Protein!

[megah0]

Right, after stepping up the intensity and duration of the work that I do (about 8 hours of martial arts - lots of cardio and isometrics plus a couple of hours in the gym and pool) I have started to notice that recovery times are getting longer and longer.

Cuts etc take ages to heal and sore muscles can take a while to stop aching. It was mentioned in the changing rooms that it may be my diet that is letting me down and to look into supplements.

Trouble is I have no idea what I need and a quick google left me more confused than before.

Diet wise I eat fairly healthily, almost no red meat, lots of fruit and veg and I like my tuna! I take a mixed multivitamin and calcium\zinc supplements (Lactose intolerant so dairy is not part of my normal diet) as well as the usual fish oils etc.

What should I be looking for? Most of what I do is cardiovascular but as you can imagine the groundwork we do is fairly intense on the upper body and I might do 100-150 pushups in a 2 hour session depending on the instructor. I also do lots of yoga/pilates style stretching before and after a session, my flexibility is not a limiting factor for the aches and pains.

Help me stop aching!

Cheers

[0iD]

Sleep & plenty of it works for me. I found in my 20's that when when i was perpetually exercising i was perpetually ill. Now in my (late) 30's I exercise with a little less intensely & get more sleep & the minor ailments have dissappeared whilst retaining a good level of fitness.

Also I have found protien shakes & such do help me recover better from an intense gym session & I have seen lactose free ones around.

[mgt]

I guess it depends on the type of ache...

Maximuscle are quite highly rated but are expensive. They sprang to mind because they have a product called Ache-Free.

Might be worth a look?

[megah0]

Ouch, expensive for what looks like bog standard glucosamine sulphate and chondrotin which is £2.99 from superdrug.

Thanks for the suggestion though.

[mgt]

Would you say it sounds like DOMS?

Its an odd one if you are eating a lot of fruit and veg.

How many grams of protein would you estimate you eat a day? You can work out how many grams you should be eating by your weight.

I'll try and find the formula if you're interested?

[megah0]

No idea in all honesty. I get through a 130g tin of tuna per day (25g of protein) plus lots of mixed wholewheat grains in granola/museli. Chicken now and then and lots of green veg like broccolli and lots of fruits.

I am 14st 7lbs

[mgt]

From some of the reading I have done it may be worth increasing your consumption of Vitamin C (even though it sounds like you have this covered).

Perhaps some oily fish such as mackeral or sardines would be helpful, as this would increase your protein and also boost Omega 3 levels.

I'd recommend upping your protein quite heavily, aim for about 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight, so you are looking at 200grams of protein a day. It is hard to eat this much - if you upped your intake to 2 130g cans of tuna and 2 chicken breasts a day you would be getting there.

Would a whey protein powder mixed with water set off your lactose intolerance? If it wouldn't then it may be worth seriously considering, some have added glutamine which may help aches and joints.

If whey is no good, perhaps some soy protein isolate would be better, try www.myprotein.co.uk

Out of interest, what sort of martial art do you train in?

[megah0]

Thanks for the link, soy protein looks the business for me. I shall investigate further.

I do a mixture of martial arts, Muay Thai boxing, Keysi Fighting Method, Jeet Kune Do, Combat Submission Wrestling, Brazillian Ju Jitsu and Escrima.

[steve threlfall]

Whey protein is the best as it gets to work faster i understand (soy/milk/egg being a fair bit slower). I bought some basic cheap whey from holland and barret (still delivers 59g protein per shake) that stops my muscles aching after long, long bike rides and gym sessions. It may be worth investigating.

[megah0]

Unfortunately Whey protein as good as it is would be entirely bad for me with my lactose intolerance.

Going to order some Soy over the next couple of days, Holland and Barrett are fairly expensive!

[YorkieBen]

your body struggles to absorb more than 30g of protein at a time. If you get a shake with a mixture of fast and slow release proteins (for example, whey protein whilst having a high protein per weight element is a fast release protein - take 60g of pure whey protein and you will be wasting alot of it. Take a mixture of whey, egg, milk or soy)

If you are increasing your protein intake make sure you drink alot of water as the extra protein (especially if you are taking in excessive amounts e.g. 60g at a time) will stress your kidneys and also will affect your poo (make it harder )

Soy protein is good as it is a complete protein (has the 8 essential amino acids). Milk and Meat protein is also complete. Vegetarian protein is not and as such is inferior.


I find for stuff like BJJ, MMA and boxing in addition to a protein drink or indeed instead of I take a dedicated recovery drink, I use Amino Load Advanced from allsport international, rather than a protein drink it has plenty of amino acids etc and is great for rehydrating your muscles etc (much better than water). I find it stops me aching as much after training.

http://www.allsports-int.co.uk/allsp...y&product=133&

Also I would recommend taking vitamin c and omega-3 as suggested, also I take Glutamine Sulphate with Chondroitin, its great for the joints (dont take if allergic to shellfish, although I believe you can get ones without shellfish extracts) and Holland & Barrett have a sale on this stuff I believe (otherwise its relatively expensive, but worth it)

[snowplow]

Just eat things with protein in, i think a bowl of tuna and mayo or a a whole chicken eaten in bits throughout the day can give you all the protein you need for bulking up..

protein shakes feel pointless because you don't get the fun of eatin, they're too gym orientated, i like to get that out of my system after i leave the gym

[randy]

protein shakes are cheaper and more convenient than eating endless chicken breasts and no a tin of tuna and 1 chicken breast is not enough for bulking you should eat that plus protein shakes

[SiM]

try www.myprotein.co.uk

You can't go wrong with this my protein
Also you can try some individual amino acids (eg glutamine, leucine, BCAAs) from myprotein too.

[steve threlfall]

protein shakes are cheaper and more convenient than eating endless chicken breasts and no a tin of tuna and 1 chicken breast is not enough for bulking you should eat that plus protein shakes

Exactly. Chicken can get boring and its not exactly an ideal part of your breakfast. A whey protein shake is.