Protein Bars or Protein Shake

[Bello]

I'm looking for some advice on protein shake/bars

Which one is better for you

Which one taste good

Which one you would recommend to gain some mass.

I don't want to take something that has too high of a fat content in it (monkey milk)


thank you

[bigchillcar]

speaking as a personal trainer, i'm not sure where to begin with you, as the question is so multi-faceted. some questions need to be addressed: are you currently doing a resistance exercise program? what is your current height/weight? approximately how many calories do you eat per day now? aim for 50% carbs, 25% protein, 25% fat as an easy guideline. rule of thumb: assuming you workout with weights, consume 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight..if you weigh 180 lbs, eat 180 grams of protein per day to help build muscle as you 'break it down' through working out. protein can be purchased as a powder, generally a scoop will contain 20 grams of protein..at 4 kilocalories/gram, that's about 80 calories a scoop. your body can only assimilate so much protein at a time..generally anything much over 40-50 grams of protein at a time will 'go to waste'. the best time for protein intake is during the first hour after a workout. be sure to eat plenty of carbs prior to working out for energy..and allow an hour for them to digest. there are a variety of protein bars on the market, many of them come with a lot of sugary carbs (high-glycemic..which are beneficial after a workout)..most don't really contain much fat. at any rate, these forms (powder or bars) are considered 'supplements' to your diet, not the whole ball of wax. you'd have to eat enough of the stuff to make you absolutely sick to get fat in my opinion. you'd puke before you'd get there..
ryan

[91S2]

I recommend Nitro Tech, especially if you take it along with cell tech (creatine) for muscle gains. 'Pure Protein" shakes are also quite tasty.
other than that...."chillcar" is 100% correct.... just be careful to take his advice on not consuming too much protein at one time, "going to waste" is putting it tastefully, so to speak

[bigchillcar]

just be careful to take his advice on not consuming too much protein at one time

high-protein diet? take plenty of fiber..maybe even benefiber or metamucil..or expect to **** bricks..
ryan

[87coupe]

I recommend Muscle Milk ... Cookies & Cream mmmmm.

[RANDY P]

You need to gain? Beer will help ya

[livi]

Been training for 25 years. Used "extra" protein for the last 5 years. Personally I prefer powder vs bars. Seems better price, taste better and easier to dose.

On a side note, I have not noticed any major gains with the extra supplemented protein. I only seem to gain fat.

[Jims5543]

Neither, change your diet to a high protien one. Your liver will thank you later.

I know 3 dead body builders who would load up on supplements. I stopped taking supplements and injesting raw protien a couple of years ago.

Just my humble $0.02

[1967 R50/2]

Try eating some steak and eggs. (or chicken and fish)

Seriously, I've done some competitive bodybuidling and powerlifting. Shakes and bars WILL work, but most shakes give me gas that is insufferable and most bars clog you up no matter how much water you guzzle.

Now I just stick with something less processed.

If you MUST have a supplement, I recommend Designer Protein. It's just milk whey protein, so it blends real easy with milk or water.

Also, when people talk about "supplemental" protein, think in terms of grams...not kilograms. You don't need to go nuts on this stuff.

[Bello]

Thanks for all the advice.

Right now I'm 5.9 and 162lb 34yrs

I'm not fat but I do feel that I have some love handle that I would like to get rid of.

i have been very active all my life

I goto the gym four days a week (30min cardio - 45min weights) & I play hockey the twice a week.

I watch what I eat - very little fat, no fast food, pop, beer, pizza, etc. I do eat alot of chicken & beef (i hate fish)

I just feel weak - my muscle are not as strong as I think they should be.

Could it be my body either takes longer to build muscle or maybe it's in my genes

[bigchillcar]

bello,
height and weight don't sound wrong to me. you can't 'spot reduce' fat, and the best plan is to try to drop bodyfat as slowly as possible. crash dieting always has a 'rebound effect'. i would continue with my weight training..do it first, then finish with your cardio session. do you know how many calories you're burning and what type cardio machine? i prefer the eliptical machines to stationary bikes..i find that you can do a better job of getting your heart rate up. target heart rate for you would be like (220-34)= 186x0.7= 130 beats per minute..that's 70% of your max heart rate. try to maintain that for the full half-hour. on an eliptical machine, you should be burningin the neighborhood of 400 calories. sounds like you're wanting to get a more lean look? make breakfast your largest meal of the day if possible, or lunch if that isn't possible. eat as little after 7-8 pm as possible..try to limit the carbs after that time for sure. drink plenty of fluids. you should be drinking 180 ounces of water per day at your bodyweight. how long have you been training with weights? for the first several months, newbies develop strength solely through neural adaptations..your muscles learning 'how to do the exercises', slowly recruiting more and more muscle fibers for a given amount of work. eventually, after several months of this adaptation, muscle itself begins to increase its cross-sectional area in response to training..this is when you slowly begin to notice signs of muscle hypertrophy. it just takes time and committment. intensity is key, as is the type of exercise selected, their order, amounts lifted and rest periods between sets..all play roles. in general, for training solely for strength,keep your reps in the 5-8 range, heavier weights, rest periods about 3 minutes, total set volume lower. for more 'bodybuilding' style, keep the weight used moderate, reps in the 10-15 range, rest periods 60-90 seconds between sets and set volume higher. the latter style will result in much more burn, as your body has to adjust to buffering the accumulation of hydrogen ion by-products of exercise (lactic acid buildup). periodize your plan. work strength-style for a couple months, then switch back to the higher rep program. hit the muscle from varying angles in order to innervate all the muscle fibers in a given muscle group. don't over train..give large muscle groups 3 days of recovery, smaller ones, give 1-2 days. multi-joint exercises like squats and deadlifts, although tough for beginners, will do more to promote hormonal changes in your body, which stimulate its growth than isolation exercises like leg extensions, arm curls, etc. i'm not sure what your exact expectations are..and without seeing your body, it's hard to comment on what precise strategy you should be employing. hope that this helps. good luck!
ryan

[Bello]

Hey Chillcar,

I'm not sure on how many calories i'm burning - but I do switching between the eliptical machines to stationary bikes every other day. I have also introduce the HIIT program into my cardio.

I will now do my cardio last - Great suggestion!

YES I do want a "Lean" look.

If you want to call it "training" - I've been doing it seriously for the last three months, concentrating more & more on the weights.

Could you explain what a "fast & slow twitch dominant" is? In easy terms.

[930addict]

I also recommed getting the large majority of your protien from natural sources. However, Designer Whey makes a great protien shake. The strawberry tastes like Nestle Quick's Strawberry. Each scoop has 18 grams of protien. As far as protien bars the South Beach meal replacement bar is one of the best I've had. Each bar has 19 grams of protien.

[mudman]

I am a vegetarian an use protein supps to supp my diet. I've found that the powder at walmart in choc flavor is cheap and good with milk and oatmeal, cold. I also make it a point to eat tuna (one of the only 'meat' thing I eat that I don't catch myself) a lot.

[bigchillcar]

Could you explain what a "fast & slow twitch dominant" is? In easy terms.

fast and slow twitch refer to the two primary muscle fiber types. fast-twitch dominant 'types' are the ones primarily used in strength-dominated movement, slow-twitch in slower, easier movements. in layman's terms, a powerlifter has a greater percentage of fast-twitch muscle fiber. strength is related to both the number of fibers called upon, as well as their 'rate of firing', hence fast-twitch fiber moves more weight. marathon runners have more slow-twitch muscle fiber. this type is characterized by a less of a tendency to hypertrophy (grow) and by much greater numbers of cellular mitochondria, the part of the cell which utilizes oxygen to re-generate atp, the cellular 'energy dollar'. so, you could say the bulkier powerlifter is fast-twitch dominat and the marathoner is slow-twitch dominant. hope this helps.
ryan