A recent, small scale study concludes that protein shakes, compared with high carbohydrate drinks, do not reduce muscle pain or speed up muscle recovery after a workout
Islamabad (Pakistan Point News / Online - 02nd September, 2019) A recent, small scale study concludes that protein shakes, compared with high carbohydrate drinks, do not reduce muscle pain or speed up muscle recovery after a workout. However, there are several issues with the study.Following resistance training, muscles can feel sore for around 48 hours.There is also a measurable decline in muscle function. For instance, astudy looking at rowers found that intense exercise causes a reduction in muscle performance 24 hours later.
Individuals who wish to perform at their best are keen to find ways to restore muscle strength and reduce pain as quickly as possible.Testing proteinsTo investigate, the researchers recruited 30 males, aged 20-30, all of whom had been doing resistance training for at least 1 year.The researchers put each participant through an intensive resistance training session. Ten minutes after exercising, the researchers gave the participants one of three drinks:�a whey protein based drink, which contained the carbohydrate dextrose�a milk protein based drink, which contained the carbohydrates lactose, sucrose, fructose, and maltodextrin�a carbohydrate drink containing dextroseThe researchers provided all the drinks in 900-milliliter (ml) servings, and they all contained the same number of calories.
AssessmentsAt the 24- and 48-hour visits, the scientists conducted a range of assessments. Firstly, they asked participants to rate how sore their muscles were using a scale from 0 (no muscle pain) to 200 (pain as bad as it could be).No findingsAs expected, soreness scores were higher at both 24 and 48 hours compared with baseline. However, there were no differences between the three experimental groups at either 24 or 48 hours.Substantial issuesThe results are interesting, mainly because they fly in the face of common understanding. Protein shakes are popular because people believe that they help repair muscle, reduce pain, and restore performance, among other things.However, there are numerous issues with the study. Firstly, 30 participants are not enough to produce reliable conclusions.
