Discussion: Protein supplements

I'm interested to know if any Irish orienteers take protein supplements, shakes, etc? They are associated with weight-lifters who want to increase muscle bulk, but have a role in recovery from endurance athletic exercise too. But how different people take the supplements seems a bit ad hoc to me. I'm thinking about maybe doing a project on this next year as part of a Sports & Exercise module at college. Any thoughts?

- Do you take protein supplements yourself, or know of other orienteers that do?
- How often do you take them - after particular training sessions, after every training session, or daily, regardless of whether you have trained or not?
- Are you following a particular scientific programme of dosage, going on the advice of colleagues, or just making it up as you go along?
- How do you choose your brand?
- Is there a real difference between the quality of brands, other than price?
- Have you found that the supplements work in aiding recovery?
- Have you found that the supplements work to aid your training in other ways?
- Are there any unwanted side-effects to taking such supplements (other than an empty wallet!)
- Is it appropriate for juniors to be taking protein supplements?

I'd be interested to know your opinions.
Cheers,
Rob

No, never have. I'll ask my brother though he was always a bit bigger than me. Then again he lived on milk when we were kids.

I used Viper for a while. A mix of carbs and protein.
Used it pre and post training. Got it from the guys in the military.
It was great stuff!! The dosage was simple. I was thirsty, so I through in 2-3 scoops of the stuff and necked it.
I believe it makes you carry extra weight that is not needed.
Saying that, I am weight obsessive.

I currently don't use any of the mixes on the market.
Best thing is water + a couple of spoons of glucose or Nuun.

I think they are not needed for orienteers/runners in general.
A lot of it is great marketing by the companies. If you have a balanced diet, your generally fine.
People don't need so much extra protein.

I agree with you Colm that runners/orienteers don't need the extra weight, and the marketing is certainly very good. But I'm not talking about weight, what about taking on extra protein for the purpose of recovery? After a hard session, would your leg muscles not need the extra protein to re-build damaged muscle fibers?

Hi Rob, you can check out this factsheet from the Irish Institute of Sport:

http://www.instituteofsport.ie/Institute_Of_Sport/...

I'd usually try to drink some yoghurt after a race.

Thanks Niamh, good to get an authoritative opinion on it from the Institute of Sport

Despite the numerous scientific studies conducted on protein and amino acid supplements, use of protein supplements on their own have not shown any additional benefits on athletic performance compared to consuming protein from whole foods. However, some protein supplements may be of benefit to certain athletes in specific situations, for example, protein supplements may provide a practical/portable option for athletes in order to meet their immediate post-exercise nutritional needs when whole foods are not available or tolerated.

...To date amino acid supplementation, including branched chain amino acid (BCAAs) have yet to demonstrate any performance enhancement and therefore are not recommended.

The Ozzy website is a fantastic resource is well
http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/nutrition

Nice one! I'll add that to the "after the exams" stack of reading...

They have our recipe/cookbooks on that oz site.