Today's bodybuilders and athletes in general are well aware of the importance of protein supplementation. Today, many of them willingly consume whey protein or other types of protein powder to enhance muscle recovery or promote mass gain.
If this practice is beneficial on training days, what about on rest days? Should you stop consuming whey, continue preparing your shakers or reduce the amount of protein absorbed? This article provides all the answers to these questions. And for a broader answer, check out our articles on when to take your whey, whether to take whey before going to bed and how many protein powder shakers to take.
The basics of supplementation and sports nutrition
First of all, we need to combat a number of preconceived ideas about protein powders and whey. Contrary to popular belief, these products only enhance the beneficial effects of training, and do not lead to mass gain without training. Like casein (which is assimilated more slowly), whey protein is a protein-rich dietary supplement. And when it comes to protein supplements, you need to integrate whey intelligently into your physical preparation and diet to optimize the results of your training. Yes, whey doesn't work out for you!
Athletes and body-builders need to train to see results. Whey and high-protein dietary supplements should therefore be seen as an effective aid to achieving one's goal, whether it's to gain muscle mass, tone muscles effectively or boost endurance.
In principle, supplementation is not necessarily necessary when the diet provides sufficient protein. However, it's difficult to find such a complete, rapidly assimilated amino acid profile in the diet for effective recovery. What's more, from a quantitative point of view, whey or other protein powders are an ideal solution for meeting the nutritional needs of athletes. However, whey's sole purpose is to improve the diet. Competitors can rest assured that whey is a natural, non-doping product.
Training sessions will be at the heart of the athlete's progress. The effort expended will trigger the synthesis of new muscle tissue, essential for developing greater strength and/or endurance.
As a general rule, whey is consumed after training to take advantage of the essential amino acids and BCAAs provided by this protein powder. These substances help repair the damage caused by physical effort. This will improve mass gain following a power effort, while alleviating any post-workout soreness.
To determine whether whey intake should be maintained on non-training days, we need to differentiate between endurance athletes (running, cycling, team sports, etc.) and bodybuilding enthusiasts.
In endurance sports, the focus is on improving muscle recovery and maximizing the effects of training. For strength sports and bodybuilding, the aim is muscle hypertrophy, and therefore maximizing mass gain. These two goals mean that everyone needs to adapt their diet program and the way they consume whey.
For more details, see our definition of whey and our tips for building a good dry program for an endurance sport.
Can I stop taking whey on days when I'm not exercising?
In bodybuilding and strength sports, the aim is to optimize muscle repair after exercise, in order to gain muscle mass. To achieve this, the athlete must maintain a high protein intake during the training period to promote and prolong hypertrophy. This intake should be around 1.6/2 g/kg/d of protein.
In this context, to avoid losing muscle mass during rest periods, we also need to maintain an intake of at least 1.3 g/kg/d on rest days. In fact, hypertrophy phases are not immediate and are spread over more or less long periods, so it's important to maintain a consistent intake. For this reason, even in the absence of physical effort and training sessions, it is important to supplement protein intake (albeit to a lesser extent) if this is not obtained from the diet.
Whey is a protein powder designed for post-workout consumption. It is highly bioavailable and delivers amino acids, particularly BCAAs, to the body as quickly as possible. This characteristic, presented as a quality, becomes almost useless here. Rapid assimilation is not particularly desirable during periods of rest.
A number of solutions have been put forward to counteract this process. On non-training days, it's best to take your whey with a classic bowl of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. For example, take your whey as a dessert, after a traditional meal. This will slow down the absorption of the amino acids supplied by whey, and spread out their assimilation and utilization over time.
Endurance sports: can I stop taking whey on non-training days?
In endurance sports such as running, trail running, soccer, etc., the focus is on improving recovery after exercise. This time, since hypertrophy is out of the equation, there's no need to maintain a high protein intake. If you need further information, don't hesitate to read our articles on the type of whey to choose for running, the best whey for soccer and the best whey for cycling.
With a classic diet including meat, fish, eggs and/or legumes, you can achieve a suitable intake without consuming whey. In this sense, it's not necessarily necessary to take a whey shaker on your days off.
On the other hand, if you're on a diet that doesn't include a lot of protein, you should continue supplementing. Here again, it's best to take it after a meal, as a dessert, to slow down the assimilation of amino acids and BCAAs. Remember that on training days, a jogger or cyclist will consume between 20 and 30 g of protein after training. This quantity is perfect for improving recovery, optimizing the muscular effects of training, and getting into top shape faster.
How long should I take whey? How quickly should I consume my whey?
Being a dehydrated product, whey has been packaged for months of trouble-free storage. Once you've opened your packet of whey, you'll be able to consume your protein powder until the Minimum Durability Date (MDD) printed on the packet.
The DDM should not be confused with the best-before date. It indicates the shelf life of a product's nutritional qualities. To a lesser extent, you can still consume an opened packet that exceeds its DDM if it has been stored in good conditions, i.e. protected from heat, cold, light and humidity. More on this in our article: does whey expire?
If you're wondering whether you should continually take whey throughout your training program, the answer is no. You can stop taking whey whenever you like.
The potentiating effect of training is seen over the medium-to-long term. A momentary interruption in whey intake will have no immediate impact on your muscle mass, or on your short-term performance.
On the other hand, if you use whey to speed up recovery, interrupting supplementation has a greater impact, particularly on muscle soreness.
Effort will produce lesions that the body will take longer to repair. When protein is in short supply, expect aches and pains or persistent fatigue.
Finally, can stopping whey reduce the speed of progression more than if you'd never taken it?
Whey contains no active ingredients. It is not a drug, but simply a nutritional supplement, an " ergogenic aid ".
Protein powders simply deliver nutrients useful for mass gain, muscle building and recovery. There is no change in metabolic systems, and therefore no impact on the speed of progression between a stop and a person who has never taken it.
Whey optimizes your training results by satisfying your protein requirements. Stopping taking it will "only" deprive you of its benefits.
Finally, to complete your reading, here are our most comprehensive articles:
- How to consume your whey?
- Should you drink whey foam?
- Why take protein supplements?
- Which whey should you choose if you're a beginner?
- Should whey be taken before or after training?
