Discover the Best Protein Powder for Muscle Building

If you are serious about building muscle it is extremely important that you take protein. Picking the right protein powder will take a little work but it will increase your ability to grow muscle 10 fold. There are several factors that go into selecting the best protein powder for you. A couple is the cost and the amazing variety of types and brands of protein powder. Don’t let fall for the old sales technique that the most expensive is the best, it’s not true.

But before we get ahead of ourselves let’s look into all of the different types and find the one that works best for you. One of the striking things I found out when I started lifting weights and wanted to start taking protein was the sheer number of types of protein powder. I’m talking just types, not brands. When you combine the two you feel like you are way over your head so I suggest the following.

Research is the key. You can’t go by word of mouth down at the gym or definitely not by reading the advertisements in the magazines. The magazines really are nothing more than advertisements. Check out how they are always tied to the magazine publisher in some way. This is borderline scam in my opinion. You don’t expect to spend $6 bucks on a magazine and then find out that the publisher is tied into all of the ads.

But back to the subject at hand. You must research the protein powders to find out which on works best for you. We are all different and our bodies react differently to different proteins. Protein powders come in a variety of types, some of which are whey protein isolate, whey protein concentrate, whole eggs, hydrolyzed whey, egg whites, and calcium casein. Each different type has its own strengths, but you are also a part of this equation.

I know at first I was a bit overwhelmed, but don’t let this happen to you. All you have to do is to do a little research on the internet to find out what the strengths and weaknesses of each type are. Then you must start testing. This is the most important part, you have to see how your body reacts to different types of protein powders. Without testing you may never know that your body processes whey protein isolate better than whole eggs. Can you imagine if you continued taking the weaker of the protein powders how much you would be losing in your gains? So test.

Like I said above each type comes with its own strengths and weaknesses. Unless you have an unlimited budget, which I don’t, you will want to get the best band for your buck and also your precious time. I believe it is best to choose types before choosing brands. Brands can have a wide price difference and its best to know which type you are having the biggest gains with first. Each brand claims to tweak their ingredients a little but you can worry about that after you have done your testing on types.

One thing I should mention here, and this actually complicates the matter a little more, is that there are blends of the various protein types. It may turn out that you may even need a blend, say, for taking before working out or after working out. But I have found it best to start with the straight types first and then experiment with the blends. It may turn out if you test enough that you will end up taking multiple types at different times of the day. This is unlikely but taking two different protein powders is quite common.

Some people I have known for a long time have found that they respond best to whey protein right after a workout and a hydrolyzed protein powder before a workout. But they are extremely serious about knowing their body and have tested and tested all of their bodybuilding lives, so I can see how they can nail it down that far. If you ever get this technical than I guarantee that you will be successful, and you will truly know your body.

While testing you must give each different type more than a week of testing. You won’t know and your body won’t be telling you much in just a week of testing so I usually tell people to go a minimum of 2 to 3 weeks to see how they feel and if they are making the gains that they expect. I would make notes on everything you are doing also, including your workout journal and how you physically feel. Learning to read your body is not easy and it will take some time and patience.

It will be very tempting to go with a blend, which is what most people do anyway. By choosing a blend you will get the benefits of a cross section throughout the day. But this is the not optimal way to go, which is what you should be looking for. If you are in a hurry go with a blend, but in the future do the testing to find out which protein powder is the optimal for you. If you are serious about muscle building you should choose to avoid the blends until you have discovered which type your body processes most efficiently. Testing is all important and should include the time of day, before the workout, after the workout, and before you go to bed.

Once you have completed your testing of all of the different types you should now look at costs. Remember, most expensive doesn’t necessarily mean highest quality. And just because something is the best selling doesn’t mean that it is the best product either. Marketing and packaging go a long way in selling so buyers beware. One good thing about finally picking which brand to go with will seem like a breeze compared to the research you did on the types. A good way to save money during all of this testing is to find a health food store on online website that sells trial sizes or sample sizes. You will want to do this before you fork out the big bucks for a tub of protein powder that you may not like.

Sample sizes come in different sizes so go with enough to test for at least a couple of weeks. You will want to do this just in case like me, you may find that your stomach doesn’t like a particular protein powder. One that I tried gave me an instant upset stomach which didn’t help me build any muscle or even help me to work out, since I felt sick. So try to find trial sizes or sample sizes first.

If you happen to have a friend who is interested in testing protein powders you can go in halves on products that don’t come in sample sizes. This works out great since you both can share your own information and it helps to hear other peoples view points on things like this. You can also go through twice as many types for the same money since you will be splitting the bill.

Just remember to take notes and to really listen to your body and check your actual gains while you test.

To see the Top 5 Best Selling Protein Powders click here 

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