits the subjects of the experiment got. Finally, the loading protocol was 10x10 and 8x8. We all know that to accomplish this, we have to decrease the intensity and that these rep schemes tax carb stores maximally and affect the metabolism. This may affect how the body uses the carbs and responsiveness to a small infusion of amino acids. What does everyone think?
Where are all the free thinkers out there?
If you read the study a little closer you will see that 6 grams is the minimum amount that they percieved would cause the effect on protein synthesis they were looking for. The reason they used essential aminos is because a previous study showed that the non-essential aminos were not required to bump up protein synthesis. Eating 4 hours before would be fine but plasma levels of aminos would not be as high as if you took whey just before you worked out.
Ken, I understand why essential aminos are the key. But why would FFAAs put more essential aminos in the blood stream than a big protein meal hours before?