Official Stance on Whey Protein, Creatine, Glutamine and Intra-Workout supplements

Part 4 of the Ebook 'Periodized Hypertophy Training': Strength, Tension, and Intensity (STI)

A Comprehensive Program for Year Round Muscle Growth

There are a lot of opinions, unsupported research and sales gimmicks surrounding some of the most basic supplements in the industry. Below you'll find information from a sports nutrition formulator on the truth behind basic sports nutrition ingredients with references provided.

Supplementation: Whey Protein- Taken from ‘Dieting and Muscle Gain, the Whole Truth’ by Dustin Elliott:

Whey Protein is actually the by product of cheese. The reason it has become popular as a protein powder for bodybuilders is because of its rapid digestion rates. When it comes to keeping your body in an anabolic state, this is ideal for stopping catabolism and introducing protein to your body post-workout for protein synthesis. While it is true that insulin sensitivity, cell permeability, and absorption rates are increased following exercise, the big question is: If whey protein is digested so fast, how much does your body actually absorb? Common gym talk would lead you to believe that you can have 40+ grams of a whey protein shake at any time of the day. However the research does not support this. Current research suggests that outside of states where there may be room for increased protein absorption (post-workout), you can only absorb 15-20g of whey protein at a time1. This is not to knock whey protein, it is still the ideal protein for pre and post workout supplementation because of its speedy digestion time. But don’t fall for the gimmick that you can take in 40-50+ grams in one sitting as some labels would leave you to believe. The key to whey protein supplementation is to stick to one serving at a time (most protein powders offer between 20-24g of protein per serving) for the sole purpose for preserving muscle mass (upon waking, pre and post workout). Otherwise, real food, casein, or a blended protein powder would be best.

Side note: Many athletes will still double up on servings of whey for the satiety it offers without the extra calories. The only concern with excess consumption of protein supplements is preventing dehydration which can occur.

Creatine- Taken from ‘Glutamine and Creatine: Old Dogs Can Learn New Tricks’ by Dustin Elliott:

Creatine does not require a loading phase6, it is counter acted by caffeine7, it is effective for explosive bouts of excercise8, and its proven to increase muscle mass without side effects when taken properly9.

Now let’s talk about some of the things creatine has been shown to do that you may not know of; if you’ve heard of myostatin, than you know that it is a protein in the body discovered in 1997 that is responsible for regulating muscle growth by inhibiting it. Based on genetics, there are myostatin levels that vary from person to person that can cause one person to be world class bodybuilder and another hard gainer. Creatine (like glutamine mentioned earlier) had also been used in hospital settings to help battle atrophy (muscle wasting) in patients. What was unclear was the actual pathways creatine was involved in that aided in muscle gain. Everyone knew that creatine helped to increase strength, but was the increase in strength what lead to the gains in muscle? Or was it something else? Researchers from Tarbiat Modares University discovered that when combined with resistance training, creatine actual helped to inhibit serum levels of mysostatin10! This research comes as somewhat of a surprise, but the reason it was quickly accepted by many is that myostatin also works by inhibiting satellite cell formation. And back in 2000, researchers from the University of Wisconsin Medical School discovered that creatine does the exact opposite of that11. Satellite cells are myogenic cells responsible for postnatal growth and regeneration of skeletal muscle12. Stimulating these cells through training and supplementation is of the upmost importance for lifters looking to build muscle.

Another important capability of creatine is its effect on recovery from high intensity exercise. I’ve heard of bodybuilders neglecting the use of creatine in the past because they weren’t lifting for strength or power lifting. They felt creatine was only effective for increasing strength (which as you’ve read so far in this article, is only part of what creatine does) and it had no place in there 8-12 rep high intensity bodybuilding program. It has long been tradition in many bodybuilding programs to use short rest periods, and because creatine takes upwards of 2 minutes to regenerate, some ill informed bodybuilders have not seen it as a necessary supplement in their regimen. Well research begs to differ; high intensity anaerobic exercise is notorious for depleting muscle glycogen because carbohydrates are the main source of fuel for high intensity activities. Bodybuilders consume carbohydrates post exercise along with their protein to refill there muscles depleted stores of carbohydrates so they can return to the gym and lift with the same intensity. Bodybuilders may notice however that when they do heavy multi-joint lifts (like the squat, or the deadlift), or they lift at a slower pace, it takes them longer to recover. This is a result of the eccentric (lowering portion) phase of the lift which causes more muscle damage and inflammation; many experienced lifters know this already, what they may not know is that eccentric exercise also impairs glycogen replenishment13!

Yet low and behold researchers from the Exercise Physiology and Biomechanics Laboratory of Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium discovered that supplementing with creatine helps preserve muscle glycogen by increasing creatine utilization during exercise14 (the researchers used 5g of creatine a day with no loading phase). Inn case you were wondering if creatine cycling was a real issue, the researchers found out the hard way as the increase in muscle glycogen they noted vanished after 5 weeks despite continued creatine supplementation. So cycling on and off creatine during your training cycles is still a good idea.

Glutamine- Taken from ‘Glutamine and Creatine: Old Dogs Can Learn New Tricks’ by Dustin Elliott:

You will still find the amino acid in almost every recovery supplement because of it’s proven anti-catoblic effects which are important post exercise. However, it is not an anabolic amino acid and will not be of much support in building bigger muscles or increasing strength1. However, the same research study that made these findings still couldn’t deny the amino acids ability to prevent muscle breakdown, “[glutamine]…… may suppress a rise in whole-body proteolysis during the later stages of recovery.” Also, to go along with what I stated earlier about recovery products including glutamine, quality protein powders either have glutamine added or naturally occurring which would further seem to reduce the benefit of added supplementation. So the question now is what happened to all that research that was done to show its benefits for the immune system and preventing muscle wasting? The answer: this research was done on hospital patients and aerobic athletes. What does this mean for us? It means that those who will benefit from stand alone glutamine supplementation the most are those who are in caloric deficit and at risk of muscle wasting (similar to a hospital patient who is at risk of muscle wasting) and those who are aerobic athletes who do not have the protein requirement of a power lifter or bodybuilder. However, for every bodybuilder who is ready to shun glutamine listen up; glutamines ability to promote glycogen storage and promote glucose synthesis independent of carbohydrates2,3 makes it a bodybuilders dream in terms of insulin control while dieting. And for any athlete looking to optimize his/her training, supplementing with glutamine will ensure you get the most of your glycogen stores while optimizing performance and recovery. Especially for those athletes who are dieting for a competition (anyone who needs to meet a weight class in individual sports) and are limited in calorie intake. Now let’s take a look even further into the glutamines benefits to dieters; because of its ability to form glucose as shown in the studies it can actually curb dieters’ cravings for carbohydrates. Then there’s the age old question for bodybuilders who push themselves to the limit at the expense of their immune system; “to train or not to train while I have a +100 degree fever? That is the question”. Philip Newsholme from the Department of Biochemistry from the Conway Institute for Bimolecular and Biomedical Research analyzed the cells of the human body which were responsible for the immune system response and how much they relied on glutamine4. This is the reason for the positive results it has when used for the purposes of recovery and it can become extremely important for bodybuilders fighting sickness that attempts to stifle there training. Every gym rat has a personal testament or knows someone who was in the middle of a great training stretch before losing there hard earned muscle due to sickness. -

Intra-Workout Supplementation:

Intra-workout supplementation is effective but only in specific situations. For instance, during high intensity exercise, digestion isn’t optimal because blood required by the stomach for digestion, is accumulating in the areas of your body where your muscles are working and liquid can be slow to digest in the stomach during this time. It is however more effective during long or high volume routines that risk muscle breakdown. Once a workout gets close to the two hour mark you are risking increasing cortisol to the point where muscle wasting is possible. Usually long workouts will be a result of high volume strength training which also incorporates longer rest periods which will allow for the increased effectiveness of intra-workout supplements. The supplements considered most effective for intra-workout supplementation are those that digest the fastest; individual amino acids (example- BCAA’s), and high glycemic carbohydrates.

REFERENCES:

1. Wilkinson SB, Kim PL, Armstrong D, Phillips SM. Addition of glutamine to essential amino acids and carbohydrate does not enhance anabolism in young human males following exercise. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2006 Oct;31(5):518-29.

2. Rennie, M., Bowtell, J., Bruce, M., Khogali, S. (2001). Interaction between glutamine availability and metabolism of glycogen tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates and glutathione. Journal of Nutrition. Vol.131 Issue 95: 2488-91.

3. Varnier, M., Leese, G. (1995). Simulatory effect of glutamine on glycogen accumulation in human skeletal muscle. American Journal of Physiology. Vol.269 Issue 2: 309-15.

4. Philip Newsholme. Why Is L-Glutamine Metabolism Important to Cells of the Immune System in Health, Postinjury, Surgery or Infection? Journal of Nutrition. 2001;131:2515S-2522S

5. Lawrence J. Reitzer, Burton M. Wice, David Kennell. Evidence that Glutamine, Not Sugar, Is the Major Source of Energy for Cultured HeLa cells. April 25, 1979 The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 254

6. E. Hultman, K. Soderlund, J. A. Timmons, G. Cederblad and P. L. Greenhaff. Muscle creatine loading in men. J Appl Physiol 81: 232-237, 1996;

7. K. Vandenberghe, N. Gillis, M. Van Leemputte, P. Van Hecke, F. Vanstapel and P. Hespel. Caffeine counteracts the ergogenic action of muscle creatine loading. J Appl Physiol 80: 452-457, 1996;

8. Dawson, B : Cutler, M : Moody, A : Lawrence, S : Goodman, C : Randall, N. Effects of oral creatine loading on single and repeated maximal short sprints. Aust-J-Sci-Med-Sport. 1995 Sep; 27(3): 56-61

9. Michic, Sasa; MacDonald, Jay R.; McKenzie, Scott; Tarnopolsky, Mark A. Acute creatine loading increases fat-free mass, but does not affect blood pressure, plasma creatinine, or CK activity in men and women. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise: February 2000 - Volume 32 - issue 2 - p 291

10. A. Saremi, R. Gharakhanloo, S. Sharghi, M.R. Gharaati, B. Larijani and K. Omidfar. Effects of oral creatine and resistance training on serum myostatin and GASP-1. Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology Volume 317, Issues 1-2, 12 April 2010, Pages 25-30.

11. B. Dangott, E. Schultz, P. E. Mozdziak. Dietary Creatine Monohydrate Supplementation Increases Satellite Cell Mitotic Activity During Compensatory Hypertrophy. Int J Sports Med 2000; 21(1): 13-16​