Over the past couple months, I have changed my diet quite a bit to include more protein. The goal has been too build a little extra muscle. I know there are various ways to get protein. I am not going to get protein from many traditional sources because I do not eat meat. I do eat fish, though. I have been getting supplemental protein from bars and shakes. I have noticed that the protein from these products come from different sources. These proteins include whey, which comes from dairy and plant based proteins such as soy and pea.
Anyone have any thoughts on which are better or does it depend on what you are trying to accomplish?
Hey man, I'm actually a vegetarian who's really into bodybuilding and has been somewhat successful, so I'll throw in my 2 cents.
1. First, you gotta understand a biological concept called "bioavailability."
This is somewhat of an oversimplification but basically, bioavailability is a rating of how much of a food's nutrient your body actually absorbs (despite the amount of grams stated on the packaging). For example, steak has an insane amount of protein for its size, but its bioavailability rating is about 80%. Therefore, you can eat 100g of beef, but you're only going to absorb 80g of it. The best sources of bioavailable protein are eggs and whey protein, they're both 100% absorption. Thus, despite being a vegetarian I can gain muscle as fast as or faster than pure meat eaters. White meat --which seafood falls into--has about 80% bioavailability as well. A general rule of thumb is the more "animal" the protein is, the more bioavailable it is; the more "plant", the less so. Also, whey protein is cow milk protein extract, it's not associated with soy or pea.
2. You have to eat enough protein
So, say you change up your diet and you're eating only sources of protein that are 100% bioavailable, you still have to eat enough to add new muscle. In the bodybuilding world, the rule of thumb is to eat your weight in protein. However, It's been proven that this isn't necessary to achieve maximum growth and growth tops out at about 70% of your bodyweight. So, say you weigh 200 pounds, you need approximately 140g of protein everyday (ofc assuming all 140g are 100% bioavailable). Basically, eat most of your weight in grams of protein.
3. You have to increase your calories
You can only build muscle in a caloric surplus. A general rule of thumb is to multiply your weight by 15 and that's how many calories you need to maintain your weight. Multiply by 16 to see how much you need to gain weight at modest rate, 17 for a more aggressive rate. It also works in reverse, multiply by 14 for a modest deficit to lose weight and 13 for a more aggressive one. Notice, I said weight; you will gain fat with muscle, that's just how the body works.
4. Train like a bodybuilder, not a powerlifter
Basically, lift lighter weight for a lot more reps. Don't lift heavy weight for a few reps. Personally, I like to train in 8-15 rep range. If you can't do eight reps, then it's too heavy for you. If you can do more than 15 reps, then it's too light. Also, take short rest breaks, from about 30 seconds to 2mins at most. As far as sets go, four sets is pretty much the standard.
This post seemed way shorter in my head lol but let me know if you have any questions or if this was confusing.
Pretty good summary.
Can't really comment on 1. Agree with 2, I aim for around 0.8 g/lb which is in line with your suggestion. I think your calorie rule might be going too high. I like using a TDEE calculator (literally just google it and click the first link) and then +500 calories for bulking. I've bulked from an underweight 115lbs to 170lbs and the rule of thumb you mentioned are quite a bit more than I needed. For example, when I was 150lbs, 3000 calories would easily have me in a surplus and consistently gaining weight. And for 4, I don't think there's necessarily that much of a difference in both styles of training. For a fairly beginner lifter, training for muscle mass and aesthetic will go hand in hand with getting stronger.
Yeah, I agree with you on #3; I didn't want to get too technical in my post and just wanted to give broad rules of thumb. And fair point on #4, for a beginner it doesn't really matter. Btw props on going from 115 to 170, that's impressive.
Thanks for the insight. It sounds like you prefer the whey protein and I have read about how body builders sometimes use this one as a supplement. Any thoughts on benefits of pea based protein?
Yeah, no problem. And pea protein is a solid plant-based protein but not the best. I prefer soy protein powder if I'm not doing whey for whatever reason, because soy is a complete protein and pea protein isn't really. (Complete protein = all essential amino acids)
In pea protein's amino acid profile it's really low in one of the essential amino acids, all of which are necessary for muscle production. So, then you have to play this game of mixing and matching different plant based proteins which can be a hassle. (Fun fact: Beans and rice have all the essential amino acids and is complete protein when eaten together.)
Otherwise though, it's a really solid source of protein and you should be able to see results assuming adequate intake and training.
Doctor J made a good post.
To simplify to the bone, the relatively cheap way to increase mass is to max out on white rice and chicken breast for caloric surplus. Given your preference, swap the chicken breast with canned tuna (without olive oil). I can find with relative ease something with 25% protein 0% fat. Get basmati rice for white rice because it has a relatively high protein content too (I found one with 11%).
The tuna is a good idea. I alternate between tuna and a high protein yogurt for lunch.
I like the Orgain bars and powder. It might not be as good as the bars with whey but they taste great.
For dietary tips, consider checking out Clarence Kennedy. Very strong olympic lifter (likely on gear as his #s are olympic-level) who is a vegetarian (maybe even vegan, can't remember).
mostly trash advice. nobody in this thread can squat 3 plates lol
try /r/weightroom not a nerdy finance forum lol
Facts^
On a side note, I'm going to be squatting 315 with less than a year of serious lifting. Would say bench 2 plates instead.
My favorite protein powder is Metabolic Drive because it has a whey/micellar casein blend that has shown to be more effective at promoting muscle protein synthesis than whey alone. You can add it to your smoothie and ingest 50 g of protein with 5 minutes of work.
High rep training is great, but I highly recommend getting strong on the big lifts. With that being said, most people suck at deadlifts, squats, and benching and never learn how to properly perform these movements with lighter weights. Also, I am a big proponent of trap bar deadlifts and front squats in lieu of conventional deadlifts and back squats because they are easier to learn and can be performed more safely but still yield great results.
The problem with high rep training alone is that the adaptations are different than heavy (<5 rep/>85% 1RM) training. Without going into specifics, the increased muscle size is secondary to more transient adaptations and result in a more "puffy" look that fades when you take more than a few weeks off of training. Heavy training causes your body to actually lay down new muscle fibers and results in that harder, "denser" look you see in really strong guys. You can take a few months off or train only twice a week and still maintain your physique.
Ask yourself this question: will I build more muscle doing 5 reps at 185 or 5 reps at 225? Build your strength then work up to hypertrophy.
Still, high rep training is great and should be included in any program.
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