Protein Shakes and Body Building:Essential or a Waste of Time?

Body building is a passion and a art-form for many people and those who take it seriously know all too well how important protein is in reaching your targets/goals. Serious training requires serious nutrition that can deliver all the ingredients needed as well as that all important ingredient that is protein.

Protein shakes are a very effective way in making sure you ramp up your daily protein intake. Every single athlete and pro body builder alike will tell you the same "Getting the right amount of protein in your daily diet is the difference between hitting your goals or failing". This is exactly why protein shakes can play a major role in your daily diet as you can seriously ramp up your protein intake quickly and easily. Finding the right protein shake for your specific needs is an important factor in reaching your goals. There are a lot of protein powders offering different levels of specific ingredients, for example, if your goals are to lose as much body fat as possible while consuming high levels of protein then your best bet would be an isolate. Isolate is the purest form of protein available and in general they are protein shakes that contain very low levels of carbohydrates and unwanted fats. For this exact reason isolate shakes are ideal for people with a slow metabolism or people who find it all too easy to add those extra unwanted pounds. With isolate being the purest form of protein available it is also the most expensive.

If you are one of the lucky ones (hard gainers) out there that struggle to gain any weight, regardless of what you consume, then the intake of those extra calories is an important factor in finding the right protein supplement to fulfil your specific needs. An ideal protein shake for all you hard gainers would contain moderately high levels of quality calories, as well as creatine and the all important high protein content that should be in every good supplement. Whey protein concentrate is a safe bet, it is not as pure as isolate but it contains higher levels of calories that will help you in adding size. An all in one protein is also a great supplement as it generally contains all the ingredients needed to build muscle, as well as higher levels of calories and creatine. Another option for hard gainers are mass gainers that are a great way to really ramp up those calories and gain the essential levels of protein that is needed daily. However please be cautious when choosing a mass gainer, as some mass gainers contain a ridiculous amount of calories per serving, even for a hard gainer.

Finding the right protein shake for your specific needs can and will aid you in reaching your goals. Put together with a healthy well thought through balanced diet, protein shakes are a very effective supplement that every serious sports person should most definitely think about and take advantage of.