Muscle protein synthesis in young men who ingest carbohydrates and proteins following resistance training builds strength during training, but not during the overnight recovery period, according to a study.
Findings in the paper “Coingestion of Carbohydrate and Protein Hydrolysate Stimulates Muscle Protein Synthesis during Exercise in Young Men, with No Further Increase during Subsequent Overnight Recovery” are published in The Journal of Nutrition.
The authors state that resistance training is effective in stimulating muscle protein synthesis for up to 48 hours, but the exercise also stimulates muscle protein breakdown resulting in a net strength gain of zero.
To counteract the results, athletes who carbohydrate and protein before and after exercise do not suffer protein breakdown, but instead stimulate muscle protein synthesis, resulting in net muscle protein growth during recovery.
The authors noted that no data are available regarding the impact of protein or carbohydrate supplementation on muscle protein synthesis after exercise performed in the evening following a normal diet throughout the day.
Their study on 20 healthy men examined the effects of carbohydrate and protein hydrolysate ingestion on whole-body and muscle protein synthesis during a combined endurance and resistance exercise session and subsequent overnight recovery. The men consumed a standardized diet during the day, and then consumed a beverage containing both carbohydrate and protein hydrolysate ingredients during a two-hour exercise session. The control group drank water.
Participants then drank two more beverages during early recovery and remained overnight at the hospital.
Muscle biopsies and blood samples were taken to assess whole-body and muscle protein synthesis rates.
Results showed that drinking beverages containing protein with carbohydrate during and immediately after exercise improves whole-body protein synthesis but does not further build muscle during subsequent overnight recovery.
http://jn.nutrition.org/content/136/5/1294.abstract?sid=739c2fe5-20ca-4683-afa1-2075469908cc
