Dropping body fat and maintaining muscle mass for my competition prep.
Not true. I workout with a pro and he has shakes all the time. Whole foods may be a slightly better source but protein is still protein that still breaks down into amino acids which are still utilized by the body in the same way regardless.
Agreed. Layne is one of the brightest bodybuilders in our sport. He is well accomplished not only in the scientific aspect but also in application.
Good work bro. How did you do? First show?
Help me understand what is "not true?" Because the natural pro you worked out with drinks shakes? Does that discredit two different current IFBB pro's who coached me that whole foods were superior to shakes? No. If shakes work for you and Layne natural then great. For me, there is no way I would be able to bring enough mass onstage to do damage in a show by drinking shakes leading up to the show.
"Time after time, I have noted that the more shakes a bodybuilder drinks as opposed to consuming more whole-food meals, the flatter and softer his muscles appear to be. Every time I have an athlete stop drinking shakes and eat all whole food, it’s never long before he takes on a fuller and harder appearance."-Hany Rambod, Coach to Jay Cutler and Phil Heath, etc etc.
"A bodybuilder relying on multiple shakes per day in place of whole food will have a very different physique from one who eats more whole food. The natural digestion process is important and you can only get that with whole foods. Protein powders are broken down so much that they don't digest and get absorbed like food. It is better to add specific amino acid supplements to a meal than to replace a meal with a shake. However, if you are in a bind in the offseason, an occasional shake is fine and is far better than missing a meal."-Hany Rambod, that is coach to the current IFBB Mr. Olympia..
"There is no substitute for whole food. However, we don't live in a perfect world and because of work or family obligations, we may end up missing meals, which is an absolute no-no. In such situations, I allow shakes to be used. But aside from that, when you are dieting, would you rather have a protein shake made with water or a grilled chicken breast and sweet potato?"-Oscar Ardon, coach to many elite IFBB pro's (Orville Burke, Kai Greene)
(Myth)#1 Powders are better than food. Protein powders are easy to absorb, and absorption is an important part of the mass-building process. However, whole-food animal sources of protein, such as eggs, dairy, fowl, red meat and fish, have complete, though somewhat different, amino-acid profiles. Some are higher in certain amino acids than others, and this may be a reason why bodybuilders like Jay Cutler claim that serious mass can’t be built without red meat. Cutler tells FLEX, “When I exclude red meat, I can’t add the mass and grow like I do when I eat it daily and sometimes twice daily.” Is it the iron, B vitamins or creatine in the meat? Maybe. It’s also likely that the unique amino-acid combinations allow greater protein synthesis. For optimal mass gains, don’t succumb to living mainly on powders. Choose a wide variety of foods and include powders before and after workouts, and at times when convenience is essential. The variable amino-acid concentrations among different foods may exert unique effects on you that result in better growth, as opposed to sticking with one or two protein foods or a couple of foods and a protein powder.-Chris Aceto, trainer of multiple IFBB pro's
Sure, there are articles from Neil Hill and George Farah saying shakes are ok, but my .02 was the for ME, trying to become an NPC Superheavyweight at the national level, there is no way I can do that using shakes. Not much to disagree with here...Bodybuilding is individual, what works for you works for you...just my .02
Also, I am assuming everyone who says whole food diets are inferior to shakes has actually tried both, and not just speculating?
just my experience. I do not know the science about food and amino acids but I would choose food over protein shakes any day.
