I just spotted this blurb in the latest Hammer Endurance News. Typically, when I see claim numbers this high I’m skeptical, but Hammer has been pretty good over the years in sticking to the science.
From the Hammer newsletter
“To safely raise hGH levels without risk to your endocrine system, try this - just before bed, take 1 scoop of Hammer Whey protein in 4-6 ounces of water, not juice or milk as those carbs will hinder the process. This practice may safely raise hGH levels while you sleep by as much as 400% compared to the usual nightly spike. That’s enough to have a noticeable effect on anabolic, muscle building/maintaing activity in the body…”
Is this possible? If so, is it due to the whey or to the glutamine that they add?
After being a muscle head for several years, this is an “old” tip for muscle growth, recovery, and avoid your body to go into a catabolic mode during the 7-8 hours of fasting. I use to add a scoop of 5g of L-glutamine to my protein shake, that I would drink at 12:00 am. Yes, I used to set up my alarm to wake up at that time and have my anti-catabolic “treat” :).
True. But what Hammer doesn’t tell you is you’d be better using a store brand for better results… Hammer has a Whey protein which is fast acting protein. it is good after weight workouts to recover. You can get a Casein or any other brands PM formula for long digesting formulas. those usually have a higher dose of L Glutamine in them as well not to mention cost half of what hammer sells and taste a lot better.
Do you guys know if this nutritional tactic is of benefit for triathletes?
Can you expand on which proteins are “fast acting” vs. “long digesting”?
Thanks,
Matt
There isn’t any literature for/against it for triathletes (as far as I know), but I’m sure there are plenty of opinions. MHO is that if helps you recover faster, then yes there is benefit to it. Even if you add a little weight as a result, so long as your gains in strength exceed your weight gain then you are getting faster.
Long acting vs. short acting is analogous to simple and complex carbs. Some proteins are absorbed & utilized faster than others. Whey is typically fast acting - so if you were to supplement with a protein in the evening (i.e. before bed or 12am as someone mentioned) you would want something slow acting or “long digesting” so you can maintain positive nitrogen balances through the evening. Casein protein is an example of slow acting protein.