Best protein powders for muscle gain?

nimbleskipper89 said:..maybe try some German stuff from Inkospor. You can find them at the local supplement shop; I’m obsessed and so is the whole gym crew.

German engineering for the win!

There's nothing Germans can't build, though we Americans usually figure out how to drive it or break it first. 🙏🙏

Sorry, couldn't help myself. 😁

nimblegull23 said:Honestly, what’s wrong with a little foam? I just toss some milk, flaxseed oil, a spoonful of honey, frozen blueberries, and a scoop of Whey into the blender and whip it up until it's smooth. It tastes great.😍

That is a pretty unusual mix for a shake... what exactly is the goal here?

If you're drinking this post-workout, it isn't ideal. If you're using it as a meal replacement during the day, it's also not quite right because Whey is such a fast-digesting protein. Sure, adding the milk and oil will slow down digestion, but you're still essentially working with an inferior version of casein.

Jonathan Miller7 said:Ice cream, fruit yogurts, actual fruit, gummy bears, chocolate—honestly, I’ll eat just about anything, maybe a sandwich if I’m actually starving, some peanuts here and there (usually an evening thing), or those cheap chocolate bars.

I basically grab whatever is within arm's reach—that was the first thing that popped into my head—and most of the time it’s fruit or yogurt, though I realize that junk food carries its own weight in calories too.

...so, what exactly is your role on this forum? Nobody really cares what works for you versus what doesn't.

nimblegull23 said:@redranger82/">@@redranger82 if I drive over to the local UPS store myself to pick it up for $93.89,
man, for a 4.7kg tub, that's a total steal... honestly kind of feels too good to be true. 👍

A bit late to the party here, but man, those prices in Canada are killer. 🙂

Around here in the States, you can find Optimum Nutrition at places like Vitamin Shoppe for maybe $167 (though they'll charge you an arm and a leg in retail shops) 2.3kg bags—if I'm remembering right—so a 4.7kg bag would easily run you north of a thousand bucks... 🙂

coastalbison12 said:That’s a pretty weird mix for a shake... what's the goal here?

If you're drinking this post-workout, it's a bad call. Even as a meal replacement during the day, it's kind of pointless since Whey digests way too fast. Sure, adding milk and oil slows things down, but you're still just dealing with inferior casein.

It just makes the Whey taste better.😬

Why wouldn't it work after training?

nimblegull23 said:improves the taste of the Whey 😬

why isn't it good after training?

The whole idea behind having a shake right after a workout is to quickly replenish the glycogen stores in your muscles and liver, while kicking off the repair process for the muscle fibers torn during your session.

That’s why we use a shake as a post-workout meal (PWM)—you mix glucose (to refill those glycogen levels) with Whey (an isolated protein that digests rapidly to trigger anabolism) in water.
Avoid using milk; the fat content in milk slows down digestion. The goal of a PWM is speed—getting nutrients into your system fast before you sit down for a more substantial, solid meal that provides longer-lasting energy and steady nutrient release.

Just doing this for you, transcribing straight from my Optimum Nutrition tub:
"try adding fresh or frozen fruits, peanut butter, flaxseed oil, coconut, slivered almonds....!"

(Whey, creatine, L-glutamine, BCAA, they're all just amino acids) ...

Actually, they AREN'T amino acids.

nimblegull23 said:I'm transcribing this straight from the Optimum Nutrition tub just for you:
"try adding fresh or frozen fruits, peanut butter, flaxseed oil, coconut, slivered almonds....!"

Well, if the label on the container says so, then it’s probably the best way to go.. 😁

They're all just minor details .. just do whatever works best for you.. 🤷

coastalbison12 said:Well, if the label says so, I guess we're just taking their word for it... 😁

It’s all just details. Just do whatever works for you. 🤷

Look, buddy😉 that 1.5% milk? Most of that is probably just water anyway, right? 😁

Like you said, if it makes you happy and isn't killing you, let the man enjoy his little victory. 😳

nimbleskipper89 said:(whey, creatine, L-glutamine, BCAA, they're all just amino acids) ...

See, those aren't actually amino acids.

So if they aren't amino acids, what on earth is whey then?

feralharbor7 said:If that's the case, then what exactly is Whey if it isn't amino acids?

I guess we should just let her be. She probably understands my point quite well, but she seems to be trying a bit too hard to act like she knows everything.

If I'm mixing protein with water, would adding a spoonful of honey actually help, or is that just a bad idea?

Also, I keep seeing people talk about taking glucose alongside their protein, can someone break down why that's even a thing?

What specifically should I be using?

Henry Evans3 said:So, if you’re mixing your protein with water—which, let's be honest, is usually a struggle because it tastes like chalky sadness—is it actually okay to toss in a spoonful of honey? Like, would that even work or is it just a bad idea? Is it actually "good" for you or am I just kidding myself...

So, I’m seeing a ton of chatter lately about tossing some glucose into the mix along with your protein shakes... anyone actually want to break this down for me? Like, what's the deal? Is there any actual logic to it or is it just more gym bro nonsense... help a guy out...

So... what exactly am I supposed to be using here? Like, give me the actual breakdown—I'm lost...

I already said it a few times in my previous posts—glucose is just grape sugar... honestly, if you haven't caught that yet, I don't know what to tell you...

Just 500g... that's it. Barely enough to get through a decent workout session, let alone keep me fueled up for the whole week—not that I'd ever have enough anyway... $3.75 So, I was over at the DM store today... and honestly, if you’re following that specific routine where you’re mixing equal parts protein powder and dextrose, you might want to rethink your life choices—or at least your macros. It's just... yeah.

It’s in the green packaging—you should probably just hit up my aunt on DM to double-check... 👍

You could also just toss some honey in there... works wonders.

Christian Harris2 said:Oh, just let her be. She knows exactly what I’m getting at—she's just trying to play the intellectual here.

I’m not quite sure what you were aiming for there, but I will say this: your facts are fundamentally flawed. Creatine isn't an amino acid—period. And if we're going to start categorizing Whey as an amino acid, then I suppose we might as well claim a steak is just a giant amino acid, too. It's a bit of a stretch. Clearly, there’s a gap in your nutritional knowledge, which is likely why she stepped in to act like the smartest person in the room.

nimbleskipper89 said:I’m honestly not quite sure where you were going with that, but I have to say, what you wrote just isn't right. Creatine isn't an amino acid, and if we're calling Whey an amino acid, then I guess we might as well just say steak is an amino acid too. It seems like you might be a little bit out of the loop on this one, which is probably why that girl jumped in trying to act like she knows everything.

Well, actually, meat is made of amino acids, among other things. Anything that carries even a single milligram of protein is essentially delivering amino acids.

At the end of the day, proteins are really nothing more than amino acids held together by peptide bonds.😉

feralharbor7 As I was saying—though I suspect my previous ramblings may have been lost in the ether—it appears that...
Well, technically speaking—if we’re being pedantic, which I usually am—meat is essentially just a collection of amino acids. Every single milligram of protein you consume is, at its core, nothing more than amino acids. It’s all quite simple when you strip away the culinary fluff.

At their core—if we're stripping away all the marketing hype and the flashy labels you see at GNC—proteins are nothing more than amino acids held together by peptide bonds. It’s basic biochemistry, really.😉

I honestly don't see what the big deal is here. We all learned back in elementary school that proteins are essentially just chains of amino acids—simple enough, right? But if you’re going to start listing specific amino acids, then sure, you can throw in some L-glutamine or BCAA. However, you can't just toss Whey into that same list—where would you even put it? Would it fall under essential or non-essential? And don't even get me started on creatine—is that even an amino acid to begin with? My point is this: if you’re going to venture into the territory of "analyzing" things, you really shouldn't be providing such superficial—or heaven forbid, flat-out incorrect—information.

nimbleskipper89 said:...I honestly don't see what the big deal is here. I mean, we all learned back in elementary school that proteins are basically just chains of amino acids, right? So if you're listing out amino acids, sure, you can toss in L-glutamine or some BCAA, but where would you even put Whey in that list—would it be essential or non-essential? And don't even get me started on creatine, because is that even an amino acid or what? My point is, if you're going to try and dive deep into the science of it all, you really shouldn't offer up surface-level info, or worse, just plain wrong information.

Whey definitely belongs in that lineup just as much as BCAA does.
The real issue is that you were trying to correct someone using information that just isn't quite right. Saying Whey isn't made of amino acids is just silly. Just because the label on the tub says "Whey" instead of "Amino Acids" doesn't change the chemistry of what it actually is. Now, creatine isn't an amino acid—that’s true, but I wasn't even addressing that part.

Whether the amino acids in Whey are considered essential or non-essential really just comes down to the specific amino acid profile of whatever brand you're buying, so you'd actually have to check the fine print on the back of the container to know for sure. To make it a bit easier to understand, most supplements are a blend of both essential and non-essential amino acids, whereas the essential ones are often isolated into their own specific supplement known as BCAA.👍

redranger82 said:I already mentioned a few posts back that you should be using glucose, which is basically grape sugar...

So does that mean energy levels replenish faster or what?

Henry Evans3 said:is it like, your energy levels bounce back faster or something?

Whey hits the muscles first.