Whey Protein: The Secret Weapon for Muscle Growth

by The Brofessor, Don Laubenthal
Professor of Exercise Science
Sport and Exercise Studies
Columbus State Community College

The Ultimate Whey Protein Solution 💪

Summary

The benefits of taking Max Effort’s Whey Protein Concentrate are too many to ignore. If you are serious about your training, becoming leaner, and being healthier, this is one of the main supplements that you will want to include in your program.

Muscle Growth & Recovery: Helps build muscle, improve strength, and recover faster from workouts.
Weight Loss: Supports healthy weight loss by enhancing metabolism and controlling appetite.
Overall Health: Improves blood glucose levels, reduces inflammation, and supports healthy aging.

Why Whey Protein?

I am often asked what I consider to be the most important supplements for those involved in serious training, and the first supplement I always suggest is Whey Protein. Why? Because it works. Whey protein concentrate is going to help you add muscle, improve strength, lose body fat, and recover from hard workouts. Also, whey protein concentrate is easy to digest, contains all the essential amino acids to make a complete protein, and it is one of the most researched supplements on the market. The research verifies that whey protein concentrate does indeed increase protein synthesis in the muscle (addition of protein to the muscle), can help to improve muscular strength, and can aid in fat loss. But how does it work?

The Need for Supplements

The first thing we need to understand regarding the effectiveness of whey protein concentrate is that for any supplement to work, we must create a need for that supplement. The effort and quality of your training will dictate much of the effectiveness of the supplements you are taking, and this is true for whey concentrate protein. A training program must challenge the body to change so that the supplement can be taken to help the process of change.

How Training Affects the Neuromuscular System

When we train with weights (or any type of resistance), we are purposely placing an overload on the neuromuscular system. An overload is simply a stress applied to the neuromuscular system that is greater than the stresses the neuromuscular system is accustomed to daily.

A consistent overload over time will result in muscular adaptations, and these adaptations are specific to the overload placed on the neuromuscular system. If the overload involves a large load volume (sets x reps x weight), the neuromuscular system will respond by developing greater muscular size and capacity (hypertrophy), along with increased connective tissue strength. If the overload is heavy weight, the neuromuscular system responds by increasing its ability to activate more motor units (motor nerve plus all the muscle fibers it controls), developing hypertrophy of Type II muscle fibers, and developing greater strength.

This neuromuscular adaptation is where the importance of supplementing whey protein into your diet comes into play. When a muscle undergoes an overload from resistance training, microtrauma (microscopic damage) occurs within the muscle and the following processes take place.

Microtrauma and Permeability: Damage or microtrauma leads to the muscle cell membrane becoming more permeable to the nutrients and hormones necessary for healing and recovery.
Catabolism and Immune Response: Catabolism (removal of damaged proteins) and an immune response occurs where muscle stem cells, T-cell lymphocytes, neutrophils, and macrophages rush to the areas of damage to promote recovery and repair of damaged muscle cells. This leads to edema, inflammation, and delayed onset muscle soreness.
Post-Workout Nutrition: During the early stages of post-workout recovery, proper nutrition is essential for muscle repair and adaptation. It is also during this time that supplementing Max Effort’s Whey Protein can provide the necessary protein to help muscle recovery and adaptation through increased protein synthesis. Studies show that a protein supplement enhances the amount of protein added to a muscle (protein synthesis) after a training session. This added protein can lead to an increase in muscle size and strength.
Continued Overload and Adaptation: Continued overload (through training) and adaptation, while supplementing Max Effort’s Whey Protein, will enhance your ability to increase muscle growth and strength.

Other Benefits of Max Effort’s Whey Protein

Healthy Weight Loss: Whey Protein has been shown to be important for healthy weight loss. Supplementing whey protein aids in appetite control and provides a low-calorie, nutrient-dense supplement that can enhance lean body mass, which is important for improving metabolism and reducing body fat.
Blood Glucose Levels: Whey protein can moderate blood glucose levels, which can help improve insulin sensitivity and help improve the blood glucose-insulin response. Whey protein can be an effective supplement for those who have Type II diabetes.
Chronic Inflammation: Whey protein supplementation can also help reduce chronic inflammation. Studies show the taking 20-30 grams of whey protein per day reduced C-reactive protein, which is a marker for chronic inflammation.
Cholesterol Levels: Studies have indicated that whey protein can reduce bad cholesterol (LDL) when taken in quantities of 65 grams per day.
Aging and Strength: Whey protein can help slow the loss of muscle and strength with age when combined with strength training. Look good and feel strong well into your senior years.
Additional Nutrients: Max Effort’s Whey Protein also contains Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, and Potassium which contribute to metabolic processes, muscle contraction, protein synthesis, oxygen transport, immune function, control of blood sugar levels, and nervous system regulation.