As far as muscle building goes, what are the differences between Whey protein powder, creatine, and casein? Could/should I use all three?
In: Biology
Take a look at the supplement info on examine.com. It’s an excellent resource.
I’m not an expert, but I would say this:
– creatine: it’s relatively inexpensive, perfectly safe (the danger to the kidneys is a myth – it’s perfectly safe for healthy people. If you have a preference existing condition though, obviously talk to a doctor), and known to be effective over time. If you can’t afford creatine, then don’t buy it or any other supplement. No supplement is more effective than creatine (that the science is aware of so far).
– whey protein: IMO, this is food, not a supplement. Track your normal food intake with an app like myfitnesspal and see if you fall short of your daily protein requirements on a regular basis. Use whey protein to increase that last little bit. Whey is a cheaper source of quality protein than most foods so it’s perfect for that purpose. If you already get enough protein from food, there’s no real point in eating more in the form of whey.
– casein protein: if you are tracking your macros and find that you are short on protein at the end of the day, take this before bed. You could also take whey. I know there is a difference in how fast they are digested but if you are a beginner lifter, then these minor details should not be your first concern as they make a minuscule difference.
Focus on finding a solid program and adhering to it for a long period of time. Focus on improving your technique constantly (I have been training consistently for roughly 1.5 years and I’m still making changes to technique all the time). Then you may need to start increasing your calorie intake to support that muscle growth.
Creatine is a chemical compound that will increase your strenght in high intensity exercice and will you increase your muscle mass. But you shouldn’t take it without looking out the side effect. Not all of them are well know and some can be limited with the right dosage, but you should really make a good research on the subject if you really want to use that, because this could be damaging to your health. If you use too high dosage you have risk of harming your kindey, there is chance that this could affect yound and older people more, and if you have problem with your kidney, blood pressure or liver you shouldn’t use it.
You need protein to build up muscle, and so protein powder give you just that. That said, you can eat protein and for most people protein powder is completely useless. You need to use an intake of protein proportional to your training regiment. If you just do a little bit of exercise, but eat a lot of protein powder that won’t make you have big muscle. Personally, I think you should improve your training regiment and your eating habit first and then if you want to push further your muscle growth, look at protein powder as you increase the intensity of your training. But like I said, it’s not really that necessary for most people.
There is two main type of proteins. Whey and Casein. Whey are digested quicly and Casein slowly. Casein is often use before going to bed, so that your body slowly digest the casein and use it to repair and growth your muscle during the night. It seem to be the best way to use protein. But like I said, if you eat rich protein food, and have a normal level of training, that wouldn’t matter anyway. A lot of people are using whey protein after their workout and that’s won’t really give you an advantage.
In my opinion, people often use those product as a shorcut, but good eating habit and training is what is important. Protein will only be usefull if you really want to beef up, but if you want that you should focus on your training and eating habit first, protein will fix your gaps. As for creatine, well use at your own risk, you should know what you get yourself into.
They’re safe and legal supplements with little to no effect on building muscle. Reason being, that if you eat good food you already get enough of them. People buy these because it’s fashionable.
Whey and casein are two different kinds of protein found in milk. They each have all of the amino acids (building blocks of protein) that we need to maintain and build muscle. Whey is absorbed more quickly than casein, so people will often take whey after a workout and casein before bed. But this isn’t necessary, they will both help you build muscle regardless of timing.
Creatine is *not* protein, but rather is a substance our body uses to help deliver energy to our muscles and brain cells. It occurs naturally in food that we eat (mostly meat). Taking extra creatine can help your body recover from workouts more quickly and has been shown to improve workout performance.
A more “like I’m five” version: whey and casein are broken down by our body and turned into the building blocks of muscles. Creatine can help put the blocks together more quickly and effectively.
In terms of *should* you use these supplements: If you are not a professional athlete and have enough time to prepare meals, food is by far and away the best nutrition you can get.
Supplement companies have been pushing supps on people because they’re expensive and most people don’t know any different. If you are a regular person you can use them, but they won’t make a huge difference.
Paraphrasing what athletes have said: “The effect of supplements is something like a 2% increase in my performance, but I need that 2% if I’m going to beat the other person.”
I pretty far in on my bodybuilding and have been taking creatine everyday for nearly 3 years (3-5 grams a day no load-unload cycles). I know there is more research done on creatine than there is done on protein shakes so it’s pretty safe. The only negative I ever came across was that a very small minority of people said it was making them start to lose hair and bald. I’m already bald so can’t input anything about that.
Protein shakes are fine. I wouldn’t do casein just stick to whey isolate powders but to be honest the best sources of protein are from whole foods. If you can get your protein from whole food sources you can avoid the whole shakes in general and just use shakes to get extra vitamins and minerals by having a fruit shake in the morning
to answer your question though yes you can use all 3 together. just don’t ever over do the creatine or it can cause kidney issues. stick to the 3 – 5 grams a day and don’t be afraid to even take a day or 2 off here and there, especially if you ate alot of steak or other lean beef cuts. and don’t follow their loading phase instructions no need. after 3 weeks or so of doing the 3 – 5 grams you’ll notice you can push out one or 2 more reps than usual and you’ll know the creatine is built up enough in your system
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