But the real truth of the matter is that Whey supplements are simply a delivery system for serum amino acids. And there are many such delivery systems, including real food.

To succeed, you need free amino acids in your bloodstream immediately after intense resistance training.
You also need good blood sugar levels.

Whey protein supplements will digest fairly quickly. They significantly increase the levels of free amino acids that are available for protein synthesis (the repair and building of new muscle tissue).

But does that mean Whey supplements actually deliver these elevated levels of serum amino acid quickly enough to be of use immediately after a workout?

It’s not clear that this is the case. There is no definitive research showing that drinking a Whey shake right after an intense lifting session will elevate your blood AA levels fast enough to help you. As I state in the article, it’s a good bet that the AAs your body is using for protein synthesis after exercise are left over from a previous meal. This is doubly true when you consider that intense exercise is known to slow down or temporarily halt stomach emptying rates.

So, do what you will. But make your decisions based on known fact rather than marketing hype.

Are you suggesting that maybe the whey supplement should be taken at the beginning of the workout instead of the end? It would make sense to me. Think about it, if you’re workout takes an hour, and it takes whey an hour to enter your bloodstream in significant amounts, then…. it all adds up.

Take whey an hour before you think you’ll finish your workout. Take fast carbs in the middle or nearer to the end of it.

I’ll stick to milk then, lots of them.