How Much / How Often?
After your workout it is essential you take in between 30g-40g of whey protein as soon after you stop training as possible to take advantage of the training effect. Post workout your muscles are calling out for a good protein source to start rebuilding and repairing broken down muscle fibres.
You should then aim to have 20g of protein every four afters that. aiming for 2g of protein per 1kg of bodyweight over the day. i.e. an 80kg male should aim for 160g of protein per day. It is also essential you take in a good protein source before bed so that your body can go on rebuilding while you are asleep. Aim to take a slow release protein like Casein before bed to optimise protein synthesis throughout the night.
Whilst protein supplements are an important part of building muscle they should never be a substitute for a healthy well balanced diet. It is possible to put on muscle just with a healthy, high protein diet but for most of us this just isn’t possible or convenient.
On your off days continue taking protein but if you don’t go to the gym regularly then you shouldn’t take protein every day. You may be adding additional unnecessary calories to your diet.
