Could sipping on a protein shake help improve your workout? Arnold Schwarzenegger tackled the question in his August 26 Arnold’s Pump Club Newsletter and revealed if it’s worth the trouble.
As a seven-time Mr. Olympia champion, Schwarzenegger didn’t just focus on intense training. Nutrition fueled his every rep, and high protein was a non-negotiable aspect of his diet. Still aiming to improve workout performance, the bodybuilding legend laid out the potential benefits of drinking protein while you train.
Arnold Schwarzenegger on Potential Benefits of Drinking Intra-Workout Protein
In the newsletter, scientists compared drinks during an endurance-based workout but didn’t find protein to enhance performance when calories were equal:
“Scientists tested this exact scenario. Imagine two sports drinks sitting side by side. One has carbs. The other adds protein to the carbs. When researchers compared drinks during an endurance workout, adding protein to a sports drink didn’t appear to improve performance when calories were matched.”
A recent review of data showed that a protein group lasted longer than the carbohydrate group during endurance exercise.
“A 2020 review combined data from 30 randomized trials to assess the effects of mid-workout fuel on cyclists and runners. Overall, carbohydrates and protein looked better than carbohydrates alone. In tests where people exercised until exhaustion, the protein groups lasted about three and a half minutes longer.”
However, Schwarzenegger warned that this outcome could be due to the extra calories consumed by the protein group.
“But many of those drinks weren’t equal. The protein groups were consuming more calories. When the researchers narrowed the analysis to six comparisons in which both drinks supplied the same number of calories, the difference was no longer statistically meaningful. When both drinks contained the same amount of carbohydrate and protein was added on top, the advantage returned.”
“That doesn’t prove protein is useless. It tells you the original comparison was doing two things at once: adding protein and adding energy. Once the calories were equal, there was no clear endurance benefit from choosing protein over more carbohydrate.”
Schwarzenegger highlighted that carbohydrates help fuel the body during long bouts of exercise, whereas protein might contribute some energy.
“During long, hard exercise, carbohydrate is the fuel your body can use most readily to maintain blood sugar and spare its stored glycogen. Protein may raise insulin and contribute energy, but sufficient carbohydrate already handles the job that matters most during the session.”
“And this study does not downplay the importance of timing. It just shows (once again) that timing doesn’t matter as much as you’ve been told. The biggest priority with protein is getting enough in a day to support general health needs and muscle growth and repair.”
While water is sufficient for endurance workouts lasting less than an hour, Schwarzenegger advised taking in 30 to 60 grams of carbs per hour if you go beyond that threshold.
“For endurance work, if you’re exercising for less than an hour and ate beforehand, water is generally enough. Once you push beyond roughly 60 to 90 minutes, aim for about 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour.”
In some situations, athletes might consume 90 grams per hour, depending on activity demands.
“For events lasting more than two and a half hours, trained athletes can aim for 90 grams per hour, typically by combining glucose and fructose. The longer you train — and the less fuel you have going in — the more intra-workout nutrition can help.”
Previously, Schwarzenegger explored whether swishing your mouth with a carb-based drink resulted in a better workout. Subjects underwent a ‘sip-swirl-spit’ test right before deadlifting. The results showed that the ritual increased power and helped subjects lift more weight.
At 79, Schwarzenegger is still open-minded about tricks to improve training performance. In most instances, water is perfectly fine, but when endurance is challenged, intra-workout protein could become useful.
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