Protein/EAA Consumption for Muscle Hypertrophy

Resistance exercise is a never-ending cycle of breaking down muscle and building it back up again. One of the advantages of using anabolic steroids that any bodybuilder... will tell you is that you recover faster. Inability to recover from resistance exercise leads you down a spiraling pathway to overtraining and poor muscle growth. Which supplements can help you recover faster?

I remember when I used to chug this Mega Mass 5000 shake, which at the time was what I thought was the best way to gain muscle mass— how wrong I was!! In the last year, there have been significant discoveries in protein synthesis that have cleared up a lot of the misconceptions of the past.

Of course, many bodybuilders take either a whey protein shake or throw some branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) down after resistance exercise, because they do the same thing, right? Both are great for stimulating protein synthesis and enhancing muscle recuperation, but there are subtle differences between the two. Check out the interesting and free peer-reviewed research of the literature by Dr. Hulmi Lockwood and Stout titled, “Effect of protein/essential amino acids and resistance training on skeletal muscle hypertrophy: A case for whey protein.” The review makes some interesting points that bodybuilders should consider when trying to increase muscle mass.

Small, Frequent Amounts of Protein/EAAs

I had the pleasure of hanging around Jay Cutler for a few days when he was in town for the MD Seminar. He eats very frequently, but he also eats really clean. If you watched Evan Centopani’s video on musculardevelopment.com, he is a big proponent of fish because he feels it doesn't sit in his stomach very long and he can eat soon after again, unlike eating red meat. Some bodybuilders adopt the ‘anaconda’ method of eating, where they eat a large meal and then don't eat for several hours later. Jay eats small, frequent meals throughout the day.

Interestingly, studies have suggested that you don't have to eat pounds and pounds of meat to get the full optimization of protein synthesis. For example, when utilizing egg protein or essential amino acids, there seems to be a plateau in protein synthesis from ingesting 20-40 grams of protein, or approximately 9-10 grams of essential amino acids (EAAs), respectively.1 That's it!!! In fact, a recent study reported no difference in protein synthesis when athletes consumed either 30 grams or 90 grams of protein from beef, after resistance exercise.2 So it seems that small and frequent ingestion of protein/EAAs is better for maintaining protein kinetics over the day, and maintaining an anabolic state.

Missing Link In Whey Protein?

If you think it's just EEAs that are important for recovery, you’re partly right— but there is something else in whey protein that gives a little bit of an edge for recovery that you can't get from just taking EEAs. For example, when untrained subjects consumed either 25 grams of whey protein isolate or 25 grams of whey protein hydrolsyate, peak isometric torque was fully recovered by six hours post-fatiguing eccentric exercise— for subjects consuming whey protein hydrosylate.3 However, recovery was still significantly depressed by 24 hours post-exercise in the whey protein isolate group. So here you have two protein sources with identical EEA composition, but there was something in the hydrolysate that enhanced recovery above whey protein isolate.

Additionally, an earlier study conducted this year reported that acute consumption of a whey protein drink (~approximately 15 grams) in elderly men and women at rest resulted in greater muscle protein kinetics than consumption of an equal component of EAAs (6.72 grams).5 This demonstrates that there is a missing ingredient that stimulates additional increases in protein synthesis beyond just EAAs. The review paper shed some light on the subject when the researchers concluded, "new discoveries continue to surface regarding bioactive peptides present within dairy, and specifically in whey that may facilitate improved recovery and antioxidative capacity to support physiological adaptations to exercise.”

Don't get me wrong— I think all dieting bodybuilders should be taking a some EEAs between meals, but it seems that there is something in whey protein that gives it a little extra kick for anabolism and muscle recovery.

References:

1. Moore DR, Robinson MJ, Fry JL, Tang JE, Glover EI, Wilkinson SB, Prior T, Tarnopolsky MA, Phillips SM: Ingested protein dose response of muscle and albumin protein synthesis after resistance exercise in young men. Am J Clin Nutr, 2009, 89:161-168.

2. Symons TB, Sheffield-Moore M, Wolfe RR, Paddon-Jones D: A moderate serving of high-quality protein maximally stimulates skeletal muscle protein synthesis in young and elderly subjects. J Am Diet Assoc 2009, 109:1582-1586.

3. Buckley JD, Thomson RL, Coates AM, Howe PR, DeNichilo MO, Rowney MK: Supplementation with a whey protein hydrolysate enhances recovery of muscle force-generating capacity following eccentric exercise. J Sci Med Sport, 2010, 13:178-181.

4. Yalcin AS. Emerging therapeutic potential of whey proteins and peptides. Curr Pharm Des, 2006;12:1637-1643.

5. Hulmi JJ, Lockwood CM, Stout JR. Effect of protein/essential amino acids and resistance training on skeletal muscle hypertrophy: A case for whey protein. Nutr Metab (Lond), 2010 Jun 17;7:51.

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