How important is it to take dextrose on post-workout shake?

[aoa]

I used to take ISOPURE wich is zero-carb protein supplament post workout.

Then someone told me I had to take it in conjunction with DEXTROSE.

I tried yesterday and it looks, smells and tastes like white refined sugar.

So I'm thinking to myself "this CANT be healthy"... It's actually sweeter that sugar..

Should I continue to mix it with protein? if I stop will I be "wasting" all that protein that

wont be absorved? Help me understand this!

[aoa]

also my goal is not to become big and buffed up

I want high strength-to-weight-ratio to be able to perform planches, flags, etc...

and aiming for sub 10% bf

[Jeffrey]

It creates a fast and better insuline spike which results in getting your body out of the catabolic state faster than with whey alone. It restores your glycogen levels by 'pulling' the dextrose and protein into the muscles (catabolic state > anabolic state). A combination between dextrose and maltodextrine would be prefered imo.

[Neal Winkler]

Fast digesting post-workout drinks are completely overblown if you are working out in a fed state. If you are working out in a fasted state then you do need a quick digesting carbs+protein meal.

The totality of the evidence has not shown that fast acting carbs+protein is better than slow digesting foods. Studies have show that casein (slow digesting as opposed to the fast digesting whey) and the inclusion of fat (which should slow gastric emptying) are not inferior to whey and meals that contain no fat. In fact, as long as you are in a fed state, slow digestion may superior to fast digestion post-workout.

[Jeffrey]

I'm aware of that the funny part is there is enough to say that you dont even need to take extra carbs post training. There is no greater protein synthesis at insulin levels above 30mU/L. Insuline levels raise to 40mU/L when drinking a 30gr whey shake withoud carbs. So if your not underfed or training for long hours it might not even be needed to get extra carbs PWO.

[gymrob]

Fast acting carbs can be good PWO but only if you are lean (under 10% BF). If not go with a glycine, whey, glutamine combination.

Rob.

[Neal Winkler]

What's the reasoning behind your recommendation, Rob?

[gymrob]

Hi triangle,

It allows for glycogen replenishment without fat gain.

Rob.

[Joshua Naterman]

I feel like I might be able to help here, since I spent several years as a weight lifter/body builder, and experimented with all this crap for 5 years.

The shakes are nice because they get into your bloodstream quickly, but this nonsense about needing the sugar is just that: nonsense. Yes, the sugar spikes your insulin levels, but that's not necessarily a good thing. WHen your insulin goes up, testosterone and growth hormone production go down. Insulin forces nutrients into your system, but if you don't need them all you're going to put on fat.

The steroid hormones your body makes after exercise are a bit more important than the insulin unless you've worked in such a way as to severely deplete muscle glycogen, and even then the sugar is over-rated. There's only one additive to protein that is worthwhile in my experience, and that's Jessica Alba. I mean VITARGO!!! They are both incredibly amazing, so they're easy for me to confuse. They both look great in bikinis, too. Vitargo is a heavy carbohydrate that literally sinks like a rock. It gets into your small intestine quickly, and takes whatever you mix it with for the ride! There it gets absorbed and pulls water into the cells along with the nutrients you combine with it, like protein, glutamine, etc. You can feel it work. This also spikes insulin, but it feels completely different and really does an amazing job of replenishing glycogen.

Even so, this isn't necessary for the workouts we do here. If you're working out so that you're going well into glycolysis, meaning that the same muscle groups are working continuously for around 45-60 seconds over and over, the way bodybuilders do it, you're going to benefit from some Vitargo. With the sets of 5 reps, which is strength training, you typically won't go over 25 seconds even with a 2120 tempo, and won't be burning significant muscle sugar. That means all the sugar or vitargo, and the resulting insulin spike, isn't going to do you very much good.

If you're training for strength (which, by the way, is determined by your set/rep scheme, which in turn should reflect the intensity of the workout, meaning that if you're doing 5 reps it's because you CAN'T do sets of 7 or 8.) then you're better off having your protein shake without anything in it, and just eating regular food along with it. Shake, potatos or sweet potatos, broccoli, other veggies, fruit, nuts, other good fats, etc. Have a complete meal, meaning you have plenty of good fats, protein, and carbs in the meal. You'll feel better, recover faster, and you won't get fat.

I don't know what's up with the glycine, oh wait, scratch that. I just looked it up. So first off, it's an amino acid that is a sweetener. I didn't know that was possible, but that's what you get from OUTER SPACE PROTEIN!!! YES! I am not smoking the reefer! In 2008 glycine was discovered in space!!! This was confirmed by NASA last year! If it's from outer FREAKING space you better take it, you hear me?! I am really excited about this. SPACE PROTEIN!!! Build GALACTIC GLUTES! Binary Biceps! Tritium Triceps! The possibilities are endless, and your muscles could be too!

A quote about the glycine, that seems to represent the experience of many, many people after some research through many forums on my part:

Works fine and I have some of my carb intolerant and "larger" clients use this. The glycine can be problematic for some as it can cause bloating and hypo symptoms for SOME people, but it works great for others.

So, try it out. If you're not super fat, everything I have read suggests that regular carbs like sweet potatoes will actually HELP with this formula, so again it comes back to eating regular food for the most part, but using the glutamine, protein powder, and glycine if you want to for the protein post-workout.

Keep in mind that the post workout we're talking about is very much instantly after the workout. You should be eating another regular food meal around 45-90 minutes after this. Not pigging out, mind you, just eating whatever it is you need.

[Blairbob]

You should be eating another regular food meal around 45-90 minutes after this.

Interesting, I sort of figured this out by trial and error as I typically would do whey and water PWO and eat something 1-2 hours later (depending on when my shift ended or I could get access to food).

[Neal Winkler]

You lost me at Jessica Alba.... mmmmmmmm.....

[Joshua Naterman]

*hands triangle a napkin* Stop drooling on my keyboard!