Often when people interested in transforming their physique come to me for advice one of their first questions is usually on protein shakes. Unfortunately most are under the impression that all they need to get big is to drink whey protein shakes or powders (without lifting any weights sometimes!) and the blame for this lays directly with the marketers who peddle such misinformation which have unfortunately penetrated the global conscious.
Whey protein is simply a form of isolated protein taken from cheese, which as we all know from school trips to farmyard is made from churning cow’s milk. That’s right – there’s no miracle here. Does drinking milk add slabs of muscle to your frame? No, but like whey protein it does contain protein which is the building blocks of our muscles and necessary in helping to grow new muscle under the right conditions.
To build muscle you must lift weights, take in sufficient protein and calories in your diet and to be honest, where the protein comes from doesn’t really matter. You can use whey protein powders and mix them in to drinks, or purchase more expensive protein shakes that are ready to consume instantly or as I prefer you can chose to absorb your protein from your diet by eating foods rich in protein such as eggs and meats.
I admit on occasion when I’m feeling a little lazy or when I take a vacation I stock up on whey protein simply for the convenience. I’ll have a few shakes per day to keep my protein levels up which saves boiling eggs and carrying them around with me all day – eggs tend to smell a bit.
Concluding this brief article we can see that whey protein does help build muscle but only from supplying the protein which could be obtained from diet, which I would recommended over supplementing with protein except in cases of convenience.