Whey Protein Build Muscles 24 Hours After

Missed your daily protein supplement? Don’t worry; top up the next day by consuming whey protein…

A new study has suggested that whey protein may still aid the build-up of muscle even up to a day after a workout session. In a joint study between researchers at McMaster University, Canada and the a team at University of Nottingham, England, 15 men experienced in resistance training were recruited to test the rate of muscle building after consuming 15 grams of whey powder 24 hours after a workout session.

The men were asked to perform both light and heavy lifting exercises on a leg extension machine until they felt fatigued. They were also asked to perform the same exercise but made to stop before fatigue set in.
The participants then returned the next day and consumed 15 grams of whey protein – a common dairy constituent found in low-fat yogurt.

Whey Protein

After analyzing the results, the teams found that no matter how heavy a load, muscle mass increased after eating whey protein, even though the protein was eaten 24 hours later.

As WebMD’s Bill Hendrick points out, “the findings suggest that muscles may make better use of dietary amino acids eaten 24 hours after exercise, regardless of exercise load as long as the exercise is being performed until fatigue.”
The researchers hope their findings will lead to a new understanding on how exercise translates into muscle building, which could hopefully lead to better weight building supplements.
The study is published in the April 2011 issue of The Journal of Nutrition.