Why You Should Be Taking Your Protein Before Working Out

Spend some time on old-school bodybuilding forums, and you will find the question of pre-workout nutrition is as hotly debated as the question of whether that dress was blue or gold, and a lot of that controversial nutrient timing “wisdom” has carried over into the endurance and functional fitness spaces as well.

How close to a workout should you eat a meal? Is fasted training better than fed? How much should you eat? Are certain foods better than others?

Many of these questions are hot subjects of new research (which is great!). But amidst all the debate, one kernel of truth has emerged… consuming protein before a workout can lead to performance gains. And it’s a big reason why we have formulated 3FU3L to include the ideal combination of carbs, fats, and (especially) protein in order to meet the body’s energy needs and facilitate muscle growth.

Here is why you should be taking protein before you train.

The Role of Protein in the Body

Before we get into the benefits of pre-workout protein consumption, it’s helpful to look at the general role of protein in the body.

Proteins are comprised of chains of tiny molecules called amino acids which are essential for human life. Our bodies use proteins as the building blocks of cells, enzymes, organs, tissues, and a variety of other elements that sustain our physical functioning. In order to build proteins, 20 different amino acids are required. Our bodies can produce some of these on their own, but we need to get nine of them—dubbed essential amino acids—from food sources.

This is why protein is a critical part of any diet. While different people’s protein needs vary depending on their age, activity level, health status, and so on, we all need to eat protein in order to obtain all of the amino acids that are essential for human life.

If you’re in training, protein is especially critical. Exercise, especially strength training, increases the amount of protein that your body requires because it damages cells in the muscle fibers. And what repairs cells and tissues in the body? The amino acids found in protein.  

Therefore, if you fail to eat enough protein, you risk losing muscle mass (no matter how intensely or how frequently you train). Conversely, when you eat enough protein, your body not only repairs the tissue damage caused by strength training, but also adds new cells to the muscle fibers. This is how you build strength and gain muscle.

The Benefits of Consuming Protein Before a Workout

Now that we’ve addressed the role of protein in the body, it’s easier to see why consuming protein pre-workout can lead to strength gains.

When you train, your body shifts between different fuel sources—namely, the macronutrients: fat, carbohydrates, and protein. Train hard and long enough, and your body is going to be drawing on protein. Without an adequate supply of protein to combat the muscle fiber breakdown that accompanies strength training, your body is going to lose muscle instead of gaining it.

That’s why we include an optimized ratio of macronutrients in all of our performance + recovery supplements.

A number of studies confirm consuming protein before resistance training does indeed promote muscle hypertrophy (aka an increase in muscle mass), muscle protein synthesis, and greater anabolic response (aka the rebuilding of tissues, cells, and fibers). One such study found that consuming protein before resistance training over the course of ten weeks led to increases in total body mass, fat-free mass, and muscle strength as well as notable improvements in muscle performance.

And while post-workout nutrition is what often gets emphasized in the supplement industry, there’s some evidence to suggest that pre-workout protein consumption has an even greater impact on muscle growth than consuming protein after exercise. This helps explain why fasted training can significantly increase the breakdown of muscle.

All told, there’s clear evidence to suggest that pre-workout protein consumption can both improve your muscle performance during training and increase your strength gains after a workout.

The Right Pre-Workout Protein

In addition to confirming that pre-workout protein consumption can lead to muscle gain, studies also suggest that the type of protein you consume matters.

In general, the best pre-workout protein is one that is digested quickly and contains leucine, an amino acid that’s known for stimulating protein synthesis. Using these parameters as a guideline, whey protein is arguably one of the best pre-workout proteins around. It is quickly digested and contains plenty of leucine, which makes it ideal for protein synthesis, rebuilding of tissues that are broken down during training, and, ultimately, strength gains. There’s also evidence that consuming whey protein can help prevent the loss of muscle mass overall.

Within the whey protein category, there are three types: concentrate, isolate, and hydrolysate. Whey isolate is a more pure form of concentrate where the whey protein has been “isolated” from the non-protein components. Regardless of whether whey protein is a concentrate or isolate, the peptides structures are still large and your digestive system has to break down the bonds between the amino acid sequences to make the peptides small enough for your body to actually use.

Whey hydrolysate is better because it is digested and absorbed much quicker due to the low average molecular weight of the protein combined with its high percentage of di- and tri- peptides. We use the highest quality grass-fed whey hydrolysate in 3FU3L, which is gentle on the stomach so you can take it pre- and intra- workout without the bloat or heavy feeling that comes with other whey proteins.  

This is why you’ll find whey protein as one of the primary ingredients in our products: because consuming whey protein before a workout may substantially increase your strength gains. And that’s exactly what you should get from any product that promises to improve your training results. At 3FU3L, we work to deliver on that promise every day.

So now you know: There are significant benefits associated with consuming protein before a workout, and whey protein provides some of the greatest effects. Now get thee to the forums and set the record straight.