Q&A for: 21-Feb-06
1350. Q:
Why there is always a war about all these proteins and supplements.Time by time many doctors appear on tv and blame these things.They say we should avoid them and they have many bad effects for the body that appear mostly after using them for many time.What do u believe about this?I use a pure whey protein 6 months now(from EAS) and it has helped me very much till now cause its difficult to cook at home always chicken or fish.Its a good solution just i worry about bad effects after time.
A:
I always recommend eating 'real' food, but I think whey protein is a good, cheap supplement alternative. Eating a lot of protein does force your kidneys to do more work, but I have not seen any published evidence that it damages healthy kidneys. There is evidence that high-protein diet is bad for those with existing kidney problems. Check out Q&A #453 for references.
I feel a good rule of thumb for most physically active people is to try and get
about 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight daily. There have been several studies confirming benefits of such diet for athletes and there is an overwhelming amount of informal evidence for benefits of such diets in changing body composition (losing fat or building muscle).
I would never recommend to anyone to go on a protein-only diet (or Atkins, for that matter), but I feel a balanced diet that is relatively rich in protein (compared to an avertage person's diet) is a great idea. Of course in every individual case you should consult with your doctor before any diet and exercise program.
Another thing to be on a lookout for is treating protein or whey as some sort of magic food that by itself makes you lose fat or build muscle. It, of course, doesn't work that way even though many companies try to convince you otherwise. Getting enough protein is just one relatively small part of your overall fitness program. And there is nothing magical about whey protein either -- it's just a cheap and easy alternative to 'real' food protein sources.
1351. Q:
When do i understand when i need to eat more in order to lift heavier weights?After how many time?Its 2 months now i cant lift heavier weights no matter how much i try.Do u think i should eat more and how much?I dont wanna eat a lot a put on fat on me.
A:
It's difficult for me to answer that without knowing more about you (age, height, weight, how long you've been training, your current program, your strength levels, etc). But in general everyone will hit plateaus when their strength just does not go up no matter what. That's just how it is. Advanced lifters may spend a full year trying to increase their bench press by just 5-10 pounds!
Training specifically to increase strength is quite a bit different from bodybuilding-type training that most men try to follow. Training for strength requires performing more repetitions of the given exercise with lighter weights without hitting failure. I have a couple of sample strength-oriented routines in my weight training article -- look for the word 'strength' in description. You must also be especially vigilant against overtraining when training for strength -- that's where a good trainer should help.
For example. check out Q&A #188 and Q&A #199 where I helped somebody put together a program to improve bench press strength. He came back in Q&A #440 with much improved results! A good program makes a big difference in strength training, even more so than in bodybuilding.
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