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Scott Steinner
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Are meal replacement drinks really that important after your workout? Read on and decide for yourself.
Title:
Hormonal responses to consecutive days of heavy-resistance exercise with or without nutritional supplementation.
Researchers:
Kraemer WJ, Volek JS, Bush JA, Putukian M, Sebastianelli aWJ
The Human Performance Laboratory, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana 47306, USA.
Source:
J Appl Physiol 1998 Oct;85(4):1544-55
Summary:
Nine resistance-trained men consumed either a protein-carbohydrate supplement (Twin Lab’s MassFuel) or placebo for 1 wk in a crossover design separated by 7 days. The last 3 days of each treatment, subjects performed resistance exercise. The supplement was consumed (half serving) 2 h before and immediately after (half serving) the workout, and blood was obtained before and after exercise (0, 15, 30, 45, and 60 min postexercise). Lactate, growth hormone, and testosterone were significantly (P </= 0.05) elevated immediately postexercise in both placebo and supplemented groups. The lactate response was significantly lower during supplementation on days 2 and 3. Growth hormone and prolactin responses on day 1 were significantly higher during supplementation. After exercise, testosterone declined below resting values during supplementation. Cortisol decreased immediately postexercise on day 1; the response was diminished on days 2 and 3. Glucose and insulin were significantly elevated by 30 min during supplementation and remained stable during placebo. Insulin-like growth factor-I was higher during supplementatiom on days 2 and 3. These data indicate that protein-carbohydrate supplementation before and after training can alter the metabolic and hormonal responses to consecutive days of heavy-resistance exercise.
Discussion:
The reason for performing this study was to see what would happen after consecutive days of training and supplementation with a carb/protein drink. Most all previous studies looking at the effect of macronutrient supplementation are done acutely after a single bout of exercise.
The results of this study are not surprising. There was a significant increase in post-exercise glucose and insulin due to the carbs and BCAAs in the supplement drink. As with previous studies, there was also an increase in post exercise growth hormone however, it was only greater than placebo after the first workout. After the second and third workouts the differences were very small. There was a significant increase in resting IGF-1 levels in the supplemented group with no difference in post exercise levels when compared to placebo. This is not unusual in conditions of "over feeding". The supplement added between 1575 - 2475 kcals per day in this study.
There was a trend for reduced cortisol levels for both placebo and the supplement groups. Surprisingly, cortisol levels were not greatly different after post exercise supplementation. Performance appeared to be unaffected by supplementation. This is not unusual after such a short training protocol (3 days). There was one significant difference that should be noted, namely serum testosterone was significantly lower in the MassFuel group. The authors explained this observation from a macro nutrient ratio perspective. You see, while supplementing with MassFuel the percentage of calories from fat drops to 14% compared to 24% for the placebo period. It is well known that the highest resting testosterone levels are achieved when fat provides ~30% calories. It can be optimistically speculated that free testosterone levels remained the same from data measuring the ratio of total serum test and SHBG.
What is the take home message from all this? First, there was virtually no difference in the way the body responded to three consecutive days of training the same body parts. It is not unreasonable to consider training a body part for two or three days in a row and then giving it a couple days off. And finally, by using a carb/protein supplement in liquid form after training you can ensure that protein synthesis will begin as soon as possible after exercise.
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Title:
Hormonal responses to consecutive days of heavy-resistance exercise with or without nutritional supplementation.
Researchers:
Kraemer WJ, Volek JS, Bush JA, Putukian M, Sebastianelli aWJ
The Human Performance Laboratory, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana 47306, USA.
Source:
J Appl Physiol 1998 Oct;85(4):1544-55
Summary:
Nine resistance-trained men consumed either a protein-carbohydrate supplement (Twin Lab’s MassFuel) or placebo for 1 wk in a crossover design separated by 7 days. The last 3 days of each treatment, subjects performed resistance exercise. The supplement was consumed (half serving) 2 h before and immediately after (half serving) the workout, and blood was obtained before and after exercise (0, 15, 30, 45, and 60 min postexercise). Lactate, growth hormone, and testosterone were significantly (P </= 0.05) elevated immediately postexercise in both placebo and supplemented groups. The lactate response was significantly lower during supplementation on days 2 and 3. Growth hormone and prolactin responses on day 1 were significantly higher during supplementation. After exercise, testosterone declined below resting values during supplementation. Cortisol decreased immediately postexercise on day 1; the response was diminished on days 2 and 3. Glucose and insulin were significantly elevated by 30 min during supplementation and remained stable during placebo. Insulin-like growth factor-I was higher during supplementatiom on days 2 and 3. These data indicate that protein-carbohydrate supplementation before and after training can alter the metabolic and hormonal responses to consecutive days of heavy-resistance exercise.
Discussion:
The reason for performing this study was to see what would happen after consecutive days of training and supplementation with a carb/protein drink. Most all previous studies looking at the effect of macronutrient supplementation are done acutely after a single bout of exercise.
The results of this study are not surprising. There was a significant increase in post-exercise glucose and insulin due to the carbs and BCAAs in the supplement drink. As with previous studies, there was also an increase in post exercise growth hormone however, it was only greater than placebo after the first workout. After the second and third workouts the differences were very small. There was a significant increase in resting IGF-1 levels in the supplemented group with no difference in post exercise levels when compared to placebo. This is not unusual in conditions of "over feeding". The supplement added between 1575 - 2475 kcals per day in this study.
There was a trend for reduced cortisol levels for both placebo and the supplement groups. Surprisingly, cortisol levels were not greatly different after post exercise supplementation. Performance appeared to be unaffected by supplementation. This is not unusual after such a short training protocol (3 days). There was one significant difference that should be noted, namely serum testosterone was significantly lower in the MassFuel group. The authors explained this observation from a macro nutrient ratio perspective. You see, while supplementing with MassFuel the percentage of calories from fat drops to 14% compared to 24% for the placebo period. It is well known that the highest resting testosterone levels are achieved when fat provides ~30% calories. It can be optimistically speculated that free testosterone levels remained the same from data measuring the ratio of total serum test and SHBG.
What is the take home message from all this? First, there was virtually no difference in the way the body responded to three consecutive days of training the same body parts. It is not unreasonable to consider training a body part for two or three days in a row and then giving it a couple days off. And finally, by using a carb/protein supplement in liquid form after training you can ensure that protein synthesis will begin as soon as possible after exercise.
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